Nicky's Park, Jimmy's Pond—a conservation project in Provincetown, Massachusetts

Jimmy's Pond in Nick's Park, Provincetown, Cape Cod

Nicky's Park is only a short walk away from the welcoming, colorful and busy main-strip of bars, boutiques and art galleries in P-town. In spring and early summer, Jimmy's Pond—a shallow, acidic body of water in the park—turns into a magical canvas of art on its own, being surrounded by a lush-green forest and covered by a blanket of floating leaves of white water-lilies, also named fragrant water-lilies (Nymphaea odorata). White flowers dot every corner of the pond. Each flower consists of radially symmetric rings of white petals around a large number of yellow stamens. The petals decrease in size toward center.

Fragrant water-lily (Nymphaea odorata)

Nicky's park contains a loop trail with benches at various locations. This small park is a serene oasis of the Province Lands, which elsewhere is dominated by sand dunes. After hiking around half the loop (5 to 10 minutes), Jimmy's Pond come into view through the dense stand of trees and brushes. A short path leads right to the wet soil at the pond level.  

An informative panel near the trailhead summarizes the significance of the park:

Nicky's Park is a sanctuary consisting of nearly four acres, half wooded and half wetland. The primary wetland area is Jimmy's Pond. It is approximately an acre in size and is a shallow, acidic body of water. It is surrounded by blueberry shrub and red maple swamp. This type of land has been described by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program as “one of the most threatened and ecologically essential areas for rare plants and animals in Massachusetts” and as one of the “most important targets for biodiversity conservation”. 

The panel also highlights that “Jimmy's Pond is the only site in southeastern Massachusetts where the bog twayblade orchid (Liparis loselii) can be found.” 

 

Getting there

From the Provincetown Public Library at  356 Commercial Street, walk in northeast direction on Commerical St. and turn left on Pearl Street.  Continue to its end, turn left on Brewster Street and then right on Harry Kemp Way. About 5 to 10 minutes away, find the Nick's Park trailhead on your left.

Nicky's Park loop trail

 

 

Further Reading

Nicky's Pond. Provincetown Conservation Trust. URL: https://www.provincetownconservationtrust.org/nickys-park.

Walk On Left: From India Point Park in Providence to Bullock Neck

East Bay Bike Path: Walk On Left

The 14.5-mile-long East Bay Bike Path (EBBP) is a multi-use rail trail. This paved trail invites bicyclists and pedestrians to travel between Providence and Bristol, Rhode Island. Here, I am sharing points of interest along the Providence River in East Providence based on my hiking experiences south from India Point Park to Bullock Neck—the site of the historic Charles I. D. Looff Carsousel.

To get going from Providence, you want to start at India Point Park, where the trail underpasses India Street, winds up to the Hilton Garden Inn and continues east across Washington Bridge over the Seekonk River. To be exact, the trail does not share its way using the busy Interstate 195 bridge: it has its own. And what is more, it features separate bicycle and pedestrian tracks. This lofty trail section is named George Redman Linear Park, in memory of a local bike advocate. Enjoy the spectacular views from the trail bridge. At its center, you will find interpretive displays featuring the local history.  So, if you don't get much beyond the Seekonk River on your first trial, you have some educated excuses.

Once arriving at Warren Ave in East Providence and heading south for two blocks on 1st Street, the well-marked EBBP is regained. It continues alongside the Veterans Memorial Pkwy for about one mile and then leads downhill to Watchemoket Cove. From the causeway, the shipping facilities and wind turbines along the other side of the Providence River are visible.

 

Don't miss the Spooky Bottom Scenic Dock  in front of the University Orthopedics building. A short path to your right leads to the entry onto the long dock. Take a break on the dock platform, catch a cooling breeze on a  hot day and enjoy the views of the Providence skyline. And try to figure out what is happening at the spooky bottom.

 

After about half a mile farther south you will arrive at the Squantum Association Club House and the Squantum Woods Park. The majestic club house, built in 1899, stands atop a rocky promontory presiding over the river. The Colonial Revival building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.  

Club House of the Squantum Association

 Next to the Squantum turf the Boyden Heights Conservation Area surrounds a saltwater cove. Here, a trail loop invites for a stroll through the hillside forest. Bird watchers appreciate the dock stretching into the cove.

Continue south on the bike trail for another mile and a small island with a lighthouse is coming into view: this is Pomham Light, named after the Algonquian Sachem Pomham, who once owned the rocky island.

