Hidden Scenic Drives in New England

Exploring hidden scenic drives in October.

I’ve said this hundreds of times but looking for popular scenic drives is not always your best bet. Sometimes just being out on the back roads can be just as beautiful as an official scenic byway.

Today you can explore with me and Lisa, a scenic road that is on all the maps yet it’s not anything special, or is it? I Will be covering the Pepperell Covered Bridge, Trap Falls, and Damon Pond. Here is a link to routes 113 and 119. And I’ve embedded a Google map at the bottom.

Just off of I-95 near Peabody Massachusetts, you can find this very short Scenic Byway. It actually splits the Salem Country Club and you have the golf course on both sides of the road. it’s only a mile or so long before you come out at Route 1. But between 10 to 20 October you can find some beautiful fall colors.

We got back on I-95 to Route 3 by the mall… Does this sound scenic yet? 🙂 Read on below and you can see it does improve as you head west. We wanted to stay OFF the usual routes like Route 2 (The Mohawk Trail) and we meandered towards central MA. (check the map below).

Pepperell Covered Bridge

It was a warm Sunday afternoon on 16 October 2010, when Lisa and I decided to take a day trip. We thought we were on our way to southern New Hampshire to make a loop back through the Merrimack Valley and home. Well, those were our intentions but as per the plans of mice and men, we found our way to Route 113 off of Route 3 in Massachusetts and then over to Route 119 through Townsend and Ashby.

We arrived in Pepperell and Lisa noted that the Massachusetts DeLorme Gazetteer had a covered bridge here. So we took a quick turn off of the main Street onto Groton Street. It’s just a short drive until you run into the Pepperell Covered Bridge which crosses the Nashua River.

This version of the Pepperell Covered Bridge was completed and dedicated in September of 2010. Amazingly enough Lisa and I found it in October of 2010, looking brand spanking new. Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll get back there this fall and photograph it again but this time looking a little more aged.

The Pepperell Covered Bridge is only one of three covered bridges in Massachusetts still open to vehicles and it is also co-located with the Prudence Wright Overlook. For those planning an excursion through the fall colors in October, you can add in some revolutionary history by learning about the women of the revolution and Prudence Wright.

We continued up Route 119 and arrived in Townsend Massachusetts. If you’re hungry at this point there is a really nice pizza joint (Sophia’s Pizzeria) on the south side of 119 and across from it you’ll find the Townsend town common.

As you leave Townsend West on 119 you’ll travel about a mile or two and you’ll see Wheeler Road on your right. This is the last road before you get to your parking lot for trap falls on the North side of 119. If you hit Bernhardt road you’ve gone too far.

Trap Falls in Ashby MA

Trap falls in the right season can provide a very impressive flow of water as it has three plunges lined up side-by-side.

When we found the falls the flow was decent but not exceptional but we had very nice yellow fall foliage over the three plunges. I just had someone from Fitchburg purchase one of my images of trap falls which you can see here, click here for more information on my trap falls images.

Damon Pond and Willard Brooke State Park

Once you have explored and/or relaxed at the picnic tables at Trap Falls you can continue West on Route 119 until you get to Hosmer Road. Here you’ll make a left at the “T” intersection and drive down to the parking lot.

There is a lot to explore here and during the warmer months, swimming and other activities along with trails would make for a great afternoon.

There is a stone bridge that hose murder road drives over and the pond flows beneath it. This stream leads you down to a walking bridge in the middle of October and has lots of fall colors around it. There are grills next to picnic tables so making an outing here in the park is very worthwhile.