Spencer, Ashburnham and Hopedale(#230 - 231 - 232)

Spencer - For #230 we walked the grounds of Saint Joseph’s Abbey, home of Spencer’s Trappist monastery. They own over 1000 acres of land in town, and the abbey is at the top of a hill. The monks also own the Spencer Brewery (great Trappist brews) and Trappist Preserves which you can buy at Wegmans.

Ashburnham #231 - Hiking up Mount Watatic is one of our favorite hike in New England. Watatic is an 1,832 foot monadnock. Mt Watatic was the site of a small ski area from 1965-1984 and you can see the ghosts of the runs from the summit. The start/end of the Mid-State trail is just north of the mountain.

We visited the ”Little Red Shop” in Hopedale for walk #232. It’s a remnant of the industrial revolution and part of the Blackstone Valley National Historic Park.