A walk on the wild side: Waltham’s top nature areas to explore

Hiking trails and nature paths wind all through Waltham, giving residents easy and quick access to many miles-long treks through woodlands, fields and waterside landscapes. Each area has its own unique landscape and history, making them great escapes from Waltham’s busy residential neighborhoods. Here are the must-know nature areas in Waltham:

1. Prospect Hill Park. This city-owned gem comprises 275 acres of wooded hiking trails, scenic vistas and picnic areas. Trails of varying difficulty wind around the parcel and up to the hilltop – the highest point in Waltham – where visitors can see the Boston skyline. Although trails are accessible from multiple points, the main entrance at 314 Totten Pond Road has parking.

2. The Robert Treat Paine Estate/Stonehurst, the Storer Conservation Land and Chesterbrook Woods. These three contiguous parcels offer meandering trails through woodlands and spaces designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Parking and trailhead access is available at Stonehurst, 330 Beaver St., as well as at the former Waltham High School located along Jack’s Way off 617 Lexington St. 

3. Beaver Brook Reservation: The 59-acre Beaver Brook Reservation includes open fields, woodlands, ponds and a waterfall. The park is located at the intersection of Waverley Oaks Road, Mill Street and Trapelo Road, with portions in both Waltham and neighboring Belmont. Parking is located off Waverly Oaks Road.

4. Beaver Brook North Reservation: The state-owned 254-acre reservation falls in Waltham, Belmont and Lexington. It includes a 300-foot glacial drumlin known as Mackerel Hill, woodlands, meadows and wetlands. It has groomed trails, cinder paths and dirt roads. Parking is available in Waltham at Elsie Turner Field, 421 Trapelo Road, and on Metropolitan Parkway, and in Belmont at Rock Meadow on Mill Street.

5. Shady Pond Conservation Area: This city-owned 34-acre property features meandering trails – including a portion of the Western Greenway – over easy terrain among woods, a pond and stream. Although there are no parking lots for this area, trails can be accessed from Trapelo Road near Gilman Road and at the end of Abbott Road.

6. The Western Greenway: This is an interconnected trail system running through Waltham, Lexington and Belmont. It features a 12-mile loop as well as the Seven Mile Trail. Its Waltham portion traverses trails in Stonehurst, Chesterbrook Woods, the Shady Pond Conservation Area and Beaver Brook North Reservation. It was founded with the help of the Waltham Land Trust.