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Hike of Hodges Village Dam

Oxford, MA

October 19th, 2008

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Midstate Trail
Guided by trial and error and a confusing trail map, our hike along the French River above Hodges Village Dam took many twists and turns as we meandered through woodland, meadows, marshes, and swamps. Our route included a short stretch of the Massachusetts Midstate Trail (left), which extends from Rhode Island to New Hampshire.
Meadow
Marsh Hodges Village Dam is an Army Corps of Engineers flood control project which buffers downstream flooding by retaining water in the low-laying marshes along the river's banks before gradually releasing it.
boardwalk crossing We began our hike at the dam and followed a series of trails upstream. Here we carefully cross a collapsed boardwalk spanning a wet section of trail.
Hiking back along trail This is called doing an about-face! Soon after crossing the boardwalk our trail became submerged in a swamp. For some reason the concept of getting wet didn't seem quite as alluring as it had been a few weeks earlier when the temperature was 25 degrees warmer, so we retraced our steps and chose another route.

After hiking along the riverbank for a distance, we crossed over the river on this bridge.

Group on bridge Group on bridge
French River A nice reflection - our view of the river from the bridge.
Jenny, Dylan and Michelle Jenny, Dylan and Michelle
Sophie Sophie and friends
Jason Jason and his red arrow

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