Medway Has a New Pond Loop and a Forest Going In. Here's Where to Walk This October

The trailhead at 116R Winthrop Street has room for four cars. A kiosk built as an Eagle Scout project stands at the entrance. From there a mowed path circles Grace Pond for eight-tenths of a mile, past two benches and a vernal pool, and comes back to where you parked. This is Hoag Woods, and it opened only recently. Two miles of new trail would make a bigger headline. What makes this loop interesting is where it came from.

So does the other new addition to Medway's walking map this fall: a 3,000-square-foot native forest going into the ground at Idylbrook Conservation Area. Volunteers are planting it in compost and natural material collected from Medway's own trail system. Both projects grew out of Medway itself. One is land a local family left to a conservation trust. The other is a forest planted by residents in soil made partly from the town's own woods. Neither one was bought in from outside.

A Family's Land, Kept Open on Purpose

The Hoag Woods property didn't arrive as a surprise. Andrea Burke covered the opening in her Oct. 1 trail column for Millis/Medway News. She writes that David and Grace Hoag left the land to the Upper Charles Conservation Land Trust in the mid-2020s, and that it had been under a conservation restriction since 1996. The land was protected for close to three decades before anyone could walk it. The trust lists 2025 as the year it took ownership.

The Upper Charles Conservation Land Trust works on land conservation and recreation trails in the upper Charles River watershed. Hoag Woods is its newest conservation area. The loop has a nickname, "Papa's Woodsy Walk." Burke describes it as relatively flat, which makes it suitable for cross-country skiing once winter arrives.

A few practical points before your first visit:

• Parking: About four cars, at 116R Winthrop Street between numbers 14 and 16. The trail also connects at Cider Mill Road, but there's no parking there.
• Hours: Sunrise to sunset only.
• Dogs: Welcome on a leash, and owners clean up after them.
• The pond: No swimming, skating or boating on Grace Pond. Stay on the marked trail.
• Allowed uses: The trust lists hiking, cross-country skiing and bicycling.

With only four parking spaces, timing matters on a clear October weekend. The trust's Hoag Woods property page links to a full trail map, which is worth pulling up on your phone before you go.

Burke also points out something easy to miss. Not every trail Medway residents use is owned by the town. Some are open through easements granted by property owners. Others are open through partnerships with conservation groups like the Upper Charles trust. Hoag Woods is one of the second kind. It works the way it does because a family decided long ago that the land should stay open.

A Forest Built From Medway's Own Trails

If Hoag Woods shows land being preserved, the project at Idylbrook shows a forest being made. The Town of Medway is planting a Miyawaki forest there. The Miyawaki method was developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. It packs a diverse mix of native trees and shrubs close together so a young forest establishes faster than it would with conventional planting. The Conservation Commission is paying for the full pilot. It is working with BSC Design, and the plan covers hundreds of plants, from understory shrubs to full-canopy trees.

The soil is where this project ties back to the rest of Medway's trails. The town says the forest will use locally sourced compost along with natural material collected from Medway's trail system. Material gathered from paths across town is going into a new patch of woods at one of them.

The planting is happening now, and the schedule has already shifted once. A storm canceled the first planting day on Sept. 26, and its rain date on Sept. 27 was canceled too. Here is what remains on the town's schedule as of Oct. 1:

Each session starts with an introduction to the Miyawaki method from Caseylee Bastien, Senior Landscape Architect and Ecologist at BSC Group. She covers soil health and the plants chosen for the forest. No experience is needed, and all ages are welcome. The town asks volunteers to bring gardening gloves and a trowel if they have them, and to sign up through the town's Miyawaki forest page.

Anyone who walks Idylbrook this month will be seeing a forest in its first weeks. The town's materials don't say where on the property the plot sits, so it's best to go expecting new plantings rather than a finished stand of trees.

The rest of Idylbrook is already familiar ground for many people in town. Medway Parks and Recreation lists the facility at 99 Kimberly Drive. A connected trailhead on the south end sits on Ward's Lane. The regional trail map describes a gently sloping perimeter loop of about three-quarters of a mile. It passes a farmer's pond where beaver dams are sometimes visible. From the Ward's Lane end, a short spur leads to an American chestnut restoration grove and a lookout over a smaller pond and wetlands. When games are on at the north fields, a portable toilet may be available there.

That makes two restoration projects at one conservation area: the chestnut grove that is already there and the native forest going in this week.

Winthrop Street Now Holds Two Walks

The new loop also changes how Winthrop Street works for an afternoon outing. The Medway Community Farm trail starts at 50 Winthrop Street, with parking for the trail and the farmstand. It borders active farmland and includes an overlook of Chicken Brook. Hoag Woods' trailhead is on the same street at 116R. A single Saturday could look like this:

1. Start at Hoag Woods for the 0.8-mile loop around Grace Pond. Arrive earlier in the day, since the lot holds about four cars.
2. Drive to 50 Winthrop Street and walk the Community Farm trail out to the Chicken Brook overlook.
3. Stop at the farmstand before heading home.

If you'd rather walk along the river, Burke's September column covered Willows at Medway. It has a riverfront path of about a mile round trip and a canoe and kayak launch, with parking at 44 Willow Pond Circle. She recommends boots or hiking shoes because of wet spots and roots. The Chicken Brook corridor ties together the Dave Hoag Boardwalk, Adams Street Meadow, Choate Park, the Millstone trails and the Medway Link Trail. The town's Trails & Maps page has printable maps for Choate, Idylbrook, the Community Farm, the Village Street Amphitheater and more. Some of those maps date back to 2013 and 2014, so trail conditions may have changed since they were drawn. Burke also writes that a new flyer of resident-accessible trails is on the way.

The Month Ends on a Trail at Choate Park

October's walking calendar finishes after dark. The Pumpkin Walk at Choate Park is set for Friday, Oct. 30, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., with a rain date of Sunday, Nov. 1. This year adds something new. A 6:30 p.m. entry is reserved for Medway residents with children under 2, so the youngest walkers get the trail before the bigger crowds arrive.

What to know ahead of time:

• Registration is required. Resident registration opened Aug. 10. Non-resident registration opens Monday, Oct. 5, at 9:00 a.m.
• Bring a flashlight. Glow necklaces and bracelets are provided.
• Concessions: The Medway Community Farm will sell hot cocoa, popcorn and snacks on site.
• The playground will be closed during the event.
• To display a pumpkin, drop it off carved under the Choate Park pavilion by 5:00 p.m. on event day, labeled and with a tea light inside.

The Community Farm shows up throughout this month. It has its own trail on Winthrop Street, it's a short drive from the new Hoag Woods loop, and it will be serving cocoa on the trail at Choate Park on Oct. 30. The trails that are newest this fall depend on the same local groups that have kept Medway's existing paths open for years: the Upper Charles trust, the Conservation Commission, Eagle Scouts, volunteer planting crews, and a family that set land aside in 1996.

If you live near Winthrop Street or Kimberly Drive, you've probably wondered how places like Hoag Woods stay open and who looks after them. I've spent more than two decades on Franklin beautification work, and I'm always happy to talk about how conservation land and local trails shape everyday life across Greater Franklin. Questions about what's protected near your street, or what a nearby trail means for your own plans, are welcome anytime. Reach out to Eileen Mason and let's connect.