Video: Walking the trails at Noanet Woodlands in Dover & meeting Cali

Walking the trails at Noanet Woodlands in Dover brings a refreshing encounter with a friendly Appaloosa named Cali, age 25, from Square Halt Farm.

Sometimes you're taking a walk and everything is just right -- you're relaxed, getting good exercise and fresh air, the landscape is scenic, songbirds greet you, you feel transported away from your everyday world.

Life is good. The walk is doing just what you want it to do. Then you round a bend, or climb a hill, and you're suddenly in an even better place with an added reward. A stunning view. A bubbling stream. The perspective of an open meadow or colors in a cranberry bog with songbirds or a great blue heron.

Those are the kinds of surprises that elevate a good walk into something more.

Here are five of the best places on and around the South Shore that walkers and hikers find rewarding:

129 acres with trails and a half-mile of river frontage passing a former mill pond, a wetlands boardwalk and a boathouse on the tidal North River. Popular with families. Trustees of Reservations. 18 Dover St., Norwell. 781-740-7233.

An 80-acre land preserve along Kingston Bay. 100 Park St., Duxbury. A walk across a large meadow with birds and butterflies takes you to the bay.

Nearly 600 acres of trails across woodlands and ponds, a former mill site and Noanet Peak with views of the Boston skyline. An old mill site with a dam, more intimate walks beside a stream, Powisset Farm across the street. Trustees of Reservations. Powisset Street. 508-785-0339.

3,526 acres of forest, streams, ponds. Mount Blue Spring. A campground with 250 sites,12 miles of paved bike paths and 40 miles of forest trails. Mostly in Hingham, portions in Cohasset, Norwell and Scituate. Several entrances. Off-road trails for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and cross-country skiing. 204 Union St. 617-895-8245.

This historical park has a mansion open for seasonal tours and more than 20 miles of trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding. Fishing and boating. Facilities for tennis and disc golf. 259 Massapoag Ave., North Easton.

News Source : https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2024/04/19/best-walking-hiking-south-shore-ma/73055504007/