Guided hikes
The stories behind the trails
Themed interpretive routes that connect landscape, history, and the places you walk through — read before you go or carry along on the trail.
Settlement routes
3 stops · 40 min walk
Cormier Settlement Story
A short sequence through Cormier Woods that ties early homestead remains, enduring stonework, and woodland retreat history into one walk.Era: Colonial
- 1Jonathan White Homestead Ruins — Fieldstone foundations mark one of Cormier Woods' earliest farmstead footprints.
- 2Cormier Rock Ledges — Exposed ledges place the settlement story in a much older glacial landscape.
- 3Historic Cabin — The cabin reflects the modern chapter of recreation and stewardship in these woods.
Industrial routes
4 stops · 45 min walk
Taft Mill and Industrial Mendon
Follow Town Forest landmarks that connect Taft family homestead life, local milling, and Mendon's industrial-era landscape.Era: Industrial
- 1Taft Main House — Begin where the Taft family homestead anchored this section of Mendon.
- 2Taft Mill — Water-powered milling illustrates how work and landscape were tied together here.
- 3Dance Hall / Grist Mill — This site ties community life to the same rural industry that shaped the trails.
- 4Regional Mill Context — Close by connecting the Town Forest mills to Mendon's broader early milling history.
Indigenous landscape routes
3 stops · 35 min walk
Wigwam Heritage Route
A short historical sequence that links Indigenous landscape context, Taft-era settlement traces, and the CCC fire-tower era on Wigwam Hill.Era: Pre-colonial
- 1Nipmuc Landscape Context — Begin with the older travel landscape that gave Wigwam Hill its name.
- 2Taft Homestead Foundation — Cellar-hole traces and fieldstone walls mark the 1800s homestead period.
- 3Wigwam Fire Tower Site — End at the summit footprint of Mendon's CCC-era fire lookout.