The Great Walk of Essex County
In September 2025, after a morning at the Wenham Museum, I went on a grand adventure in the nearby public parks. With a little bit of planning, I was able to visit five parks, walking about eleven miles across three hours and taking plenty of pictures along the way. The trip included Vineyard Hill Reservation of Greenbelt, Bradley Palmer State Park, Willowdale Meadow of Greenbelt, Willowdale State Forest, and Willowdale Mill Reservation of Greenbelt. While in these parks, I walked along parts of the Bay State Circuit Trail, Essex County Trail Association, and Discover Hamilton Trail. If you want to spent quiet time alone in nature, this is a safe and fun way to do it.
Vineyard Hill Reservation is located across the street from Patton Homestead, which I had visited in September 2024. The reservation had been owned by the Patton family since 1928, and George Smith Patton IV was friendly with former Greenbelt President Ed Becker. The reservation only became part of Greenbelt during transactions between 2017 and 2019, making it a young public park. At 139 acres, the forest straddles the towns of Hamilton and Topsfield and is nestled between Bradley Palmer State Park (my next stop) and Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary (to be visited the next day). The reservation has a total of three miles of trail; I walked about two miles of it.
Before going to the state park, I stopped by Pingree School in South Hamilton, MA to see its Dale Rogers sculpture. I am a big fan of his work, having seen his whimsical metal sculptures near Exit 48 on 495 in Haverhill, MA not far from his studio; at Meredith Sculpture Walk in New Hampshire; in Putnam, CT as part of the Historic Blackstone Valley Train Excursion; and at Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. Pingree went with Rogers’ classic “American Dog” design. As for the history of the school, the estate includes about fifty acres and a house constructed by the Pingree family in 1933. The property became a a high school for girls in 1961 but turned co-ed ten years later in 1971. Today, a year at Pingree costs the same as a year at many reputable universities.
Next up was Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, MA. This park is 721 acres in size and a wide variety of trails, including a Healthy Heart Trail for under two miles of easy exercise, an Accessible Trail also called Lizzy’s Trail that allows people of all abilities to enjoy the outdoors, and a portion of the Bay Circuit Trail, which I will discuss more thoroughly in a few paragraphs. The park is named for its former owner Bradley Webster Palmer, an attorney who helped to incorporate many businesses such as a razor company started by King Camp Gillette and United Fruit Company (now called Chiquita). His country home, Willowdale Estate, was constructed in 1902. Architect Charles Kimball Cummings combined elements of the Arts & Crafts and Tudor Revival styles to make the stone mansion, what Palmer referred to as a “modest cottage”. Today, the property is owned separately from the state park and used as a wedding venue.
Two other interesting buildings are part of the state park property. The Lamson Family Farmhouse was cobbled together over multiple generations beginning in the early 18th century and looks a lot like other Georgian style homes found throughout New England. The house was dilapidated until recently, but it has been beautifully restored if painted a somewhat foreboding black, and is now allegedly used as the caretaker’s house. Park Headquarters is likewise a unique design with shingle siding and the second story slightly overhanging on one side of the L-shaped two-story building. This building was formerly the barn and garage to the estate.
Next up was a brief walk through the edge of Willowdale State Forest, which could be reached by crossing a pedestrian bridge and then Topsfield Road via a clearly marked crosswalk with blinking warning light. This park has about forty miles of trails and permits dogs and horses, although these animals should be kept on leads at all times. Since parking is free, this is also a good choice for those visiting Bradley Palmer State Park, which charges $5 per car for MA residents and $20 per car for non-MA residents. Like its neighbor, the Bay Circuit Trail snakes through these woods. Beside the forest was Willowdale Meadow, a sunny little property that has been conserved by Greenbelt since 2007. With only 0.2 miles of trail, which appears to no longer be maintained, this is more of a rest stop than a true exploration. This trail was original built with the help of the North Shore Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), a non-profit founded in 1987. The Blackstone Valley, where I live, has its own branch of the organization, perhaps best known for its work at West Hill Dam and Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park, both located in Uxbridge, MA.
Willowdale Mill Reservation is another property of Greenbelt. Conserved in 1969, this is one of the properties to be part of the organization for the longest time, as it started in 1961. With twenty-two acres and 1.3 miles of trail, this is an easy walk with plenty of unique sites. The remains of Willowdale Mill and its dam can be seen near the trail. Dr. Thomas Manning built the original wooden sawmill in the early 19th century but converted it to a stone mill before 1934, expanding the property to include a boarding house for the mill girls who created woolen goods. The mill complex was damaged beyond repair in an 1884 fire. The property was acquired by the wealthy Ayer family, a new money family who had recently joined Boston Brahmin and greatly influenced American politics and business. The property owner was Frederick Ayer, Jr., whose sister, Beatrice Banning Ayer Patton, was the wife of the celebrated World War II general George S. Patton III. The family also owned nearby Ledyard Farm in Wenham, now an equestrian school. After Frederick died in 1969, his wife Hilda Proctor Rice Ayer donated the Willowdale Mill property to Greenbelt. Today, the property includes a recently built fish ladder to assist migrating herring, eels, and shad swim up river to spawn.
With all five parks visited, it was time to head back to my parking spot about three miles away. I did not mind the easy walk, especially as the sun began to set and deer emerged from the forest. All of the trails in this area are considered part of the Essex County Trail Association (ECTA), a non-profit founded in 1982 originally with horseback riders in mind, although these trails are equally nice for bikers and hikers. Much of the trail I took was part of the Bay Circuit Trail, a system that includes over 230 miles of multi-use paths in the Greater Boston area. My past stops on the Bay Circuit Trail have included Historic New England’s Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, Old Bridgewater Historical Society, and The Trustee’s Appleton Farms in Hamilton. The most creative part of this trail that I have found so far is called Moon Hill Loop, denoted by and orange and white marker resembling a moon. While this adventure took a decent amount of planning and map reading, it was one of the most rewarding solo hikes I have taken.