Pomham Light

Past the lighthouse viewing point, the bike path bends slightly away from the the river bank. The rail trail stop at Riverside Square managed by the Borealis Coffee Company is a nice place to have a drink and a snack in a coffee garden. 

 

From here, it will take another mile to where the EBBP intersects Crescent View Ave. Turn right on this road and after about half a mile turn left on Bullocks Point Ave. 

Bullock Cove

The circular hippodrome building around the Looff Carousel is now only a few steps away. Walk half-way around the building and then up the stairs. Peer through the windows and dive into the wood-sculpture world of the merry-go-round.  Or come back for a ride when the carousel's center support will have been restored (restoration updates).

Hippodrome housing the Looff Carousel

Situated next to the carousel grounds is the Rose Larisa Memorial Park with picnic tables, a walking trail and beach access. During low tide, the beach length extends towards the southeast. Enjoy scenic views of Narraganset Bay.

Rose Larisa Memorial Park

Stairs from the park down to the beach

References and further reading

[1] Alex Kuffner. $ 21.8-million George Redman Linear Park is dedicated to pioneer of R.I. bike paths. Providence Journal, September 21, 2015. URL: https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150921/NEWS/150929825.

[2] Rhode Island's East Bay Bicycle Path. Rails-to-trails conservancy. URL: https://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/2009/september/01/rhode-islands-east-bay-bicycle-path/.

[3] East Bay Bike Path. Rhode Island. URL: https://www.visitrhodeisland.com/listing/east-bay-bike-path/8328/.

[4] Club House. Squantum Association. URL: https://www.squantumassociation.com/Clubhouse.

[5] The History of Squantum. Squantum Association. URL: https://www.squantumassociation.com/HistoryofSquantum.

[6] Crescent Park Looff Carousel. URL: https://www.crescentparkcarousel.org/history.

[7] Crescent Park. ArtInRuins. URL: https://artinruins.com/property/crescent-park/.

[8] Bullock Neck. Mapcarta. URL: https://mapcarta.com/22787992.

Explore the very tip of Cape Cod: Hatches Harbor Trail

Hatches Harbor at low tide with Race Point Lighthouse

Hatches Harbor Trail is an unpaved fire road connecting the Province Lands Bicycle Trail Loop with Hatches Harbor—a tidal harbor and salt marsh. While a Herring Cove beach stroll may take you to the mouth of Hatches Harbor, the hiking trail gets you to the upper area where a dike separates the undisturbed, natural salt marsh from the northside marsh area next to the Provincetown Airport.

Hatches Harbor Trail coming out of the forest

Hatches Harbor Trail comes without orientational signage or posts; but the trailhead is easily found: it is located at the bicycle trail junction where the Herring Cove bicycle path meets the loop trail. Leave the loop and follow the trail to Herring Cove. After underpassing the Province Lands Road you will find the trailhead, consisting of a small dirt parking lot, on your right.  

Hatches Harbor at low tide with Herring Cove Beach and Massachusetts Bay in the background

Past the fire road gate at the end of the lot, a sandy trail leads first through forest, which is soon opening up. Once the salt marsh and the Race Point sand dunes are coming into view, the path follows a straight line that continues along the dike towards the dune landscape. The dike hike offers views of the Race Point Lighthouse and Massachusetts Bay.

Tidal creek at the end of Hatches Harbor Trail

The main trail ends past the bridge over the stream of salt-water flowing in or out depending on the tides. Here, you will enter a landscape of low-tide flats and tidal channels surrounded by dunes. Onwards, you will be on your own if your plan is to continue on for a visit of the historic lighthouse site or Race Point Beach. Although the lighthouse tower is visible and not that far away, you may want to check the tide table before you go. Be prepared to do some salt-water wading.

Race Point sand dune landscape

 

Map

Hatches Harbor Trail on the map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hatches+Harbor+Trail/@42.0615953,-70.2173209,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xf22a1f3bd02b2ff7!8m2!3d42.0615953!4d-70.2173209.

 

More to explore

Shaun Logan. Explore Hatches Harbor and Race Point. Website: https://www.theoutbound.com/massachusetts/hiking/explore-hatches-harbor-and-race-point.

Hatches Harbor Tidal Restoration Project. Cape Cod - National Seashore Massachusetts. Nation Park Service. Last updated: April, 2015. Website: https://www.nps.gov/caco/learn/nature/hatches-harbor-tidal-restoration-project.htm.

