Barclay Ponds, Chatham Ma.

Barclay Pond Trails, The Triangle & No Name - Chatham MA.

     I hadn’t tried any Chatham trails, so I figured a busy summer weekend would be the perfect time to go. I noticed in my research that Barclay Ponds Trail was off of Queen Anne Road. I could go back roads all the way there so I wouldn’t have to deal with the heavy tourist traffic. I noticed a sign that read - Cooperative Conservation Project by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Town of Chatham. I decided to check it out and drove down the dirt road to a small parking area with another sign - Chatham Conservation Area at a trail head. I started up the dirt trail into the woods, that was wide enough for two people. I passed a trail on my right and kept going straight until I had to go left or right. Going left brings you out to some houses and a wider dirt road. Going right brings you up and down hills to the street and back up to the trail I had first passed. The trail was about 3.5 miles long.

     
         I decided to see if I could find the trail I came to hike so I kept going straight on Queen Anne. I didn’t realize Queen Anne went right. The road I stayed straight on became Comers Rd. In between Comers and the next intersection, Training Field Rd, I saw another trail with parking for a few cars along the road. Again no name - just a sign - Chatham Conservation Area. I walked into the woods and saw that there was a choice of going left or right. I went left on the narrow trail that brought me out at one turn to the intersection where there was parking alongside the road for a couple more cars. I went back into the woods and ended up following the trail around “The Golden Triangle” . That’s what the area in between the roads that connect to each other Queen Anne, Old Comers and Training Field. The trail was narrow and easy and took about 20 minutes.
     When I got back in my car I took a right on Training Field. It brought me to Old Queen Anne where I took a right to go home when I noticed a small parking lot  that was surrounded by bushes with what looked like a hole in the middle. The hole was the beginning of Barclay Ponds Trail. I know this because when I got home I looked it up. I did this because again there was no sign. What is it with Chatham ? I always thought it was a money town. Come on put up a Sign - Will Ya.
    I went back a few days later to hike Barclay Ponds. Of course there was no map either. I went between the bushes on a narrow trail. Not far in there was a path on the right but I ignored it and stayed on the trail that headed off towards the left. A little further down the trail was another choice, but this time There were signs on a tree. One read Barclays Pond Loop and pointed to the left trail. The other read Mary’s Pond and pointed to a trail that went right. I took the Barclay and followed the narrow trail through the woods that at times came close to the street and others close to the pond. The trail went about ¾ of the way around the pond where it ended and I headed back. I found another parking area on the way back and still don’t know which road it is on. I got back to the trail I was walking and saw that instead of going all the way back to the trees where the signs were, I could take another trail that ended up bringing me to Mary’s Pond which had a few houses on the opposite side. The trail kept going in the woods up and down hills to another pond. This one much bigger with a sign on a tree that read Schoolhouse Pond. This pond seemed to have a beach on the opposite side. I took the wrong trail back and ended up going in circles for a half hour on different paths that went between Schoolhouse Pond and a water shed. Finally I realized all I had to do was face the pond and go right. I retraced my steps and luckily saw the sign on the tree and I was headed back. By Mary’s Pond I saw a trail that went up a steep hill and towards where I figured My car was parked. I was hoping this was the trail that would lead me to the tree that had the pond signs on it. If it was I could take a left to lead be back to the parking area. It turned out it was the first path I saw that was on the right when I first started the hike. Whew !!! I was happy to see m car. Work was tough that night so I told everyone - I got lost in the woods today, the worst part is - I found my way out. lol

Ratings 1- the cellar  2- shoddy  3- tolerable  4- worthy  5- wicked good

Accessibility - 3 - No signs so a bit hard to find
Parking -  3 - About 8 at Barclay 3 at Triangle and 4 at No-name
Length-  4 - Barclay and no name are decent and triangle short
Degree of Difficulty- 4 - Barclay has some steep hills - No name some hills and Triangle is easy
Extras-  1 - None
Trail Markings- 1 - None
Trail Maintenance-   4 - could use a little work
Variation - 4- Barclay, plenty - No Name, some - Triangle, none
Scenic  - 2 - Only Barclay with 3 different lakes
Worth Returning - 1- Not likely- glad I did them but no reason to go back
Surface - Pine needles, sand
Map - No
Beach -   No
Facilities - No
What I liked - Good thing they had pond signs on trees
What I didn’t - No Map or Markers

Rating 27 out of 50