Dead Man's Hollow Conservation Area

Sad to see all the negative reviews that have nothing to do with this place or are a result of people not knowing what they are doing.

That said, I can only speak for the trailhead on Calhoun Rd. It looks like it may have been updated recently with a new map. It's easy to understand. Also, it seems that trail markers have been updated recently as they are extremely visible and useful. There are still trees down but I can tell someone has been working on that. These trails are a great change from going to South Park all the time. And what a view.

Great trails for running and hiking or just peace of mind. Good trail running with some decent elevation change. Connects into the gap between the new main loops. Well blazed trails. Very clean except for the regular jag who litters.

A haunting, beautiful, uniquely made valley. the ground is ten feet thick with busted shards of clay pipework. It is spooky af.

Go, look for the strange clay men who labor there, the hoofed one who towers above the trees, the queen snake and the sky that is not the sky.

Witness a new nature, an anthropocene.

The good: Lots of trails. We parked at Boston Ball Field, walked the GAP trail to the hollow and walked pretty much every main trail there. My Garmin watch logged ~10 miles. Didn't see a single other person until we were walking out. Very secluded.

The bad: Trails aren't well marked and there are a million little off shoot trails to confuse you. There's also not a whole lot of good "sights"along the trails. It's a lot of wooded walking. The stream was barely a trickle which resulted in a lackluster waterfall.

Overall, I enjoyed the hike and would do it again. It's a nice way to escape the city and it feels remote once you're in the hollow, sometimes even a little creepy which I liked. If you have a trail app like AllTrails on your phone it is incredibly helpful to make use of the GPS mapping feature so you can make sure you haven't strayed from the main trails. It was a good way to spend a Saturday morning, but if you're looking to be wowed by the beauty of nature (streams, waterfalls, cool sights, etc...) you might leave disappointed. If you're looking to get out, avoid crowds, and enjoy feeling secluded and surrounded by nature, this should hit the spot.