• F. Gilbert Hills West – F. Gilbert Hills State Forest
• Thurston Street, Wrentham, MA
• Trailhead: 42° 2’52.65″N, 71°17’29.16″W
• Last Time Hiked: August 1, 2014
• Approximate distance hiked: 4.3 miles
• Fairly easy with some elevation and rocky footing in areas.

F. Gilbert Hills State Forest straddles the Wrentham/Foxboro line and has miles and miles of trails. Today I was joined by a fellow hiker and we explored the west side of the property. We started from a parking area on Thurston Street in Wrentham just west of the town line. We passed the gate and started heading up the Megley Trail which is a stone covered access road that slowly winds uphill. We came across a few watering holes. Most were dry due to the lack of rain this year. One, however, still had quite a bit of water in it and several lily pads. We also came across some very large rock outcrops along the way. At the end of the Megley Trail we turned left onto High Rock Road for a bit then turned right onto Messenger Road. We soon could see a shelter in the woods. We turned onto a narrow trail that led to the shelter. At the shelter we turned left onto the white dot blazed Warner Trail. The Warner Trail is a 33 mile trail that runs from Diamond Hill in Cumberland to Canton. We then followed the Warner Trail to High Rock. At the top of High Rock there is the remains of a survey disk. From High Rock we made our way down some stairs to the road. There is a a very tall radio tower here. We turned left onto the road toward the gate. Just to the right of the gate the white dot blazed Warner Trail continues. This section of the hike meanders through areas of rather impressive ledges. We continued following the Warner Trail until we reached the blue blazed Acorn Trail. Here we turned left following the trail that is mostly downhill and rather rocky. At the end of the Acorn Trail we turned right back onto the Megley Trail and retraced our steps back to the parking area. We came across a chipmunk and some dragonflies on this hike.

Trail Map can be found at: F. Gilbert Hills West.

Stairs Along The Warner Trail