Appalachian Mountain Club Boston Chapter Local Walks Committee

The AMC Boston Chapter Local Walks Committee leads day hikes and nature walks year-round in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. They range in length from 3 to 20 miles over terrain which ranges from smooth and flat to rocky and hilly. A typical hike is 5 to 8 miles in length along woodland trails over rolling terrain with some hills and takes 4 to 5 hours, including lunch. The pace is usually moderate, allowing participants to socialize as they walk. Some of our hikes are hilly enough to be useful as conditioning hikes for the more rugged trails in the White Mountains or elsewhere.

To see the kinds of activities we do, go to the listing of recent walks. Our hikes are announced in the Backcountry section of the monthly members' magazine, AMC Outdoors. To find out how to join the AMC, go to www.outdoors.org/join.

The Hiking Areas page is a compilation of over one hundred of the larger areas for day hikes out of Boston plus information on obtaining trail maps. The Photo Gallery pages contain a growing collection of photos of trail scenes from those areas and from recent walks. The Easy Walks page has a list of nearby places where there is a scenic, level walk that is easy to follow. The Nature Walks page is about what to expect from an AMC nature walk, what to bring, and where to go on your own nature and bird walks.

The Local Walks Authors page is about the Weston conservation lands guidebook written by AMC Local Walks leader Elmer Jones and the guidebook to plants commonly seen on walks written by AMC Local Walks leader Hilary Hopkins.

Leadership opportunities: AMC members with an aptitude for leading group hikes and knowledge of a local hiking area are encouraged to contact the Local Walks chairman listed in AMC Outdoors magazine at the beginning of the Boston chapter acivities.

Website contributions: send corrections, additions, and photos to

Site Contents
Local Walks Home - this page.
         Recent Walks - this year's Local Walks
                  Local Walks, 2002 - previous Local Walks
                  Local Walks, 2001
         Hiking Areas - list of hiking areas and map info
                  Middlesex Canal - canal walk details
                  Hunting Seasons - hunting seasons to be aware of
         Conditioning Hikes - nearby trails with elevation gain
         Easy Walks - walks that are level and easy to follow
         Nature Walks - nature and bird walk info
         Photo Gallery - photos of the hiking areas and hikes
         Local Walks Authors - books by Local Walks leaders
                  Cat Rock and 80 Acres - sample chapter from Elmer Jones' book
                  Common Plants index - index from Hilary Hopkins' book
                  Common Plants sample pages - sample pages from Hilary Hopkins' book

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