Half an Arrow
A 4.28 mile route with 342 feet of climbing. Route Download: half-an-arrow.gpx Segments:
Half an Arrow is a hilly 4+ mile loop through the West Barnstable Conservation Area. It starts at the Otis Atwood Trailhead and you can easily tack on a loop of the Otis Atwood Loop to add some extra distance.
Take a right out of the parking and follow the Otis Atwood Loop up the hill to the first intersection. Take a right and run down the hill to the crossing of MA Route 149. After crossing, run up the hill and take a left to follow the West Barnstable Biking Trail / ToT S trail for 1.2 miles to it’s intersection with a fire road. Make sure to stay left on this trail or you’ll end up on a shortcut that elimates some of the best hills on the loop.
At the fire road, turn left and run up the hill to the first intersection. Take two rights onto the northern half of Broken Arrow. This is one of my favorite trail sections - hilly, generally smooth, and I frequently see deer in the more remote sections. At the end of the trail take a right to follow another section of ToT S for a third of a mile. Take a left and run down the hill to join up with ToT N and follow this back to the crossing of MA Route 149 and the Otis Atwood Loop trail to the parking lot. There are a few variations you can take on this final segment - I like staying left to cut off some washed out hills.