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Panther Trail

City Wide Panther Trail
Sudbury Reservoir fall view
Sudbury Reservoir

 

Trail map link:    /conservation-commission/files/panther-trail-map

Future hikes:  Please check back here for future guided hikes.  The Marlborough Trails Committee will be leading guided hikes once a month going forward.  We are also going to have a Trails Committee web page here which will post all future hikes going forward.  Stay tuned all this is in progress :)  

If you would like to volunteer or get more information about this trail please contact: Marlborough Conservation Commission at 508-460-3768 or pryder@marlborough-ma.gov.

Past hikes are listed below

Panther Trail Grand Opening- October 14, 2022 and throughout October                          

Join us for the Panther Trail grand opening ceremony Friday, October, 14, 2022 at 4PM.  Parking is available in the lower lot of the Marlborough District Court on 45 Williams Street. After the Grand Opening ceremony held near the Gazebo, we will offer two guided walks around Lake Williams.  The first will be a shorter 0.5-mile walk along the shore and the second a longer 2-mile round trip walk of the entire Lake Williams Trail.

The celebration continues on Saturday, October 15th, at 10:00 AM with two guided foliage season walks.

  • A 2.6-mile round trip starting at 10:00 AM from the Cider Knoll parking area on 525 Stow Road. Walking from here through beautiful woods to Hemenway Street near the Langelier Street intersection and returning to Cider Knoll. This will take about 2.5 hours.
  • A 4-mile round trip starting at 10:00 AM from the Callahan State Park north parking lot, 241-243 Broadmeadow Street,and entering the trail at the Broadmeadow trailhead, about a 4-mile round trip along the northern shores of the Sudbury Reservoir. This will take about 3.5 hours.  The Sudbury Reservoir is open for hunting so please wear orange. 

On Saturday, October 22, 2022 hikers can explore:

  • Felton Conservation Land and Millham Reservoir trails.  Hikers are asked to meet at the Felton Conservation Land parking area off Elm Street at 10:00 AM and walk the trail to Reynold’s Court, approximately 2.6 miles round trip which will take about 2.5 hours. 
  • A second walk will be led from Reynold’s Court to Pleasant Street across the Flagg Swamp Wildlife Management Area –please meet and park on Reynold’s Court at 10:00 AM. This is approximately a 4-mile round trip hike and will take about 3.5 hours.  This property is open to hunting so please wear some orange for this hike. 

On Saturday, October 29, 2022 the exploration continues on the Sudbury Reservoir trail: 

  • A 2-mile round trip from Sherman Road to explore historic filter beds and a portion of the Sudbury Reservoir shoreline. Parking is available at the 911 Memorial Field in Southborough (just over the Marlborough line). We will meet here at 10:00 AM and walk to the trailhead together. This will take about 2 hours.  The Reservoir is open to hunting in the fall so please wear some orange.
  • A 4-mile round trip from Sherman Road along the northern shores of the Sudbury Reservoir toward Mowry Brook.  Parking is available at the 911 Memorial Field in Southborough (just over the Marlborough line). We will meet here at 10:00 AM and walk to the trailhead together.  This will take about 3.5 hours. The Reservoir is open to hunting in the fall so please wear some orange. 

The trail story:

The vision to create a marathon length trail entirely in Marlborough began in 2010 at the same time as the regional Boroughs Loop Trail (BLT) which is 33 miles of trail through 4 communities including Marlborough, which opened in 2019.  The northern arc of the Panther Trail is also the BLT.  Although the Panther makes use of exiting trails, many new trails were cleared, and connections made to complete the loop.  The Marlborough Conservation Commission Trails Team and partners including Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops, AMSA students and a few commercial companies have been working on the southern trail arc over the past year and a half in preparation for opening this new intra-City long-distance trail

The help of many players made this trail a reality.  Thanks goes to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, who have been heavily involved in building and installing a series of bridges along the Sudbury Reservoir section of the trail, clearing and marking sections along the southern sections of the Panther.  Students from the AMSA charter school cleared several miles of trail as well and various companies have pitched in along the way.  The biggest thanks goes to the dedicated Marlborough Trails Committee, led by Conservation Commission member Karin Paquin.  The Marlborough Trails crew have met one Saturday a month since 2020 and worked almost solely on the Panther sections clearing trees (82 trees along the Sudbury Reservoir section alone), building stairs, clearing and widening trails and marking the trail along the new approximately 12.5-mile stretch – both in the forest and along the sidewalks.

Funding for these projects has been provided by the scouts on their individual projects and the through the City Conservation Commission, with hundreds of volunteered hours of talented labor.