Curving back uphill, the Bayview Trail loops southwest past a grassy overlook. A small trail to the right leads to another lookout. Returning to the Bayview Trail, follow it to its end, then continue straight ahead on a wide gravel path.
Look for a sign for the Back 40 Loop, and take this grassy route west, walking downhill before swinging left to head south once more on this peaceful lane.
Closing the loop, you find yourself back at the clearing where you began. From this junction, continue straight to join the trail that leads to the rear of the visitor center. Keep left to pass in front of the visitor center and rejoin the path that leads back to the parking lot.
Legend has it that the first house built on Rockport’s hardscrabble turf was erected around the bend from Halibut Point in 1692. The “Old House,” as it is known locally, was built by two young men from Salem for their mother, who had been condemned at the Salem Witch Trials. Spared death because she was pregnant, the woman was expelled from the community and exiled to the wilderness of Cape Ann. Bears, wolves, and Agawam Indians lived there as well, and a handful of hunting shanties built by settlers of Ipswich accented the landscape.
Soon after building himself a cabin at the spot, resident John Babson discovered a bear living nearby. Not interested in having such a neighbor, he hunted it down, skinned it, and strung its hide over a rock by the sea to dry. Passing fishermen saw the bear’s shaggy remains and dubbed the rough spit of land Bearskin Neck.
GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES N42° 41.200' W70° 37.883'
DIRECTIONS From Boston, take US 1 to MA 128 N (toward Gloucester). At the first traffic circle in Gloucester, go three quarters of the way around and take MA 127 toward Pigeon Cove. Continue approximately 5 miles, passing through Annesquam and Lanesville into Rockport. Turn left onto Gott Avenue; the parking lot is on the right.
6 NASKETUCKET BAY STATE RESERVATION
DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 2.75-mile double loop
DIFFICULTY: Easy
SCENERY: Woods, former farmlands, views of Nasketucket and Buzzards Bay
EXPOSURE: A mix of sun and shade
TRAFFIC: Light
TRAIL SURFACE: Flat packed dirt, grass, beach sand, rocks
HIKING TIME: 1–2 hours, depending how much time you want to spend on the beach
DRIVING DISTANCE FROM BOSTON COMMON: 60 miles
ELEVATION: 21' at trailhead, no significant elevation gain
SEASON: Year-round
ACCESS: Open sunrise–sunset; free
MAPS: On a kiosk in the parking lot and at tinyurl.com/nasketucketmap
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Wheelchair users can access the full length of smooth, firm Bridle Trail (although it can get a bit wet if there has been a lot of rain).
FACILITIES: None
CONTACT: Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Resources, mass.gov/locations/nasketucket-bay-state-reservation, 617-626-1250
LOCATION: 94 Brandt Island Road, Mattapoisett, MA
COMMENTS: This is a great family hike that ends up on a rocky beach where you can hike and hang out.
Nasketucket Bay State Reservation is a unique mix of grasslands, woods, and shoreline.
ONCE OPEN FARMLAND, this reservation now offers wooded trails, open fields, and access to a classic rocky New England beach on the waters of historic Buzzards Bay.
DESCRIPTION
Once you arrive at Nasketucket Bay State Reservation, from the kiosk at the head of the parking lot you can follow a short connector path to the start of the Bridle Trail. Rolling wide and flat over a swath cut through woods and weeds, the trail bends farther west to meet the Meadow Trail just ahead.
If you would like to make a slight diversion, just before the Meadow Trail is an unmarked (as of researching this edition) trail to the right. This is the relatively new Shaw Farm Trail and bike path. It takes you on an excursion of slightly more than a mile through an open field along a majestic column of massive oak and maple trees, through some densely forested swamp, and along the far edge of the Shaw Farm. A simple out-and-back about a mile each way from the Bridle Trail, it’s quite a scenic hike if you’d like to add this into your plans.
If your plan is to proceed directly to the Meadow Trail, then keep your eyes open off to the right; the sign was fairly worn and difficult to see, much less read, when I researched this edition. Once you arrive at the trail, bear right and follow this narrower, somewhat overgrown path a few hundred yards behind wetland to another split. Keep left to step out from the dense thicket of blueberry bushes and tangled shrubs, and proceed across the open grassland toward the needle-thin tower at the center. Because of light traffic, this path can be difficult to discern, so feel free to improvise. You really can’t get too turned around here; all the loops here at Nasketucket Bay State Reservation eventually connect with each other, and the Bridle Trail cuts right through the middle.
This area was once part of a farm. Now this open meadow is a refuge for all manner of flora and fauna, birds, and insects. The tower topped with propellers was erected by the state to collect wind data as part of an alternative-energy initiative. If those work out, there may eventually be more wind turbines installed.
South of the tower, the trail becomes more defined and easier to follow. Hike along the meadow as it tapers to a point along the edge of the woods to the right. If you’re out there at the right time of the year, you’ll find some blackberries growing close to the ground as the trail filters into the Bridle Trail by a posted marker. Continue southeast several feet to where you meet the Holly Trail. Leave this sandy belt, and turn left into the woods. Passing by white pines and short scrubby ground cover, the path curves east. On the right, a stone wall fades away behind tree limbs.
There are plenty of maple, oak, and basswood trees growing along the trail. You’ll also start seeing several holly trees. As the trail continues south toward the seashore, you’ll enter the holly grove and start seeing the angular trees with elephant-gray limbs and tough, crinkled leaves. Beyond a stretch where the trail dips and mud puddles form even in dry months, past a grove of beech trees, the trail emerges from the woods to cross the sun-bleached tail of the Bridle Trail.
Beyond this junction, the Holly Trail continues to Buzzards Bay. Silvery birch and oak mix in the forest with increasingly impressive-looking holly trees. Glance to the right here over the stone wall running alongside the trail, and you’ll catch a sharp sliver of light flashing off the water less than a mile away. The trail passes several minor side trails cut by human, or perhaps animal, bushwhackers.
Sloping gently downhill, the trail soon arrives at a rocky beach. Just before that you’ll see a right turn to the Shoreline Trail. Unless the weather is nasty, take a break and head for the rocky beach and the soothing waters of the ocean. From your vantage point on the rocks along the shore, the fist of land at the end of a scrawny arm of rocks to the east is Brandt Island. Mattapoisett Neck and Antassawamock reach beyond to Buzzards Bay; Woods Hole lies approximately 11 miles farther south as the crow flies; and 6 miles farther out is Vineyard Haven of Martha’s Vineyard. Once you’re done on the