GPS Ride in Cutler Park

I'm fortunate in that my office is located within spitting distance of Cutler Park. Therein lay miles of trails for riding. Once you get away from the main entrances, the trails become winding narrow single track with just a few technical challenges. There are a few long raised boardwalks and some rooted sections that break it up. One of my favorite things is that you can make a nice loop of 10 or 12 miles and probably more if you explore.

The other day we took a longish lunch to go out riding, and one of us had a GPS on board to document the route. We start from the Kendrick Street entrance in Cutler Park and followed the trails several miles back to the Needham Street side which I think is basically in Dedham. This loop would be counterclockwise in the above map starting in the upper left area. A few sections were overgrown but still quite passable. (Remember to pick the greenery out of you derailleur and watch the thorns!) In the interest of time we skipped all of the trails that meander to some otherwise worthwhile shorter adjoining loops. From that end we hopped over a sidewalk along several hundred yards of busy roads (route 109 and the VFW) and then picked up the return trail in Millenium Park in West Roxbury. The section in Millenium Park is fairly unremarkable going around the hill. But it leads you back into the woods in the abutting Brook Farm reserve. This next section of trail is wide and well maintained, but still wooded; we hauled through there heading back in the general direction of Wells Ave. This pops out right down the street from where we started - loop completed.

I've been over this loop a few times. I've noticed that there may be some silent stewarts maintaining some of the trickier sections with new boards traversing water sections or cutting back the bushy spots. Thank you to whoever you are. There are also some little kickers here and there which are fun. It's definitely a great local area to explore, especially with others who may know something new about it.