East West Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · Spring · Waterfall · Wildflowers

Parking is available in several places along the way to break this up differently. The Section 4 noted above is very short but also possible to make into more with intersecting trails.

This trail is designed and maintained by the Greater Worcester Land Trust and Park Spirit of Worcester. There are very pleasant sections of this trail and some that you just have to get through. This is an inner city hike, connecting various parks and natural areas with some city street hiking required but much of it is on dirt paths and in the woods. The trail is poorly marked in areas so be sure you have the map and a GPS or you'll get turned around. Trail is marked with, intermittently and somewhat unreliably, with blue diamond markers and sometimes with blue blazes. There are sections that are newly marked (2019) and some that have not seen maintenance in a long while. The "official map" does not follow the blazes in areas.

Section 1 of 4
Park a car on Grove St. at Oak Barrel Tavern, but in the back of their lot, and drive back to the start. Parking is on the roadside next to Quinsigamond Lake. The start is a little rough (trashy) but it is mostly well marked with a few places that are confusing.

Section 2 of 4
There is a parking lot at Coe's Pond, drop a car there and go to Grove St. to do this section. On this part, there are intersecting trails with confusingly similar markings particularly on Newton Hill where all six paths seem to have a diamond marker with different colors that are very faded and through Hadwen Arboretum Trail where the trees seem to be marked with blue blazes that have nothing to do with the East West Trail. There must be some reason for this but the markers have either been prohibited or mostly removed from some sections that are along roadways. Coe's Pond is particularly pretty and if you haven't been to the impressive Bancroft Tower, it's right along the trail.

Section 3 of 4
Park a car at Boynton Park and go back to Coe's Pond. You'll hike through several remarkable parks but the start of the hike is right down Mill St which is very sad since there appear to be better options (God's Acre). You do go through a corner of Tetasset which is lovely and hilly. Once you're on the path that is near the airport, you have to pay extremely close attention (use GPS) as the markers are rare and there appear to be and old and new version of this path here, it is also possible that someone removed some of the markers.

Section 4 of 4
Cascades Parking on Olean St. to Boynton Park (the unofficial leash free dog park of the city). Leash free dogs are not technically legal here (signs posted and fees are noted) but most everyone ignores them. As a former dog owner, I get the appeal of this but if you're not a dog person you should be warned. Almost every dog I encountered was friendly and well behaved and most of the owners were responsible and picked up after them. Possible to tie together with #3, as this is short.