Blue Hills Trailside Museum — Attraction in Milton

It's often important to get introduced to the location you're visiting, and I found the Trailside Museum a great place to do so for Blue Hills Reservation in terms of location, information presented and staff helpfulness.

The museum is the center for public interpretation of the reservation and a convenient place to enter as it has ample parking and 716 Shuttle MBTA shuttle access about a 15 minute hike from the top of Great Blue Hill where you can access the Skyline Trail, climb Eliot Observation Tower, and visit the Weather Observatory.

Outside, there are spaces for wildlife that could not survive without human intervention, and inside, there is more such wildlife and information on the hills' human history. The interior is well-themed for children but was not un-interesting to engage with as an adult.

While I was at the museum, my camera batteries died, and my day's plan to document the visitable history of the Blue Hills would have been completely ruined if not for one but TWO staff members finding me batteries (By the time I was done in the museum I'm sure they wished they had given me the ones to the frog machine). It was a huge help, and it seemed like they really want people to enjoy their visit to the reservation. The only caveat was that I would return them when I returned from hiking, but I returned too late to give them back directly! I did put them in a box outside labeled "Passport to Nature" though, so hopefully the batteries were found and the staff knows their generous help was...

Looks like it's been a while since some major donations came in. It's great for kids mostly and still fun as adults. It's like $5 to get in, I think. Many of the interactive displays were broken. Sadly, a few of the enclosures seemed unfit for the animals, particularly the snakes and the bald eagle. They didn't say why the eagle was there. Maybe it was injured and only needed a small cage. One snake had a pretty unsuccessful shed, and it just broke my heart to see two snakes in such a small enclosure. You could tell they were not happy. The great horned owl cage was about as big as the snake terrerium. The frog humidity and temp gauge was out of batteries or broken. the otter surprised me... I thought otters needed other otters to be happy. It's really awesome that they have this place. I just wish it was able to care for the...

day7 (21JUN2024) sanctuary 14. i took red-dot trail from museum parking lot to top of Blue Hill. the rocks and ledge on the trail are worn smooth by the footsteps of pilgrims over many decades. meteorological observatory at top is oldest continually operated in USA, 1885. Eliot Tower provides panoramic views of the boston skyline and harbor islands. the museum has good, child-friendly exhibits inside, e.g. owl sounds, cricket sounds, etc. as well as an active bee hive, a skunk, two rattlesnakes, a copperhead and a screech owl. the outdoor exhibits comprise a wee zoo of native fauna. cool to see a box turtle, bald eagle, black vulture, turkey buzzard, great snowy...