• Erwin S. Wilder Management Area
• Toad Island Road, Taunton, MA
• Trailhead: 41°58’20.45″N, 71° 7’15.60″W
• Last Time Hiked: September 6, 2014
• Approximate distance hiked: 3.1 miles
• Easy.

The Wilder Management Area straddles the Taunton/Norton boundary. The parking lot and the hike itself is entirely in Taunton. The road to access the property is in Norton. I was joined by a friend today for two hikes in the same general area. We started this hike from the parking area passing the gate. We then followed a dirt road easterly into the property. The road passed areas of woods and fields of corn. We then came to another freshly mowed road to the right. We would turn down this road. If you were to follow the road straight it would lead you into fields and quite literally miles of unmarked trails of the Hockomock Swamp (according to a local I spoke to).  After making the turn, we found ourselves passing several fields of tall grass and wildflowers, as well as freshly plowed fields while darting in and out of areas of woods. It is quite obvious that the land is actively being farmed. The road heads in a southerly direction before looping west and then north back towards the parking area. The last stretch runs through a corn field. We heard the calls of several birds here but saw no wildlife. We also came across a group of people using metal detectors.  This area is open to hunting and orange should be worn during hunting season.

Trail map can be found at: Wilder.

Along The Southern Edge Of Wilder