QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: NA
- Trail Mileage: .7 miles to summit
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: moderate
- Sights: views from open ledge, summit is 1,061 ft.
This hike is a two-for-one deal: It is really quick and fairly easy (if you like that kind of thing! I do!) and has a jaw droppingly beautiful view at the top. Make sure you don’t miss the view, though! After a .5-mile climb up a rough road, the trail will split. Go right, and in .2 miles, you will reach an open clearing with a fire pit (and sometimes broken glass, be careful). A side trail continues to your right. Carry on just a little ways to the open ledge.
To make a loop here, return the way you came, but head right where the track splits. It’ll take you down to the dirt Hawk Mountain Road. Take a left and you’ll rejoin your car.
Update: It looks like more trails are in the works here. When I visited in March, 2019, however, they were not yet blazed. Check out the Western Foothills Land Trust’s page.
Directions: From Route 35/37 (also, Waterford Road), take Mill Hill Road to your right. Hawk Mountain Road will be to your right. Just a ways after the road turns into dirt, you’ll see a big sign for Hawk Mountain and a parking area. The trail is unmarked, but very obvious.