Whitney and Thayer Woods is a large refuge south of Boston (most of the refuge is in Cohasset). The refuge is owned by the Trustees of Reservations. The trails are generally smooth and shady, the tick danger is low, there are lots of glacial erratics, and there’s even some landscaping. Turkey Hill is said to offer a good view of Cohasset Harbor, though it was cloudy when I was there.
Below is a 5-mile route based on the route in Fifty Hikes in Massachusetts.
As I drove to Whitney and Thayer Woods, I went through Hingham. If you like old houses, you’ll like Hingham. According to Wikipedia, “[Hingham] boasts a wide assortment of eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century homes. Many of these may be found in the six historic districts set aside by the town of Hingham.... Hingham is home to the United States’ oldest continuously used house of worship, the Old Ship Church, built in 1681.” One of Hingham’s eighteenth-century homes is the Samuel Lincoln House, named after the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln. Click here for a list of historic houses in Massachusetts, here for a list of historic Rhode Island houses.
Hingham has a refuge called World’s End, which projects into Massachusetts Bay, and offers good views of Boston. World’s End is owned by the Trustees of Reservations. Their website describes World’s End thus: “Rolling hills and rocky shorelines offer sweeping views of the Boston skyline, while tree-lined carriage paths designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted make delightful walking trails.” Click here for geology info about Rocky Point, which is in World’s End.