The Midstate Trail came into being sometime around the late 70’s according to the trail’s official website.
When I’d reached the end of Rhode Island’s North/South trail, I decided it would be nice to continue out of the state of Rhode Island on foot, making my way north.
The trail travels through Worcester county, and is a joy to hike. It is well blazed and maintained, and the scenery is wonderful.
Accompanied by a group of fellow hikers, I section hiked the 92 mile trail over the course of a 6 months, beginning in spring and reaching it’s end at New Hampshire’s Wapack trail in the fall.
There are some lean-to shelters along the Midstate. It can be done as a backpacking trip, but being so close to home we chose to sleep in our own beds.
On select weekend days, we crossed farms, public and private lands that have allowed hikers access to the trail.
In the fall, the leaves began to turn, and were able to watch the summer slip away as we hiked to the trails terminus. There is some road walking required, and locating parking can be a chore if you have a large group. Our hikes were usually 10-12 miles. We started early and finished by lunch so we’d be home in the afternoon.
Perhaps my favorite memory of the Midstate was hiking though an orchard in late fall. There were a mix of apple and pear trees. The trees were mostly bare, but we managed to pick a few pears off the trees as we hiked through. They would not have sold well at the market, but these late bloomers were a surprising and welcome treat.
It was interesting to imagine these farms, many passed down for generations, and the land itself unchanged since before we were born.
I must commend the trail maintainers from the Worcester chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club for it’s excellent work in keeping this trail so well tended. I highly recommend hiking this signature Massachusetts trail. If you choose to hike the Midstate, please support the Worcester AMC and Midstate Trail folks through map or patch purchases the like.
An Unmapped Route: A Hiker's Blog 