Hayfields/McDonald Farm Ramble
Wilbraham, Ma
(Information Compiled by the Wilbraham Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee)

 
Vistas along the Hayfields Walk (Waypoints 6 and 13)
 

Trailhead Location: South End - Wilbraham Middle School, Stony Hill Road, Wilbraham, MA / North End - McDonald Farm, Washington Rd., Wilbraham, MA
Directions to Trailhead: To South End - From Crane Park on Main Street in Wilbraham, take Springfield St. to Stony Hill Road. Take a right on Stony Hill Road and proceed one mile to Wilbraham Middle School on the right. Park in the soccer fields parking lot on the right side of the middle school. To the North End - From Crane Park on Main Street in Wilbraham, head up Main Street to Boston Road. Take a left on Boston Road and head to the Post Office area. On the left is Forest Street. Take Forest Street to Manchonis Road. Take a left there and your first right onto McDonald Way. After a ride down the short dirt road, take a left onto Washington Street and drive to the end. The McDonald Farm is on the right. There is a sign and small parking area in front.
Length of Trail: approximately 2.54 miles from the Wilbraham Middle School to the McDonald Farm
Background: One of the nice aspects of the trail is that it is a living lesson in ecological succession. Its pond is changing to bog on its edges. Its fields are showing a change
  from pine to hardwood (aspen, birch, cherry and a lot of alder because the area is wet). The trail really is a "lesson" trail. It displays the process of succession very nicely.
Types of Surfaces:
Starting from Wilbraham Middle School:
- the first half mile is matted grass (prepare for possible ticks)
- the next mile and a half is a well worn trail which meanders through hayfields and crosses under the Western Mass Electric Company powerlines. It then skirts the woodline of the
  Cedar Swamp and heads through the rear of the Cedar Ridge Housing Development
- the trail then turns north around the right side of a stand of pines; the woodline is still on the right of the trail. Note the stand of hardwood trees in this area.
- after rounding the pines, the trail turns into the woods for the last half mile. This final half mile has many path offshoots; keep a lookout for the barn off to your left and follow the trail as it winds in that direction. If your trail does not lead to a field with a barn, backtrack and take another trail until you're on the right one. At this point, the trails are short anyway, but a GPS would be helpful.
- eventually, you will see the barn pictured below and will have reached the end of the trail.
- overall, most of the footing is easy to traverse, but there is a small stream to cross and some matted grass areas
- the elevation is mostly flat with a few, small, rolling hills
- as there are many trails along the way that meander off to the right into the Cedar Swamp area, it is important to follow the directions below as closely as possible.
- use of a GPS to track the waypoints below is advisable.
Elevation Factors: The trek starts at the 300 foot level and is mostly downhill with slight rises and declines until it bottoms out at 270 feet in the Powerline area. It then begins rising back up to 310 feet with a dip down to 290 feet and then the biggest rise up to 315 feet. From the two mile point to the end, the trail stays around 290 feet.
Interesting Features:
- wide open vistas of hayfields
- impressive stand of pine trees
- a short woodland walk
- the McDonald barn
Facilities: South End: parking on right side of middle school, no toilet facilities/ North End: parking at entrance to McDonald property, no toilet facilities
Activities Permitted: All passive recreational activities including hiking, cross-country skiing snowshoeing, educational studies, and nature observation are permitted. Please be careful not to leave litter and not to deface the property. Please park in designated areas and be respectful of neighborhoods in the area.