Community Corner
Hidden Gem: Horn Pond's Secret View
Discover a Hidden Gem in Woburn that you may have driven by and never known it existed. Or maybe you have not visited this interesting spot in years. So take a little trip with Patch...we'll show you the way.
Two paths diverge in woods near a well-known body of water in the city, and from the top of a winding, steep trail you can see the skyline of Boston.
Although the body of water——is hardly hidden, the view of Boston is one of the city’s hidden gems.
Cliff Groat uses the Nolan Trail on Horn Pond Mountain to train. Groat takes the trail six times, up and down, each training session. It takes him an hour and a half, the Woburnite said. When he was a kid, Groat said he used to fish in Horn Pond. He forgot, he said on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon, about the trail until someone recommended that he take the path with the view at the top. In the winter, he makes the first footprints, he said, when it snows.
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Jonathan Dube of Burlington took the trail the same Sunday to show his friend, Nick Salvucci, also of Burlington, the view of Boston. The view of the city lights at night is “amazing,” Dube said.
The trail is named in memory of Nolan Webster, according to a bench at the top, facing one of the views of Boston. Born in 1984, Nolan died in 2007, according to the lettering on the bench. “You will stay in our hearts forever. Love, Your family and friends.” Nolan died, according to several websites, on Jan. 7, 2007, at age 22, in Cancun, Mexico, at a hotel pool.
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To reach the trail, follow the path next to the Gold Star plaque from the parking lot, through the grove of trees, between the two fenced-off areas. At the first Y, take a left. The path begins to head away from the pond and rise. The path there is sunny. At the next Y, just after the path turns shady, take a right and look for the “Nolan Trail” sign. Take that path. It starts to climb right away.
Birds chirped and small animals skittered through the leaves alongside the trail. Clumps of wildflowers bloomed, in yellow, pink and white.
The path is rutted asphalt. Keep climbing. Head around a sharp corner. The top is close; so is the view of Boston.
The entire Patch Passport to Woburn can be found here. Enjoy being a tourist in your own city!
