16 MANCHESTER–ESSEX WOODS: Cedar Hill–Pulpit Rock Hike

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

LENGTH: 4.75 miles

CONFIGURATION: 2 linked loops

DIFFICULTY: Easy to moderate

SCENERY: Cedar and maple swamps, vernal pools, and hemlock woods

EXPOSURE: Mostly shaded

TRAFFIC: Moderate

TRAIL SURFACE: Packed earth with rugged areas of loose gravel and exposed rock

HIKING TIME: 2.5–3 hours

SEASON: Year-round sunrise–sunset

ACCESS: Free

MAPS: A map is posted at a kiosk at the parking area. Maps can also be obtained from Manchester–Essex Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 1486, Manchester, MA 01944, (978) 526-1695 or (978) 526-7692; conserve@mect.org.

FACILITIES: None

SPECIAL COMMENTS: Beware of biting insects from spring until the first frost. Saxifrage, spicebush, marsh marigold, goldthread, bluets, and hepatica all begin blooming in early spring.

WHEELCHAIR TRAVERSABLE: No

DRIVING DISTANCE TO BOSTON COMMON: 30 miles

Manchester–Essex Woods

UTM Zone (WGS84) 19T

Easting: 312811

Northing: 4679843

Latitude: N 42° 14' 54"

Longitude: W 71° 16' 09"

Directions

From Boston, take Storrow Drive east to the exit for US 1 north. Merge onto US 1 north toward Tobin Bridge/Revere. After 13.6 miles, merge onto I-95/MA 128 north toward Peabody/Gloucester and continue 1.3 miles to Exit 45 toward Gloucester. At 13.2 miles, take Exit 15, School Street, toward Manchester/Essex. At the end of the ramp, turn left onto Southern Avenue. Parking for the Manchester–Essex Woods is 0.56 miles ahead on the left.

IN BRIEF

Beginning with a 0.15-mile-long boardwalk across a cedar swamp teeming with life, this hike explores granite hills, an old cart road, and bogs dense with bayberry, maples, and blueberries.

DESCRIPTION

From the parking lot, set out on the dirt road (Old School Road) heading southwest beyond a metal gate barring car access. Running along the edge of wetland past glossy ibises watching from the bleached branches of trees that have long since given up the ghost, the road reaches the trailhead of the Cedar Swamp Trail at 0.1 mile.

Crossing this spectacular bridge you’ll see a rich array of species buzz, flit, or paddle by. Close to the opposite bank, the boardwalk widens to include a lookout platform and, below it, steps to a dock at water level. After taking in the sights, continue west to the boardwalk’s end. Along the trail gnawed stumps chiseled to points, and nibbled trunks swaddled in chicken wire tell of an ongoing battle of man versus beaver.

After stepping off the boardwalk at a well-marked junction, continue left to hike south flush to Cedar Swamp below a heavy brow of granite and lashes of hemlock. A short distance ahead, the trail reaches a sign that appears to identify two trails as the Millstone Hill Trail. Both are coded with orange. Pursue the left route, staying with the swamp.

On a summer’s day, after a warm rain, the atmosphere is heavy with life-infusing moisture. Mosses and ferns pulsing with chlorophyll contrast with the black-brown mud underfoot and the purple-gray feldspar-blended granite that riddles the hillside. In early spring, when the day’s sunlight temporarily melts the night’s freeze, blossoms of spicebush (Lindera benzoin) add a zing to the air.

Continuing southwest toward the sound of cars whooshing by on MA 128, the trail sidles up to a stone wall. Bearing left to pass through, the trail then reaches a sign on the right which states “Private Property—No Trespassing.” Regardless, stay with the trail as it climbs a rise and soon meets Old School Road.

Leaving the woods and swamp behind, take up the dirt road once more and travel west. After paralleling MA 128 for approximately 0.3 miles, the trail curves north to cinch the base of Millstone Hill. Follow as it ascends a rocky slope, and on reaching a split, bear left onto a wide gravel trail.

Passing an adjoining path on the right, the trail retreats gently downhill next to a stone wall. A hundred yards or so farther, another path splinters to the right, reconnecting with the Millstone Hill Trail. Continue straight to promptly intersect Ancient Line Trail, marked with both a red blotch and a wooden sign posted high on a tree. Bear left here, traveling northwest into a stand of hemlock growing in a cleft between two hillocks.

Just as the trail gets under way, it comes upon a detour sign. Here, arrows redirect hikers north. Habitat restoration or erosion mitigation sometimes require that routes be temporarily altered.

