Colby Phillips Trials via the Hanover Greenway – Hanover, MA
The Colby Philips Trail was SO cool, we really loved it!! Not only because it’s nice and wide but there were so many different aspects. The trail starts across the street from the Hanover Middle School. you’ll spot the sign “Hanover Greenway” once you park the car. The beginning of the trail starts over a bridge and into the woods where it’s a bit rooty (I don’t know it that’s actually a word but if I was to define it, it’d mean a trail in the woods with a lot of roots so there you go, now it’s a word). The entire trail is a little over 3 miles and ends at the West Hanover Cemetery before looping back around, there’s also another entrance on Circuit Street, you’ll just want to make sure you watch for private property.
Once you enter the trail from the Greenway you’ll follow the path along until you get to an intersection, the main trail is marked with green trailheads, but the off-shoots, marked with red arrows, are awesome too. The first one leads you to a viewing platform overlooking the Cushing Brook Marsh, a quiet spot where we spotted a heron flying in the distance.
Back on the main trail continue straight until you see a small bridge, from this spot you may hear the “waterfall” of the Cushing Brook but it’s still a few yards away! You’ll spot the bridge over the Brook a little further up and it’s such a beautiful place to stop on the trail and enjoy the view, plus, there’s a bench right on the other side where you can sit and take it in!
After you leave the bench you’ll see another fork in the road. Right will take you on another red detour loop through the woods where you’ll see this funny tree guy that my son thought was awesome. The side trail continues on and meets back up with the main trail near some stumps laid across the muddy area like a bridge which were fun to cross over. From here you can continue on for over another mile before making it to Circuit street, you’ll be faced with a few more red loops and a lot more benches to stop, which we did on I think every single one LOL.
Overall, we loved this place! We loved the bridges, which earned a high bridge rating since there was a few of them, including the one over the Brook and the viewing platform. Also, I enjoyed the fact that this main trail was so wide, it’s a lot easier to hold my buddies hand when we can walk side by side! 🙂 .
