Moose Hill Audubon Sanctuary
Where: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary (Sharon MA)
When: September 8, 2026
With: Solo
When I was commuting to work in Canton, driving north on Route 95, I'd notice this property on my navigation as I passed through Sharon. I promised myself that I'd visit it some day, and today was the day.
I checked in at the visitor center when I arrived, presenting my Mass Audubon member card and asking for advice for a route to explore. "Point me to a trail," I said, "something with a hill." "A hill with a view?" was the reply. Of course. So a route was suggested and I was shown where to find the trail head.
The property has a long history. It was Mass Audubon's first wildlife sanctuary, established in 1916 when biologist and Sharon resident George W. Field offered his property to use as a bird sanctuary. The adjacent Moose Hill Farm (managed by the Trustees of Reservations) reflects centuries of New England agricultural history, transitioning from homesteads to sheep and dairy farming in the 18th and 19th centuries. Industrialist Henry P. Kendall later protected much of this surrounding land.
Mass Audubon has developed the land nicely. It runs a summer camp for kids, and has an extensive network of well-marked trails. The one I followed was the Billings Loop trail. Wide, smooth, and easy walking, with several boardwalks. It gradually moved uphill and emerged from the forest into the Billings Barn site, with a handful of buildings, meadows, and stone walls.
Leaving there, I crossed another boardwalk and got onto the Bluff Trail. It was a somewhat more rugged single track trail that climbed steadily and passed a huge cistern in the woods. A ramp had been built inside for animals to escape the deep (8'?) pit.
The trail continued to climb, winding its way up toward the trail's objective, the Bluff Hill overlook. As advertised, it had rocky ledges offering an extensive view. The bases for a former fire tower still stood at the Bluff Hill high point. I took a summit selfie and continued on.
Continuing along the Bluff Trail, the next stop was Allen's Ledge, another rocky overlook with views and a large stone chimney. Marks on the rocks on the ledge showed the path of the glaciers. The Bluff Trail ended shortly afterward, and I was faced with a choice. A right turn would head me back to the beginning, while a left would send me off on another loop and more trail time. I went left.
I was now on the Forest Trail, an out & back route in a corner of the property. Along the way I found a beautiful Chicken of the Woods mushroom. A choice edible, and I was tempted to grab some of it, but I knew the property rules and left it alone.
After the trail began its return and started climbing again, I heard the distinct sound of a deer in the woods nearby. I didn't see anything until I passed a large tree, and there it was. I expected it to bolt, but it just stood and regarded me. We stood there for several minutes, standing still and checking each other out. Deciding I wasn't a threat, the deer returned to its foraging and I resumed my walk.
A few more trail turns brought me to the border with the Trustees' Moose Hill Farm fields. The fields were large meadows, with their own views.
The Farm has its own network of trails, but I stayed on the Sanctuary's property and headed for my final destination, Moose Hill itself. It has a modern fire tower (run by the Town of Sharon), and a gravel service road served as the route to the top. From the summit, a footpath led back down, dropping steeply at first before turning into an easy walking path than brought me back to where I'd started.
It was a 4.29 mile walk, and took me a little over and hour and 43 minutes to walk at an easy pace. I crossed paths with only 2 or 3 other walkers during my visit.
