Phenomonal Fall Foliage Found for All

In another couple of months, winter will be here in all its glory.

After the first fluffy snowfall wears out its welcome and turns into filthy brown slush piled on the side of street corners, get ready to contend with frozen hands, chapped lips, wet feet, biting winds, and days with only a couple of seconds of sunlight.

Outdoor activity becomes a distant memory when the dark, icy days of December are here. Most Harvard people hole up inside like hibernating bears during the winter, venturing out once in a while to slip and slide their way to class or grab a pizza at Tommy's.

That's why now is the time to get outside and enjoy New England at its best before the weather goes straight downhill.

Massachusetts is heading into its peak foliage season, a phenomenon that attracts tourists from all over the world. While Harvard Square may not exactly be a prime leaf peeping location, you only have to venture a little ways out into the suburbs to be completely blown away by a downright breathtaking array of colors that cannot be matched anywhere else in the country.

Because of the foliage, one of he most popular outdoor activities in the fall is hiking. Not only is hiking a perfect way to enjoy the flaming yellows, oranges and reds of a New England forest in full autumn bloom, but it gives you an all-body, low-impact workout and a therapeutic escape from the concrete, intellectual jungle of Harvard Square.

Lincoln, a suburb outside of Boston and adjacent to Concord, has a conservation area that is made up of an intricate network of excellent hiking trails and is an easy commute from Harvard Square. The choice of trails is endless in the conservation land and you can even make your way to the famous Walden Pond in Concord (where you can still swim if you're feeling particularly brave).

You can literally walk for miles on the trails without seeing a soul. Even more impressive is the fact that you are only a 20 minute drive from downtown Boston and still feel as if you are truly in nature.

To get to the Lincolin Conservation trails, take the outbound Red Line one stop up to Porter Square. At the Porter Square Station, look for the MBTA Fitchburg commuter line that originates from North Station. The Fitchburg line will take you to the Lincoln Train Center. When you get off the train in Lincoln, there will be a parking lot straight ahead of you and the conservation trails begin directly toward your left.

Unless you want to risk spending a lonely night in the woods, make sure to pick up a map at the Lincoln Guideservice which is housed in a bike shop northeast across the parking lot you face when you get off the train. A compass would also be a good thing to bring along if you're planning on covering a lot of ground.

Here is the Saturday schedule for the Fitchburg line:

Porter--->Lincoln: 8:35 a.m., 11:20, 1:20, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, 7:30, 11:00 p.m.

Lincoln--->Porter: 12:05 a.m., 2:40, 3:35, 6:02, 6:25, 10:05 p.m.

You can also call the MBTA at 222-3200 to plan a schedule that is more suitable to your needs.