Trip to Maudsley State Park

3 miles

Kevin, Judy and Emma

The weekend forecast was unfavorable for a mountain trip so we stayed home the first weekend of our vacation and finished up some home projects. Sunday morning, despite beautiful weather, the forecast was that the weather would turn nasty overnight, so we headed to one of our local favorites, Maudsley State Park in Newbury, Massachusetts. It is an old estate on the southern bank of the Merrimack River with an extensive trail system and an abundance of planned gardens among forests filled with wildflowers. It is a truly beautiful place to visit in spring when everything is in bloom.

The trails are all easy hikes with short ups and downs which are hardly taxing, and a new direction can be chosen in a short distance along most trails. The trails pass from woodlands to meadows and back, occasionally passing through beautiful areas of planned gardens full of rhododendron and azalea. There are beautiful stone arch bridges along some trails which cross over trickling streams and beaver ponds.

There is something interesting to see on every trail, whether it be huge old growth pines and hemlocks, or wildflowers, or blossoming rhododendron. One can choose to hike in the dark shadows of the woods or out in the sun through meadows filled with buttercups. Hike up a hill to listen to the birds, or down by the river to watch it roll along. An overall great place to get out and stretch.