Wild places to explore with children
This is a curated list of just some of the top favorite places on Cape Ann and the North Shore of Massachusetts where Kestrel likes to take groups of children. There are, of course, many other wonderful wild places in the area.
Gloucester
Ravenswood Park (The Trustees of Reservations) A well visited complex of woodlands and wetlands in the Southern part of Gloucester. There are many trails, including some that are rather hilly and a good workout, as well as flat wide dirt roads. One trail goes through a large swamp, with excellent boardwalks through muddier areas. Ravenswood has at least three active vernal pools. While many stick to the dirt roads, the narrower trails are fun and have an interesting mix of habitat types, including lots of lichen covered boulders
What We Love About It: The vernal pools and high population of several kinds of salamander are our favorite feature of Ravenswood Park. The quarry pond at the top of Stillington Road is a very active breeding pool for at least six types of amphibians, and is deafening with the sounds of frog calls during the early spring.
Recommended Activities for Children: Hiking, finding salamanders and other cool animals under logs
Look For: Amphibian eggs and larva in the ponds (look but please do not take them out of the pond), finding salamanders and other cool animals under logs, many animal burrows in the ground
Dogtown (City of Gloucester): A very large reservation where you could spend all day hiking different trails. Trails wind through young cherry forest, stands of huckleberry and blueberry, and older forest with beech trees. Some trails skirt scenic brooks and vernal pools. Dogtown shelters two reservoirs. There are also, scattered throughout a section known as “Dogtown Commons,” many large boulders with sayings carved into them.
What We Love About It: Dogtown is so large that even when shared with other hikers, provides an opportunity to give you a “lost in the wilderness” feeling while still within the Gloucester City Limits. There is abundant wildlife and a wide variety of habitats. We’ve seen spotted salamanders, a spotted turtle, wonderful butterfly variety, and some rare carnivorous plants.
Recommended Activities for Children: Hiking, exploring,
Look For: Amphibians and fairy shrimp activity in the vernal ponds, songbirds in the berry shrubs
Seine Field (Essex County Greenbelt Association): A small, little-known reservation in East Gloucester, Seine Field is a rare habitat type called heath. It’s an open field with blueberry, bayberry, and other shrubs bordered by a strip of oak, pine and locust woodland. What this means is that there are some types of wildlife and wildflowers that don’t do well in other habitats that thrive here. Exciting wildlife that is more common thrives here too. As one of few open fields moved only sporadically on Cape Ann, Seine field is an important habitat for our namesake bird, the American Kestrel. Kestrel has documented deer, coyotes, and red foxes frequenting this small reservation
What We Love About It: The Kestrel team loves coyotes and foxes, and we were thrilled with a recent project during which we documented both canine species roaming the field and trails.
Recommended Activities for Children: Butterfly watching or catching, songbird, Kestrel, and hawk watching, Gathering blueberries in the late summer
Look For: Coyotes, deer, and signs of other them and other mammals (deer hair, den entrances, chewed acorns)
Manchester
School Street Wilderness (Manchester - Essex Conservation Trust): A large wilderness reservation with many trails interconnecting to other reservations. A long boardwalk begins not far from the parking area, and traverses a beautiful wetland frequented by herons, hawks, turtles, muskrats, and beavers. At the end of the boardwalk, the “Baby Rock” trail ascends a steep incline, following dramatic cliffs and caves to a scenic overlook.
Agassiz Rock (The Trustees of Reservations)
What we love about the places above: The Kestrel team loves to go to School Street wilderness to watch for songbirds and wading birds and hawk from the boardwalk because so much wildlife and plant life is viewable while being still. We also love the all the intriguing hiding spots presented by the cliffs. Across the street at Agassiz Rock are some active vernal ponds, and a simply enormous boulder, right before you reach a beautiful overlook.
Recommended Activities for Children: Hiking, birdwatching on the boardwalk at School Street, looking for caves at School Street, finding Big and Little Agassiz rocks
Look For: Beaver activity at School Street, birds perched in the standing dead trees in the swamp at School Street, Vernal ponds at Agassiz Rock (and look for fairy shrimp during the spring!)
Essex
Chebacco Woods (also partially in Hamilton): A longtime Kestrel favorite, Chebacco Woods one of the largest stretches of mature forest dotted with natural lakes and ponds in our region. Much of the North shore has newer growth forest, and this is evident from the oak and pine trees and the thick undergrowth keeping everyone tightly to the trail. Chebacco Woods, however, is largely a classic mature forest, characterized by beech trees so shady that no underbrush grows under them, lots of shady, and the feeling you are in remote wilderness, even while being 15 minutes from Beverly. Here, we see fishers, owls, pileated woodpeckers, water snakes, and many amphibians.
What We Love About It: We love the quiet, shady, wilderness-like setting, and the wide variety of wildlife. We also love the fact that much of the hiking is along natural, hidden waterways
Recommended Activities for Children: Hiking, birdwatching, solo journaling, woodland hide and seek games
Look For: Super shady stands of beech trees, beavers trying to dam the river, waterfowl on the lakes and ponds
Beverly
Beverly Commons (Essex County Greenbelt Association): A surprisingly large patch of woodlands within Beverly limits. Ramble through hills, past old stone foundations, and through a great variety of habitats. There is a main dirt road and lots of mostly unmarked trails leading into the woods on the sides. You never know what you will find. Our Conservation Club recorded video of coyotes, deer, and owls here, and we also caught and observed wood frogs and spring peepers, all on just four total hikes.
What We Love About It: We love how there are lots of different trails, so you can plan a different hike each time you go.
Recommended Activities for Children: Exploring, fort building, hiking, looking for frogs on the forest floor
Look For: Our favorite feature is the ragged cliffs carpeted in rock ferns. We call it the “Magical Fairy Fern Forest.”
Green’s Hill (City of Beverly) This is a treasured secret. Green’s Hill is a tiny reservation in the Ryalside neighborhood of Beverly. The reservation consists of young Black Cherry and Oak Forest, and a patch of salt marsh as the trail skirts the tidal Bass River. Walking along the river is delightful as you can blend into the forest while looking across the river at the Cummings Center. There are only a few trails but it is really convenient and fun to hike them.
What We Love About It: We love the convenience of this nearly downtown refuge, and we love being able to watch wildlife along the salt river, as we watch the river flow change with the tides.
Recommended Activities for Children: Go down to the marsh and figure out which way the tide is flowing (Be careful! The mud is very deep and sticky)
Look For: Egrets and Herons wading at low tide in the mud
JC Phillips Reservation (City of Beverly) This relatively large reservation encompasses portions of an old estate, a hilly woodland, and the shores of Wenham Lake, a reservoir for local water. There are interesting geographic features, such as the eskers along the lake, and some mysteries of human history. While this is a younger forest type, there are very tall pine trees around. Right at the main entrance, surrounded by an imposing tangle of brambles and poison ivy, is a large vernal pool where we hear Wood Frogs, Spring Peepers, and a little later in the spring, Gray Treefrogs.
What We Love About It: We love that you can hike for over an hour while remaining in the forest, the wide trails, and easy terrain for kids
Recommended Activities for Children: Listen for frogs singing in the spring, bird watching, journaling.
Look for: The large beaver lodge (not dam) right across the street from the main entrance, in the wetland
Additional Links to Local Wilds