In 1897, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., acting as an acquisition agent for Augustus Hemenway, deeded to The Trustees 21 acres on the Charles River known as Rocky Narrows, the “Gates of the Charles.” It became The Trustees’ first reservation, populated with a mixed forest of hardwoods and evergreens and 50-foot rock walls that date back 650 million years.

Today, visitors use an extensive trail system to explore Rocky Narrows and adjacent Sherborn Town Forest, and the setting showcases the 80-mile Charles River at its loveliest: a pastoral stream slowly moving between ancient cliff walls and steeply wooded hillsides.

Amble among pine groves and past wetlands along seven miles of trails and footpaths. A canoe landing connects to a two-mile loop trail to the Rocky Narrows Overlook, a ledge rewarding visitors with views of steep, hemlock-covered rock cliffs that form a narrow river passage—the reservation’s namesake.

Further south along the trail is King Philip’s Overlook in Sherborn Town Forest, where visitors can view the forests of Medfield and Millis, and Noon Hill Reservation on the horizon. The property is a link in the Bay Circuit Trail.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at Rocky Narrows.