Tulmeadow Trail (Or: A Lesson in Justifying Ice Cream as a Post-Hike Reward)
Six hikes in seven weeks, and we’re feeling rather proud of our consistently. So in the wise words of Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle, it’s time to treat ourselves.
Hike 6 took us to the Tulmeadow Trail, a roughly 2.5-mile out-and-back that winds through open fields and forest, connecting Town Forest Park on one end to Tulmeadow Farm on the other. Tulmeadow is known for one thing above all else: their world-class ice cream, sold through a classic walk-up window connected to their farm store.
Hike #6!
The sky was unbelievably clear and blue.
We made the mature decision to save the sweet treat for after the hike rather than before it, which I maintain showed tremendous restraint on our part. Setting out through the open fields first, we were immediately rewarded. The grass was swaying in the wind in long, rolling waves, and at one point I made a comment about feeling like the Khaleesi of the great grass sea. Sam gave me the look that tweens give their parents when they've said something they don't understand but can feel is embarrassing. It will be several years before that reference lands for him.
A bit further along, we came up to a split rail fence with a familiar sight behind it: a miniature replica of nearby Flamig Farm, complete with the backwards EGGS sign. The story goes that a large advertisement wasn't permitted under residential zoning laws, so they wrote EGGS backwards and classified it as art instead. I respect that kind of creative problem-solving. Flamig Farm is one of those local gems that's especially wonderful for little ones — Sam spent many a visit there over the years befriending the animals, and I’d be lying if I said we didn’t enjoy doing the same.
Replica of the barn at nearby Flaming Farm.
In the distance, Heublein Tower was just visible on the horizon, which gave me a small surge of satisfaction given that we'd been to the top of it recently.
Heublein Tower way off in the distance.
Wildlife was out in full force. We spotted a few wild turkeys picking their way across the field, a nice bookend to the massive black bear we'd seen on the drive there. These are both pretty normal sightings in this area this time of year, but it never gets less exciting. Then we turned into the wooded section of the trail, and I nearly stepped on a garter snake as it slithered across the path. I understand garter snakes are small and completely harmless. I do not care one bit. They're just as slithery and I remain firmly opposed to them on principle.
Moments before we saw the wild turkey.
And moments before we saw the snake…
The bugs were also out in full force, officially announcing our entry into the warmer months. This is about when I start counting down to the end of August when the bugs will start to die (thanks to Noah Kahan for memorializing this welcome annual moment on his latest brilliant album).
The far end of the trail deposits you at Town Forest Park, a small, sweet spot with a fishing and swimming pond and some small playground equipment. We arrived to find a little boy absolutely beaming with pride as he announced he had caught the largest frog ever and was not going to let any of us leave without meeting it. He immediately latched onto Sam, who rolled with it completely, which I appreciated. I grabbed a few photos of the small bridge and waterfall while Sam dutifully admired the frog.
He wasn’t expecting it to go back quite as far!
On our way back we also had a brief but enthusiastic meet-and-greet with a cockapoo named Ollie. A good trail always has at least one dog encounter.
And then, finally: the ice cream window.
Tulmeadow’s many amazing flavors
I should give you some context here. On my side of the family, ice cream is not a treat, it is a food group. Our logic is that it fills in all the cracks, which means there is always, technically, room for it. Steve and I even had a Ben & Jerry's sundae bar at our wedding, which fit the New England summer theme but was also just because we just, like, really love ice cream.
In my opinion, nobody does it better than Tulmeadow. And I’ve sampled my fair share through the years, so I feel like I have some level of authority on the matter. My personal favorites are the variations of Red Raspberry, either with chocolate chips or Oreos. But they also do test batches — limited-run flavors available at the window, in pints in the farm store, or as a flight of samples — and those are always worth trying. Today I went with the newest one: Carrot Cake. Steve got the Lemon Biscoff, and Sam got a root beer float made with Heath Bar ice cream.
Carrot cake test batch
If you show up in peak summer and the line at the window looks long, the farm store is worth the detour anyway. The freezers are stocked with pints, quarts, flights, ice cream pies, and their signature ice cream sandwiches made with cookies ranging from chocolate chip to snickerdoodle. There's also fresh local produce, local goods, and artisan gifts. We always come back for the corn on the cob when it's in season, and we left this time with a few pints and a couple of other goodies we didn't technically need.
Tulmeadow’s phenomenal farm store
It may not have been our longest hike, but it had wildlife, a frog enthusiast, a very good dog, and exceptional ice cream. Six hikes down.