Diamond Hill - February 20, 2021

Heading out

I was up before dawn and anxious to get outside after a long, stressful week at work. With 6’ of light powder on the ground from yesterday’s storm a hike seemed to be in order. There was no Papa Joe Hike this weekend, so I was on my own. I decided to head over to Diamond Hill.

Diamond Hill is a massive outcropping of white quartz located about a mile from my house in Cumberland on the border with Wrentham and Plainville. It’s 350-feet from the parking lot up to the top of the hill, which is actually 481-feet above sea level. It is said that on a clear day you can see the Boston skyline and Mount Wachusett from the top. I can’t say that I have ever seen either, but the views are great. Diamond Hill is also the southern terminus of the 33-mile Warner Trail that runs from Diamond Hill to Sharon MA.

Snow covered trails

Diamond Hill was named in colonial times for the sparkling flecks imbedded in the rock. In 1877 the Diamond Hill Granite Company established a quarry here, which can still be seen at the southern end of the hill. In the 1930's the Civilian Conservation Corps acquired the property and established the Diamond Hill Reservation. Eventually two ski areas would operate on opposite sides of the hill - Diamond Hill State Park on the west, and Ski Valley in the east. Ski Valley has now been turned into condos, and the Town of Cumberland now owns the 373-acre Diamond Hill Park with 3.8-miles of hiking trails.

I arrived at the park just after sunrise. Temperatures were in the mid 20’s, and there was 6’ of light powder on top of a frozen base. I took my usual route through the woods to the right of the bandstand. The trail leads to the base of a huge cliff that was once an old quarry.

Top of the quarry looking north

At one time, you could climb the southern side of the quarry to access the ridge at the top of Diamond Hill. Today, a house sits at the top, so the trail cuts back along the bottom of the quarry and accesses the ridgeline a little further to the north. I climbed up the southern side of the quarry anyway to get some pictures, and then worked my way back down.

I then followed the trail below the quarry up to the rocky crest overlooking Diamond Hill Road. From here, the trail runs about a mile to the north. The views from the top are great – to the west is Tower Hill, to the east is the Diamond Hill Reservoir, and the north are the hill of Wrentham, MA.

Top of the quarry looking west

I took a break on the concrete footing of an abandoned chair lift before continuing along the ridge. There is a trail down the north side of the hill along the road, but I took the quick route down the sledding hill instead.

The loop is only a couple of miles long, but it seems like it is uphill all the way until you come to the big drop at the end.

Diamond Hill Road and the Wrentham hills to the north

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Diamond Hill Trail Map

Diamond Hill Town Park from RI Blueways/Greenways
Warner Trail
Warner Trail Guidebook

Diamond Hill with Bill - February 8, 2015

Bill climbing to the cliff

Bill and I were supposed to do a RICKA message board hike in Chepachet, but it got cancelled due to weather.  Fortunately Bill was still up for a trip, so we met at Diamond Hill for the loop around the “rock”.

Bill said that he was looking for something with "a little elevation", so this seemed like a good choice.  We took my usual route through the woods to the right of the bandstand and headed down to the old quarry.  The snow was unbroken, and in places waist deep as we worked out way up to the cliff.  It was definitely a workout, but worth it for the views.

From there we headed back down and took the switchback road up to the top of the hill.  Fortunately, the trail along this section was broken or it would have been a real workout.  It also made it easy to find the trail along the road that I can never find on my own. 

View from the top

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A Hike at Diamond Hill – January 10, 2015

I was going to take my canoe out, but as the weather gets colder, it becomes a lot of work.  You need to get the boat, get the cold-water gear and then find a place that isn’t iced-in.  We had a little snow, so today I decided to take a hike at Diamond Hill instead.  The paths were rocky, and it is easier to stay on the trail when it is already established in the snow, but still a good hike

View from the top of the cliffs at the quarry 

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Snowshoeing at Diamond Hill – February 8, 2014

Taking a break at the top

I couldn't get out to do the RICKA trip this morning, but I headed over to Diamond Hill in Cumberland this afternoon. It’s a short hike (1.5 miles), but it’s a good climb up the hill (350 feet).

From the bandstand, the trail heads south into the woods.  At the base of the old quarry, the trail cuts back north to the top of Diamond Hill.  I took a side trip up to the top of the quarry to get some pictures of the cliffs.  Once up at the top of the hill the views are great and you will find remnants of the old ski lifts.  There is a trail down the north side along the road, but I missed it and came down the sledding hill.

Cliffs at the old quarry

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Didn’t Need My Snowshoes – Diamond Hill – February 13th

The RICKA crew is doing a hike today at Bowdish Lake in the Washington Management Area. Unfortunately, I have stuff to do and won’t be able to make it, but I was able to get out yesterday for a hike around the Diamond Hill Park in Cumberland. The Blackstone Valley Outfitters did a hike there last week, and sounded like fun.

Diamond Hill is basically a huge hunk of quartz about a mile long, a quarter of a mile wide and 350’ high. At one time, two ski areas occupied opposite sides of the hill – Diamond Hill State Park on the west, and Ski Valley in the east. Ski Valley has now been turned into condos, and the Town of Cumberland owns the Diamond Hill Park. Its only a mile from my house, but I hadn’t been there in years.

I arrived at the park just after sunrise – around 6:45. Temperatures were in the mid 20’s, and the snow was frozen solid. It took me a while to find the trail, but eventually I found it at the end of a row of pine trees in back of the bandstand. The trail follows a small brook behind some ball fields though woods covered in oak, birch and white pine. It was well packed, so I didn’t need my snowshoes.

The trail leads to the base of a huge cliff that was once part of an old quarry. At one time, you could climb the southern side of this cliff to access the ridge at the top of Diamond Hill. Today, a house sits at the top, so the trail cuts back along the bottom of the ledge and accesses the ridge line a little further to the north. I climbed up the southern side of the ledge anyway to get some pictures, and then worked my way back down.

I then followed the switchback trail below the ledge up to the rocky crest overlooking Diamond Hill Road. From here, the trail runs about a mile to the north along the ridge of Diamond Hill. The views from the top are great – to the west is Tower Hill, to the east is the Diamond Hill Reservoir, and the north are the hill of Wrentham, MA. I took a break on the concrete footing of an abandoned chair lift before working my way back down through the woods.

I’d estimate that the loop is a couple of miles. It took me about an hour and a half to complete. I’ll definitely be back again.

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