Noon Hill Reservation

USA / Massachusetts / Medfield / Noon Hill Road
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At 370 feet, Noon Hill rises gently above the surrounding landscape. A trail leads to its peak, offering sweeping views south across the rolling hills of Walpole and Norfolk. Thousands of years ago, glacial action carved depressions through the hill. The Reservation's slopes and ridges are forested with pine, beech, birch, and hemlock; in spring, the forest floor is scattered with wildflowers. Many lowland areas have become red maple swamps. Much of the land to the north and east of the Reservation is floodplain of the Stop River, a tributary of the Charles River.

Holt Pond was created around 1764, when Sawmill Brook was dammed to create a mill pond. In the nineteenth century, after farmers cleared the forest, the land surrounding the pond was used as pasture, and stone walls were built as enclosures. Woods have since reclaimed these fields. The midday sun passes over the ridge of Noon Hill, giving the Reservation its name.

A short trail extension across Causeway Street connects Noon Hill to Shattuck Reservation. Both reservations are managed with adjacent conservation land owned by the Town of Medfield. Noon Hill is a link in the Bay Circuit Trail.
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Coordinates:   42°9'30"N   71°18'58"W
This article was last modified 16 years ago