Cascades Park, Worcester, Massachusetts

Water cascading down over mossy rocks in Cascades Park

During the last Ice Age—known as the Wisconsin glaciation stated to have occurred between 77,000 to 15,000 years ago—glaciers in eastern North America extended as far south as as modern-day New England and beyond. When the glaciers receded they sculpted the landscape. At today's Cascade Park in northwest Worcester, glacial movement formed the cataract bed with a boulder field at its crest. 

At the bottom of the cataract an interpretive board summarizes the location history:

Worcester's Cascade Park was founded in 1926 when the roughly thirty-four acre Newton Farm along Cataract Street was donated to the City by Benjamin Newton. The new park's most notable feature was the Cascades Waterfall - 300 feet long and more than 100 feet high - formed during the last Ice Age when the Wisconsin glacier scooped out the softer bedrock of the eastern side of [what now is] the park. The park was expanded in the mid-1900s through the city's purchase of adjoining land to the north. That land was initially targeted for use as a municipal landfill; a plan quickly abandoned in the face of strong citizen opposition.

 

Cascades Park, along with its Cascades West expansion and Boynton Park, are scenic and recreational highlights around the northwest trailhead of the East-West Trail—a 14-mile, cross-city trail connecting 20 park and green spaces across the hills of Worcester. Cascades Park includes the Cascades Trail, Newton Trail and Holden Trail. The trails are well-marked.

 

The water of the falls is cascading into Cook's Pond, located east of Olean Street. You can walk around much of the pond.

Maps

East-West Trail, Western Section, Worcester, MA: http://www.hikeworcester.com/MAPSpdf/EW_West.pdf.

The Cascades Trail System: https://www.gwlt.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Cascades-Trail-System.pdf. 

Cook's Pond: http://www.gwlt.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Cooks-Pond.pdf.

Map of Cascades Park posted at trailhead in Boynton Park

Cascades Brook with Cataract Street bridge

Off Cascades Trail: a cleft-rock path

Chandler Hovey Park at the northern tip of Marblehead Neck

Marblehead Light in Chandler Hovey Park

Marblehead Neck is a peninsula on the east side of Marblehead Harbor in Essex County, Massachusetts. The “Neck” has various sites of interest including Castle Rock Park and the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Chandler Hovey Park—a multi-use park around a historic lighttower—is situated at its northern tip, offering vistas of the harbor and the shorelines of Beverly and Manchester-By-The-Sea [1-3].

Chandler Hovey, a resident of the Town of Marblehead, purchased this marvelous spot in the late 1940s from the U.S. government and donated it to the town. In addition to the spectacular views, its main attraction is the Marblehead Lighthouse.

According to the onsite plaque, the story of Marblehead Light (Latitude 42 Degrees 30' 20"N, Longitude 70 Degrees 50' 03"W) goes back to the year 1835, when the first light was established and lit. The present pyramidal-skeleton lighttower was erected in 1895 and lit in 1896. From then until the light automation, various operational changes happened:

• 1910 Light changed to fixed red
• 1922 Light electrified
• 1938 Light changed to green
• 1941 Light extinguished during World War II
• 1947 Land transferred by Federal Government to Town, through a generous donation  by Chandler Hovey
• 1959 Keepers quarters razed
• 1960 Light automated
  

In 1987, Marblehead Light was listed in the National Register of Historic Places [4].

Relax your head and neck from looking up the lighttower and enjoy the views north and northeast. You may spot various rocks and rock islands, especially during low tide. The Marblehead Channel, Eagle Island Channel and Salem Channel allow navigation between islands and between Massachusetts Bay and Salem Sound. On a clear day, the coastline stretching from Beverly to Gloucester can be recognized at the horizon. 

View of Beverly and Manchester-By-The-Sea coastline

Getting there

The park is located at the end of Follett Street, off Ocean Avenue, at the northern tip of Marblehead Neck. Follow the direction to Castle Rock Park and continue north. 

If you want to skip Castle Rock or get there on your return drive, follow Ocean Avenue across the sandbar and then turn left and use Harbor Avenue, as a shortcut. Harbor Avenue meets Ocean Avenue again after about one mile.

Mapcarta: https://mapcarta.com/22211106.

References and more to explore

[1] Parks. Town of Marblehead - Massachusetts. Website: https://www.marblehead.org/about-marblehead/pages/parks.

[2] Marblehead Light. Maritime History of Massachusetts. Website: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/mbl.htm.

