Established in 1894, the Middlesex Fells Reservation’s 2,575 acres offer a welcome retreat for city dwellers and a suitable terrain for hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, cross-country skiers, and picnickers, as well as natural and cultural history enthusiasts. One of the earliest properties acquired to protect natural lands in metropolitan Boston, it also contains Virginia Wood, a 203-acre gift made to the world’s first land trust, The Trustees (originally known as The Trustees of Public Reservations).

Taking its name from the Saxon word for rocky, hilly tracts of land, the “Fells” was first explored by European settlers in the winter of 1632. The land was later a source for timber, granite quarrying, ice harvesting industry, and waterpower for the mills. With interest growing in the 1890s for public use open space, the Middlesex Fells Reservation became one of the first preserved public parks and a prototype for urban park systems across the country.

Today, the Middlesex Fells Reservation’s legacy continues as an oasis of green with some of the most mature woodlands in close proximity to Boston. The “Fells” offers a variety of features to explore, including the Sheepfold, a 10-acre meadow used by dog-walkers, Bellevue Pond with its surrounding seasonal trails, Wright’s Tower overlooking the Boston Basin, Lawrence Woods, drawing nature lovers to its views and vernal pools, Spot Pond, a popular birding site, and over 100 miles of trails. Virginia Wood, the site of a vanished mill village called “Haywardville,” is now a hemlock enclave featuring a self-guided interpretive history trail.

This property is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The nonprofit Friends of the Fells promotes the conservation, preservation, and enjoyment of the Middlesex Fells Reservation.