Moonlight Path 0.38 Miles - 10 Minutes

New for 2017. Located right out the door on the south side of the house. Back when we were young, my Dad and brother used to cross-country ski at night through the woods in this area of the property. Under the light of a full moon,  with the leaves off the trees, and the reflection off the freshly fallen snow, the entire forest would become illuminated.

We created a path this year that goes through this area. It meanders through the woods and has a fork at the bottom of the hill, so you can either come out at the lower end of the field, or climb back diagonally to the top of the field. The path is ideal for hiking, jogging, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or even mountain biking. Or better still, simply pour a nice glass of wine and stroll the path in the late afternoon. My GPS iPhone software even said you could burn 115 calories doing so.

A Word Of Caution:

Please use caution on our trails. There are rocks, stumps, roots and a variety of other obstacles.  Also, during the summer months, there are quite a few Mosquitos, Deer Flies, and Ticks in the forest.  The Redway House Provides Bug Spray.  It is in a basket on the kitchen table.

Also, be advised, Black Bears are known to be in the Berkshires. There are over 4000 in Massachusetts. They prefer to stay away from humans, but making a bit of noise while you are in the woods, goes a long way to alert them to your presence so that they can avoid you.

Dorothy's Loop 0.55 Miles -

15 Minutes

New for 2017. Named after our late Grandmother Dorothy Redway.  Located across the street to the right of the garage. This new path takes you to the West side of the property almost to the base of the mountain (Actually it's not a mountain but a big hill, but we call it a mountain). It continues North until it meets Session's Circle.

You can take a left to continue on Session's Circle or a right to head back to the road, and back to the house. If you head back to the house on the road, the entire walk takes about 15 minutes and covers 0.55 miles. It's an easy walk except for a short rocky area where you have to navigate over a few stepping stones in a sometimes wet area. Suitable for hiking.

Deepwood Way 0.55 Miles - 15 Minutes

Hemlock Trail is an old wood road that has become a trail over the years.  We used to use it for cross-country skiing in the Winter.  We did not work on this trail this season, but it is still well-defined. Deepwood Way starts opposite from the Bee Trail and goes into the woods about a quarter of a mile.  It ends near a swamp, and we are trying to figure out a way we could connect it with Moonlight Trail.  

Rumor has it, you can pick up another trail and end up near Chesterwood, but we have not found that trail yet. So you have to turn around and head back to the road.

If you walk north down the road a bit, you will see a path on the left. This was always known as the Bee Trail. It's not because there are bees on it, but years ago, Henry, a French Canadian Lumber Jack who lived next door, cut down an old dead tree in the winter that contained a honey bee nest on that trail. He collected the honeycomb in buckets.  He returned to his house to separate the honey from the cones, and as fate would have it, the bees woke up from Henry's warm woodstove fire. Surprise Henry!

The Bee Trail ended as it turned North, so this year we extended it through the woods to the base of the mountain, and to a bluff where it meets up with another old wood road that leads back to Westdale Road and ends up right at the first corner past the Bee trail.

So, if you start at Dorothy's Loop, take a left at the end of the trail onto Session's Circle you will end up back on the road, where you can walk to the Bee Trail. If you head up that trail and take a left onto Dorothy's Loop, you will end up back at the house and will have walked 1.33 miles taking about 32 minutes.  For your efforts, you have burned about 367 calories

Session's Circle 1.33 Miles - 32 Minutes

Sessions is the middle name of my Grandfather, Father, and Brother, so this trail is dedicated to them. Session's Circle is actually a few trails on the property that we have linked together. They were old logging roads.  The Redway House is actually a Tree Farm and has been for decades.  The trees are not clear-cut but rather selectively cut ensuring that the Redway property will have trees for years to come.

Within our 114 acres of forest, we have quite of few trails that are great for hiking, jogging, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. Some trails are new that were cut in the Spring of 2017. Others have been around for years. We are in the process of creating more trails in the forest for our guests to enjoy, and improving the existing ones.

There is also our little mountain that you can climb as well.  It's not really a mountain because it only has about a 1300 foot vertical drop, but it's pretty steep to climb, and the are no trails leading to the top.