[3] Chandler Hovey Park and Marblehead Light Tower. Essex National Heritage Area. Website: https://essexheritage.org/attractions/chandler-hovey-park-and-marblehead-light-tower.

[4] Marblehead Light. National Register Information System ID: 87001479. National Park Service. Website: https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/87001479.

Castle Rock Park on Marblehead Neck

Castle Rock Park, Marblehead Neck, Massachusetts

Castle Rock offers spectacular views of Massachusetts Bay. A very short trail off Ocean Avenue on Marblehead Neck leads to the rock. Once named Great Head, it was renamed Castle Rock for the castle-like Carcassonne mansion next to it.

At Castle Rock Park you are invited to carefully explore the cliffs, rock terraces and tide pools. In the past, Castle Rock was a strategic lookout point. Depending on weather and tides, this is a magnificent place to walk or climb rough rocks, watch breakers, feel the ocean spray and browse the waves of the South Essex Ocean Sanctuary.

Beach rocks, miniature coves and tide pools at Castle Rock

Make it a stop

Visitors of the Marblehead Neck peninsula often include Castle Rock as a sight-seeing stop. It is located half-way between the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Marblehead Light in Chandler Hovey Park at Marblehead's northern tip. After visiting the wildlife sanctuary, drive back on Risley Road and turn left at its junction with Ocean Ave. After about a quarter-mile, find parking on the right near the Castle Rock trail sign.

Paved path at the entrance of Castle Rock Park

References and more to explore

[1] Castle Rock Park. Essex National Heritage Area. Website: https://essexheritage.org/attractions/castle-rock-park. 

[2] Parks. Town of Marblehead - Massachusetts. Website: https://www.marblehead.org/about-marblehead/pages/parks.

[3] Castle Rock & Castle Rock Lane. Marblehead Conservancy Inc. Website: https://marbleheadconservancy.org/explore/secret-passageways/castle-rock-castle-rock-lane/.

Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary

Audubon Pond

The  Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is a small open space surrounded by grandeur neighborhoods on a peninsula extending into Massachusetts Bay. Locals call this peninsula simply the “Neck.” It is connected to mainland Marblehead by a sandbar, on which a road and walkway has been built.

Audubon Trail

The sanctuary at the center of the southern half of the Neck is visited by various species of migratory songbirds—and humans eager to watch the avian visitors. The sanctuary's network of walking paths include Audubon Trail, Warbler Trail, Middle Trail, Boardwalk Trail, Thrasher Trail and the Vireo Loop. Although the trails barely add up to a total length of a mile, the diverse set of dense woods, small hills, rocks, swamps and the highlight—Audubon Pond—combines to the impression of being in a wildlife area larger than it actually is. Like in the wetlands alongside the Marblehead Rail Trail, unfurled Eastern Skunk Cabbage with its fresh, green, veined leaves are found in the sanctuary swamps in spring. 

Eastern Skunk Cabbage

At the main entrance, a kiosk introduces the sanctuary as follows:

This 16-acre wildlife sanctuary may be small in size, but its location provides important feeding and resting habitats for migratory songbirds. Jutting out from the mainland, Marblehead Neck may be the first land encountered by tired and hungry birds crossing open ocean. When the winds are favorable, migrating birds pass through, finding insects to eat in the woodlands, utilizing the wetlands or pond for drinking and bathing, and finding safe resting places in the brushy tangles. More than 250 bird species have been recorded here over the years, including many colorful wood warblers. Most of the birds that visit here spend their winter in the tropics of Central and South America. They pass the “Neck” on their way to and from areas further north.

Bird-watching trails around Audubon Pond

Getting There

From Devereux Beach, follow Ocean Ave over the sandbar-turned-causeway. On the Neck, continue on Ocean Ave for about half a mile. Turn left on Risley Road. Find parking after 500 ft at the end of Risley Road.

Entrance of the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary at the end of Risley Road

“Hodgkinson Fund” plaque at a rock near Audubon Pond

 

Further reading and more to explore

[1]  Mass Audobon: Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Marblehead Conservancy Inc.Website: https://marbleheadconservancy.org/explore/massachusetts-audubon-sanctuary/.

[2] Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. Essex National Heritage Area. Website: https://essexheritage.org/attractions/marblehead-neck-wildlife-sanctuary.

[3] Recent Bird Sightings at Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. WaxwingEco Tourism. Website: https://waxwingeco.com/birding-hotspot.php?id=L594125.