Benfield Lands, Spencer Brook Reservation

Click to view trail map (PDF)

Date hiked: May 19, 2012

A granite bench within the Spencer Brook Reservation was dedicated in honor of the founders of the Carlisle Conservation Foundation during their 50th anniversary celebration in 2010. Click photo to enlarge.

Thank goodness for my Trails in Carlisle book! Without it, I would never have managed to muddle my way through the Spencer Brook Reservation. I found this loop to be extremely difficult to follow. Perhaps the already abundant foliage obscured trail markings that might otherwise have been visible? In any case, between the map on page 11 of my Trails book, a lot of backtracking, and the trail description on page 10—”…crosses a wet drainage ditch?” Check. “…Leads through another open field?” Check!—I feel pretty confident that I covered more than enough of this conservation parcel to count towards my Carlisle Trekker Award. I should add that this is beautiful land, and when I wasn’t trying to figure out where I was, I was appreciating the landscape, particularly several very large, beautiful eastern white pines.

The towering canopy of trees in Ben’s Woods makes Marion’s Trail a cool walk on a warm afternoon. Click photo to enlarge.

Trailwise, things improved when I emerged from the Spencer Brook Trail near the intersection of Pope and Westford Roads and crossed the street in search of Marion’s Trail. I walked north for a short distance on Westford Road and easily found the start of the trail, which turned out to be well marked, well maintained, and easy to follow to the end. At that point, I crossed Westford Road again and picked up the Twin Peaks Trail.

Other than the very top of the Twin Peaks Trail, there’s no looping here. You’re going to have to walk almost every inch of these trails twice to get back to where you started, so plan accordingly: take the distance listed in the trekker’s log and double it. This is a hike-in-hike-out deal.

The Twin Peaks Trail begins with a long boardwalk. Click photo to enlarge.

But what a wonderful hike it is. The existence of these two trails was completely unknown to me before I started on my quest to hike all the trails in town—and they were an awesome find. I will definitely make this hike again. Marion’s Trail was a fairly easy walk and, despite the sight of a few houses along the periphery, it felt quiet and peaceful. Twin Peaks Trail felt more remote. Within 500 feet of the long boardwalk at the start, all traces of civilization seemed to vanish. It was also a more challenging hike than Marion’s Trail. There was a noticeable gain in elevation, and the trail was rough, rocky, and twisting on the loop portion at the top. It felt like a real workout. Unfortunately, both peaks are completely forested, so there’s no vista other than the trail you’ve just climbed.

On this late afternoon hike, I encountered no other hikers on any of these trails.

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