King Philip's Rock Trail - Sharon, MA

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 maintained and generally well marked, though we took one wrong turn due to my map-reading deficiencies.  This part of the trail included several boardwalks and small bridges, which the kids loved.

After the cave, we followed trail signs to King Philip's Rock.  This part of the trail offered some gentle hills and generally good footing over soft pine needles in the peaceful woods.  The trail passed through a vernal pool, and included another small bridge.  A number of signs directed us along the way to King Philip's Rock, which was actually another collection of large boulders, which the kids enjoyed even more than the Cave.  We spent quite a while exploring the boulders - climbing over, under, and around them.  

Per a sign at the site, King Philip's Rock was used as a meeting place for the Wampanoag tribe to strategize during the King Philip's War of 1675-76.  King Philip, also known as Metacomet, was the son of Massasoit and was the Wampanoag sachem (chief) at that time.   Most of my knowledge of King Philip's War came from my recent reading of the historical fiction novel, The Edge of Mercy, by local author Heidi Chiavaroli.  Visiting this site was a great learning opportunity for the kids, and I hope to read more about this piece of our local history.

With some meandering and one wrong turn, my GPS watch measured our loop hike at just over two miles, visiting both King Philip's Cave and Rock.  The Rock itself is just over .25 miles from the parking area, so you could hit the highlight of this trail with a much shorter route.

This trail really was a hidden (to me) gem in our area, less than 10 minutes from our house.  I'm surprised we hadn't discovered this trail sooner, but I'm sure we'll be back in the future.










We loved this tree growing around the boulder:

































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