Walking in the Tall Trees

This post features the King Philip's Rock Trail in Sharon, MA.  The trail was recommended to us by a few local families, and it did not disappoint.  The trailhead is located on Mansfield Street in Sharon (which turns into Bird Road in Mansfield), with no specific address, but generally in the area of number 81 to 93 Mansfield Street.  The parking lot is tiny and could fit maybe up to 6 cars.  The area is maintained by the Sharon Friends of Conservation , with signage courtesy of an Eagle Scout Project.  There is no cost to park or visit.   From the trailhead, we first headed toward King Philip's Cave because one of my daughters thought that a cave sounded more interesting than a rock.  The cave was a collection of large, glacial boulders that was thought to be used by Native Americans for astronomical observations.  The kids described it as an "old fashioned playground" and loved exploring the boulders.  The trail to the cave was well ma...

Today we returned to our community bike trail in Mansfield, MA, formally named the WWII Veteran's Memorial Trail  and managed by the Natural Resources Trust of Mansfield.  This is a local favorite in our town and is more commonly known as just the Bike Path.  There is no cost to visit or park. The path is paved, flat, and straight, and totals about two miles from Fruit Street at the southern point, to downtown Mansfield in the north.  There are mile markers painted onto the pavement every .25 miles.  The path is expected to be extended south by several miles into neighboring Norton, MA  within the next few years .  Parking is available at both ends of the path, but we typically park in the small lot off Fruit Street - diagonally across the street from the Mansfield Municipal Airport .  The kiddos enjoy looking at the small airplanes. The path itself is well maintained and generally clean, and it looked like work was being performed on the packed d...

This post features the Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary , which spans Westport and South Dartmouth, MA.  The Sanctuary is owned and managed by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.  There is no cost to visit, but donations and memberships are encouraged.    We parked at the Field Station Entrance on Horseneck Road in Westport, diagonally across from Bayside Restaurant , and did the Beach Loop Trail .  We purposely took the trail backward from the description, knowing that once our kiddos saw the beach, they would be less impressed with the salt marsh.   So, from the parking lot, we turned left to pass through an open field, turned right to meander along a flat, packed sand trail through marsh land, and then turned right onto the beach at the end of the Sanctuary property.  The trail then followed the beach north, passing over large boulders, then turned right through another open field and back to the parking lot.  The trail had some signage, but ...