Waltham: Western Greenway winter hike - Waltham, Lexington, and Belmont - December 31 2025

HIKE REPORT Wednesday, 31 December 2025, Waltham: Western Greenway winter hike - Waltham, Lexington, and Belmont Hike Leaders: Barbara Jacobs & Ted Nyder 4.7 miles, 10:00 am start from Waltham, MA Hikers (16): Barbara, Ted, Annemarie Altman, Betty Salzberg, Gerry Sheetoo, Greg Stathis, Harry Spatz, Jeffrey Wallen, Judy Perrin, Lynell Stromberg, Marc Baskin, Margie Lee, Marie Keutmann, Richard Vignoni, Susan Broome, and Zach Woods. This WW offering helped us close out 2025 with a brisk hike on icy trails. Sixteen people ventured out on the 4.7 mile walk using traction devices that helped us get through the icy trails. We began our walk at the old Metropolitan State Hospital property on the Waltham/Lexington line. Our route took us on the Western Greenway trails and carriage roads of the old hospital grounds into Belmont's Rock Meadows and Lone Tree Hill. We hiked the trails to Habitat, where we had a quick break and checked out the goats. We then continued to our cars by way of the MetFern Cemetery where approximately 317 residents of the Fernald School and Met State Hospital were buried between 1947 and 1979. Fourteen of us had post-hike lunch at Bánh Mì Ơi (Vietnamese restaurant). Link for more information on the MetFern Cemetery - https://www.metferncemetery.com/ Report by Barbara Jacobs.