Meeting Time: 1:00 PM

Max # People: 15

Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money

Difficulty Level: Easy

Our adventure will be to take a 2.2 mile roundtrip hike from our vehicles to explore the Boulder Field and Devil's Den caves. [We recommend wearing swim trunks for this hike.] There is not a 'lunch stop' on the hike so either eat before you leave home or wait until we reach Round Pond.

Once we return from the hike, we'll grab from our vehicles sandals [not flip flops], beach chairs [it's rocky so laying on a towel would not be comfortable], sunscreen, small cooler and carry in your daypack anything else you would typically bring to the beach. It's a short walk to the rock ledges of nearby Round Pond where we will enjoy the rest of the afternoon sunbathing and swimming. This is our favorite 'secret' swimming hole for a hot summer day with no crowds, parking issues, gift shops, noisy arcades, screaming kids,..OK...you get the idea. Round Pond is a small, clean, beautiful, pristine, and quiet mountain pond. The only people we usually see are fishermen or rock climbers...we have seen people swimming off the rock ledges [rare] so hopefully we'll get there first!

The Park is in Southern NH, so it is an easy drive for most Masschusetts residents as well as those of us who live in New Hampshire. Pets are not allowed in the Park, so this is not a dog-friendly hike.

The total elevation gain of the hike is only 400 feet and the only steep section, minor at that, is climbing up to Devil's Den caves. On the hike over, we can view a marsh, see if there are any rock climbers that frequent a 70-foot vertical ledge, and explore the large boulders or glacial erratics. Some are safe to climb without needing any sort of protection!   

Note: We are not meeting at the official park entrance where one has to pay a fee! We are using the back entrance!

The back entrance road to the park heads eastward from NH 107 between Deerfield and Raymond. Approaching from the north, you'll come to a junction of NH 107 and NH 43. Continue south on NH 107 for 4.2 miles. Watch closely for the street sign for Reservation Road [the map indicates Tandy Road it may now be called that]. If you're coming from the south, the street sign is 3.2 miles from the junction of NH 107 and NH 101 Business Loop.

I'm not exactly sure of the distance from this turn to the trailhead but let's say 5 miles. The road changes from asphalt to gravel after 0.9 mile. At the first intersection, bear right [this may be Reservation Road according to the map]. The road continues past an old cemetery on the right. Take the first left fork [called Round Pond Road on the map]. Drive slowly and watch out for rocks and ruts. If you have a truck or sport-utility vehicle, use it to reach the trailhead...you can still get there using a car, but be careful. You'll pass a marsh on your right and road may be partially covered with water if we had any recent heavy rain. At the next road junction, keep left, and you'll start descending. Follow this road to the very end ignoring other cars you may see parked along the way [this is a different trailhead]. We are driving a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser. We do not carry a cell phone so give yourself extra time if you've never been here before. If you are running late, we will not wait longer than 15 minutes for you.