NSRWA Walking Club - Ames Norwell State Park in Abington

NSRWA Walking Club – Ames Norwell State Park in Abington
Saturday, September 14, 2024
10:00-11:30am

Please join us on Saturday, September 14th as we welcome Guest Hosts Doug and Kathi Thomson to  explore the Ames Norwell State Park in Abington. The Thomsons  are long time NSWRA members and walk these trails often. Both Doug and Kathi are nature enthusiasts.

Ames Nowell State Park is a 700 acre property located in Abington, with  10+ miles of paved and unpaved trails through forest and wetlands. A sawmill, and then a grist mill, stood at the northern end of the property in the 1700s, on Beaver Brook. In the 1920s, Edwin Holmes purchased the land and dammed the brook, creating Cleveland Pond. Holmes maintained the land as a bird sanctuary and hunting spot, but was unable to pay taxes on it during the Depression. Ames Nowell, the grandson of Massachusetts Governor Oliver Ames, purchased it next. The park is named for him. Old stone walls deep within the property reveal an agricultural past. The trails are inconsistently marked, so it is great that we have knowledgeable guides with us!

The woods surrounding Cleveland Pond are primarily pine and oak, with some beech and holly. There are wetlands too, with swampy areas as well as freshwater marshes. Beaver Brook enters the property from the north and flows through the pond. The pond was created in the 1920s when the brook was dammed for industrial use. Beaver Brook flows south through Abington and Bridgewater, eventually merging with Spring Brook and emptying into the Taunton River.

While we love dogs, NSRWA’s walks are dog-free in consideration for all participants. Please leave your pooches at home.

The Walking Club is looking for guest hosts. If you would like to lead a walk on a local trail that you love, please contact Theresa Delahunt at volunteercoordinator@nsrwa.org, or visit our website at https://www.nsrwa.org/get-involved/

Directions: 741 Linwood Street, Abington, MA Click here for map.

This event is FREE, however, registration is required.

REGISTER HERE.