Green Friday Hike: Snowshoeing on Weir Hill

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Location: Weir Hill, North Andover, MA
Date: November 28, 2014
Distance: 1.04 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 229 feet
Our Hiking Time: 1 hour, 4 minutes roundtrip
Trail Blaze: Yellow Circle (Stevens Trail) & Blue Circle (Weir Hill & Johnson Trails)
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Map[/box]

While the masses were hitting retail stores for Black Friday shopping, Kendra and I took the kids snowshoeing! Our friend Jenn and her daughter Abby joined us for our post-Thanksgiving Green Friday hike up Weir Hill in North Andover, MA. It’s hard to believe the day before Thanksgiving it was almost 65 degrees out, and a day after, we were stomping through almost five inches of snow. Gotta love New England weather!

This was a particularly exciting hike for us because we got to try out our new Tubbs Snowshoes! We were recently selected to be family ambassadors for Tubbs, and one of the perks is getting to test out some of their amazing gear. Kendra and I both wore the women’s Flex Ridge snowshoe which features the CustomWrap™ binding with the Boa® Closure System, while Addie tried out her new SnowGlow snowshoes. A full review is forthcoming, but in a nutshell, the new CustomWrap™ binding with the Boa® Closure System is amazing – I have never gotten in and out of snowshoes so quickly! And Addie loves her Snow Glows – easy to walk in and they glow!

Even more exciting was finally getting Kendra out snowshoeing! Addie and I have snowshoed together since she was two, but convincing Kendra, a South Carolina native, to brave the cold, was not easy. Though she was hesitant at first, she was a natural!

We parked along the road and after loading the three toddlers into their carriers, strapping on snowshoes, and crunching our way to the trailhead, we headed up the Stevens Trail to the scenic vista. The morning snow had just finished falling, and the light was gorgeous as the sun peeked from behind the clouds. We had a clear view all the way to Mt. Wachusett almost 90 miles southwest.

After a short break for M&Ms and water, and to pet the adorable dog of a fellow hiker, we took the short trail on the left just after the benches atop the hill. We followed the trail downhill (stopping to look at “fairy houses” on the way), crossed a small bridge, then followed the trail until it merged with the Weir Hill Trail.

Addie was having a delightful time checking out every nook, cranny, rock, trail marker, and plant as we hiked, so eventually Jenn, Abby, Kendra and Evan wandered ahead of me, Addison and Kate. The three of us continued at Addie’s pace, and stopped to explore everything that caught her eye.

As we rounded onto the Johnson Trail for the last leg of our hike, Addie and I entertained each other by singing “Let It Go.” Because snow, and fairies, and princesses.

Snowshoeing together was an awesome way to spend the day after Thanksgiving with our family. Instead of fighting our way through the crowds at the mall, we enjoyed the quiet of nature. I’ll take Green Friday over Black Friday any day!

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.