You've reached Punkatasset Hill, 289 feet high. At 289 feet (88 m), this is one of Concord’s highest points, once called Broad-topped Hill by the native Indians and cultivated and farmed from the 17th century on. Imagine the hill in 1775, used as a vantage point by Concord Minutemen during the Battles of Lexington and Concord, where local fighters looked out over the landscape.
In the late 19th century, visitors who climbed to the summit could, on a clear day, see Boston, Mount Wachusett, and Mount Monadnock stretching across the horizon. In the early 20th century, this slope became Concord’s only ski hill: there was never a ski lift, but ski jumping contests were held here in the 1930s. Today the slope remains cleared but is not used for skiing.
In 1971 the land ceased to be private property when it was sold to the town and designated as conservation land. Now Punkatasset Hill and the adjacent Estabrook Woods are popular hiking and walking destinations. Notice the cleared slope where skiers once jumped in the 1930s, and the neighboring Estabrook Woods spreading beyond the summit.