Well away from MA 128 and any other road, the immaculate woods feel wonderfully remote. Beech and linden trees stir the quietude of ubiquitous hemlocks. Bog reappears, and with its great density of water, mosses, ferns, and regenerative rot, softens the hard edges of dissonant sound waves. Grit and half-chewed chunks of granite bespeak the glacier that left nearby Agassiz Rock perched at a teasing tilt. Like a riotous crowd, the ice came, hung around, then quit the place, leaving behind a great quantity of granite litter.

Following a course that may as well have been determined by a myopic skunk on a slug hunt, the trail zigzags in all directions. Heading southeast, then west, the trail rounds upland, passing a good many birches, though the ground glows orange with pine needles. Arrhythmic boulders and pools of water trapped in basins of woven tree roots keep mind and feet occupied.

At the next junction, a sign for Ancient Line Trail Detour points east. From here follow red blotches west several hundred yards to a three-way intersection. Here, stay right to pick up Pulpit Rock Trail. Blue splotches lead the way northward along the edge of a hill. Ahead, a spring marks a junction where Grassy Ridge Trail bears right and Pulpit Rock Trail keeps left on its northwest trajectory.

In this region of hillocks sitting amid bogs, maples are abundant—fittingly, as this wetland is called Maple Swamp. Being perpetually damp, this area fosters an abundance of mushrooms. In June especially, delicious oyster mushrooms spread like meaty cream-colored fans from the sides of dead and dying hardwoods.

Climbing uphill over gravel, the trail parts woods that in days gone by were cut for lumber and fuel. Because of scant topsoil and unyielding ledge trees remain small, which lends the place an intimate feel. Gaining elevation, the trail reaches open areas with stretches of exposed bedrock. On reaching the pulpit the view opens to become panoramic and vast.

Rounding to the southeast, the trail follows blue markers back downhill toward wetland in a valley below. The double leaves of pink lady’s slipper are easy to spot here. Those hiking between April and July might be lucky enough to catch these extraordinary orchids in bloom.

Reaching the center of a dell, the trail traipses over logs tossed together to bridge mud then climbs west to the relatively dry flank of another hill. After some twisting and turning, the trail bends decidedly south on upland, passing a pool and stream. On arriving at a junction, continue left bearing away from Pulpit Trail and another route climbing steeply to the right. Ahead, partly hidden by hemlock boughs, a sign for the Ancient Line Trail points southeast. Two junctions lie ahead, one following the other. Bear left at the first, then left again at the second, hiking northeast and away from the Cheever Commons Loop Trail, which is marked with light blue.

A stone wall beside the trail confirms that these were once grazing grounds, though not particularly nourishing ones, judging from the grit underfoot and the general paucity of both grasses and pioneer shrubs and trees. Bearing east, the trail climbs steadily uphill, keeping flush to the wall before splitting off. Scruffy feral meadowland lies to the right. Stand quietly for a moment and you might spot a napping fawn, a clutch of turkey chicks or a fox on the hunt.

Turning southeast, the trail meets up again with the Cheever Commons Trail, but stay with Ancient Line Trail as it cuts tightly left, tucking under the steep upland banking. Running northwest again, making an elongated loop, the trail enters a herpetologist’s heaven of vernal pools and cavernous spaces made by lichen-encrusted boulders heaved together. Continuing on nearly level ground, the trail weaves its way northeast 0.2 miles to return to the start of Pulpit Trail. Stay with Ancient Line Trail to double back to where it began.

Upon returning to the Millstone Hill Trail, turn left and follow what used to be the north–south track of Old Manchester Road. A granite town-line marker carved with the letter “M” stands erect on the Manchester–Essex border. Continuing north, the trail grows narrower and looks less and less like a road as hemlocks and birches crowd in. At 0.26 miles Old Manchester Road reaches a fork where the Cedar Swamp Trail diverts eastward. A moment later, this pleasant way leads to a two-way split. Both routes lead to evocative rock formations, one called Baby Rock and the other Ship Rock. If swayed by curiosity, hike left; otherwise, bear right to follow blue markers east.

Proceeding down a gentle grade, the trail passes through a dramatic rockscape fringed with hemlocks. Gradually oaks and beech fill in, and before long the trail arrives at Prospect Ledge Trail. At this and the next junction, Ship Rock Trail jogs this way and that. Keep an eye out for blue markers to stay on track to reach Cedar Swamp. Clutching the firm ground on the swamp’s perimeter, the trail winds back to the boardwalk.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

If you have a taste for fried clams, oysters, lobster, chowder, or just superb onion rings; plan your hike around lunch or dinner at J. T. Farnham’s in Essex. Farnham’s is located 4 miles from the trailhead at 88 Eastern Avenue. From the parking area at the Manchester–Essex Woods, drive 2.5 miles north on Southern Avenue and turn right onto Eastern Avenue (MA 133). Farnham’s is 0.6 miles ahead on the left, overlooking the salt marsh.