Creek Farm/Little Harbor Loop

It was 90's inland.  Definitely a good day for hiking by ocean!  What ever happened to spring??

Heading home from Salem, MA after shaking our jingly butts at ShimmyMob, Hummingbird and I scoped out options for a quick hike.  Considering our route, I suggested an official Seacoast Hike, because why not knock something off a list if we're going to be in that area? 

We settled on Little Harbor Loop Trail, part of the Forest Society's Creek Farm Reservation.  Cool, this actually hits two lists for us!  The 10 Seacoast Hikes and the Forest Reservation Challenge (along with our ongoing 52 Hike Explorer Challenge & 75 mile Spring Fling Trail Challenge). Neither of these "new" lists are something we are actively pursuing, but I'm definitely keeping track when we have the opportunity to hike one of their required trails/properties, or if we're just coincidentally there.  Honestly, I didn't actually realize this trail was also Creek Farm until we got there, so it was a nice bonus.  Now if only we'd taken the required selfie!

On the plus side, it was quite a nice trail that I'd happily repeat if in the area again.  It's worth noting that hitting low tide is probably the best time, as I'm pretty sure my parents hiked here once and found a portion of it flooded.  Guess it goes with the territory of coastal trails.  Conditions were pretty close to perfect when we got there yesterday though; tide halfway out, and we haven't had rain for a few days, so the trail was nice and dry overall.  We did encounter a record number of snakes, which Hummingbird was not happy about, but otherwise it was a very pleasant hike, and we were thankful for every viewpoint where the ocean breeze hit us.

GPS for Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion Historic Site took us right to the trailhead.  Little Harbor Loop Trail can be found on AllTrails, and is well blazed.  There are several cross trails as well, possibly for bikes, and a few spurs, but we mostly stuck to the loop, between being on a schedule and it just being so damn hot.  A long shower back home never felt so good.

Hike 24. 5/14 Little Harbor Loop/Creek Farm Reservation, 1.9 mi, 50 min, 118 ft.