Hiking Weir Hill, North Andover, MA

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”] Location: Weir Hill, North Andover, MA
Date: November 17, 2012
Distance: 1.56 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 315 feet
Our Hiking Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes roundtrip
Trail Blaze: Yellow Circle (Stevens Trail) & Blue Circle (Weir Hill & Johnson Trails)
Difficulty: Easy[/box]

With weather in the high 40’s, and beautiful sunny skies, we couldn’t pass up the chance to hike this morning! Our friend Nan, and her oldest daughter, Eva, joined us for a jaunt up Weir Hill in North Andover.

As usual, we started out from the parking lot and headed up the Stevens Trail. We find that if we get the big climb done at the beginning of the hike, Addie’s legs hold out for the rest of the trek. It was a quick walk up to the scenic vista, though we did make several stops to pet dogs. Addison is slightly obsessed with dogs, and every time we see one, she insists on petting it. (After a bit of practice, she now asks permission before running up to someone’s dog, hand outstretched and ready to pet.)

When we reached the top, the girls squeezed onto one of the stone benches and dug into their snacks. After chowing down some clementines, kiefer, nori, and strawberries, they were ready to tackle the rest of the hike!

After some deliberation, we decided to take a short trail that left from behind the benches at the scenic vista, and headed downhill. We crossed a small bridge, then followed the trail until it merged with the Weir Hill Trail. We pointed out the new trail markers to the girls, and they happily started searching for blue circles, though it wasn’t long before they became preoccupied with collecting pine cones.

Eventually the trail led us to the Johnson Trail, and back to the parking lot. It was the first time we’d done this particular combination of trails, and it turned out to be a perfect length for both girls to complete on their own!

Directions to the trailhead:

From I-93: Exit 41, take Rt. 125 North 7.3 mi. Merge left onto Rt. 114 West and then right back onto Rt. 125. Follow for 0.2 mi. and turn right onto Andover St. Continue for 0.6 mi., bear right at fork, and continue 0.2 mi. to intersection. Proceed straight for 0.1 mi., turn left onto Stevens St., and continue for 0.8 mi. to entrance and roadside parking on right.

From I-495: Exit 42, take Rt. 114 East 1 mi. Turn left onto Rt. 133 East and follow for 0.2 mi. to traffic light. Proceed straight onto Andover St. Continue as above.