West Hill Dam
Posted By auntie on August 14, 2014
4.9 miles, uxbridge, ma
it was a beautiful day for a hike, sunny and cool. this was a very easy trail, mostly flat, mostly on old woods roads, and covered in pine needles. there were lots of runners and dog walkers out.
moon over the dam
you can just barely make it out, but the moon was out over the dam. this is an army corps of engineers facility, like west thompson lake in connecticut. and like that property, this one is well maintained and well marked.
old mill race
this dam is on the west river in uxbridge, massachusetts. i imagine there were lots of mills in the area to take advantage of the water power of the river, and i’m guessing this was the site of one of them. it looks like a channel for directing water.
the trail
this is mostly what the trail looked like, particularly the western part of the loop, southbound. straight, smooth, level and covered in pine needles. i was able to make pretty good time, for me.
the west river
ironically, you never really get to see the river from the woodland trail. this shot of the river is from the bridge that is part of the short road-walking segment of the trail at its northernmost point.
markers
i didn’t notice anything going northbound, but on the southern leg of the trail you come upon a granite marker post with an “n” on one side, for northbridge, and a “u” on the other side for uxbridge. kinda cool.
i have added this hike to the hikefinder.
[…] I’ve hiked this property once before, doing the entire 4+ mile loop, but this hike was only on the southern end of that hike. It did, however, take in smaller side trail I missed last time, the West River Trail. […]