Wachusett Summit Loop is a 4.9 mile lightly trafficked loop trail located near Princeton, Massachusetts that features a lake and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
birding
hiking
nature trips
walking
forest
lake
views
wild flowers
wildlife
Excellent hike a bit strenuous the very first mile the trail is very well groomed but very steep! We (20s, 30s AMC Boston group) left at 10:00 am and were surprised to already reach the top of Wachusett at 10:40 however a lot more of the hike to go! Very good view from the top - rest of hike was easier but still a work out.
I'm glad we paid attention to alltrails map and to the over 10 different trail junctions! Everything was still fairly easy to follow - but be careful from Hardington to Windmills we kept going on Harrington and had to cycle back.
List of trails covered:
Bicentennial Trail
pine Hill Trail
Old Indian Trail
West Side Trail
Semuhenna Trail
Windmill Trail
Stage Coach Trail
Echo Lake Trail
Echo Lake Road
High Meadow
back to Bicentennial Trail
Very nice family hike! We especially enjoyed the Pine Forrest part. It took us 3 hours to do the loop including some time on the summit. The view from the top is great, definitely go! It is not hard, I would definitely rate it moderate. Much easier comparing to Monadnock summit, for example. Good luck!
Great trail. Completed 7/14/2018. Took Bicentennial to High Meadow Trail, cut across on Lower Link and up Harrington. Back down Mountain House and Bicentennial. Hardly anyone on the trail but quite a few people at the top. Not too challenging but just a couple of climbing parts to make it fun!
Great hike !!!!!!
we really enjoyed this hike. we got a little lost and ended up doing 7 miles. this hike offers a wide variety of settings - the summit trail, locks of rocks on the return trip, a beautiful meadow, and a pine forest. would recommend. it isn't easy, but its doable.
Solid hike with decent pitch, but would not consider it to be “hard.” Took two of us and two pups just under 2 hours
This is a nice little hike but rating it as "hard" is downright silly. A good rule of thumb is that any hike less than 2,000 feet vertical elevation should be rated moderate as a maximum.
This trail was a lot of fun. The trail is very well marked but a bit confusing since there’s so many trail intersections so you’ll definitely need to use a map. It’s very rocky throughout most of the trail so sturdy shoes are a must. Bugs weren’t too bad which was nice.
Awesome property. Just do it!
Completed this trail on Friday 5/11/18. Beautiful day and great hike. Definitely not a hard hike though. I would call it a moderate or even a moderate on the easier side. Took me about 2 hours without rest time to complete though I accidentally cut out Old Indian Trail and did Harrington Trail on the way down instead which cut out about 0.6 miles. I would estimate around 2.5-3 hours + rest time for the full loop.
excellent hike for adults and older kids
Beautiful day with 70 degrees at end of October. Who'd have thought. Parked at visitor's center, took Bicentennial to High Meadow Trl to Jack Frost then Mountain House Trl to summit. Pretty crowded at summit with clear views to Mt Monadnock, Mt Greylock and several other mountains and Boston in distance. On way down, we took Harrington Trl to Link Trl then to Loop Trl and finally Bicentennial which led us back to our car. Steep in a few spots, but not too difficult. I concur with the rating of moderate.
took bicentennial to high meadow to jack frost then Harrington up to summit. took pine trail down. pretty at the top but didn't like that the summit is accessible by car, kinda ruins it to get to the top and see a bunch of people and cars.
Lots of variety. Occasional steep inclines but overall a beautiful walk!
The parking lot was full and the summit was packed. The view from the summit was just ok, BUT the hike to get there was beautiful. We took the long scenic route which had many wooded areas to stop and explore, and we found salamanders and birds to watch. We just didn't enjoy having to cross roads during the hike. There were a few parts I would call moderate but it was mostly an easy, fun hike.
Great sights with views of Boston, lakes, windmills and more.
Fun hike with lots of different choices of trails ..
nice hike. Very buggy - bring/wear bug spray. Started early, so there were few hikers. Most difficult part of the trail is the last bit on bicentennial - lots of rocks. Otherwise a relatively easy trail - not sure why this is rated hard. It does climb steadily in some areas, but never more than 600 feet, and that is at the very beginning.
Summit had nice views. Summited twice because we were well rested after the long flat loop. Windmills were cool but required some bushwhacking.
Great loop!! Pine trail to start the hike is a heart kick starter, definitely not for everyone. There are other paths you can take to summit and then take the loop around, but still awesome.
Nice little hike close to Boston.
Great hike! Definitely has some steep sections if you chose to go to the summit, but good mixture of terrain. No flies. Would not call this lightly trafficked if you go on a weekend though. To avoid the crowds, best to get there super early in the morning.
Great hike but trails aren't nicely marked
Perfect challenging hike...great combination of trails that I wasn't aware of.
Been coming here since I was just a wee baby, being carried up by my Dad.