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6 NASKETUCKET BAY STATE RESERVATION

DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 2.75-mile double loop

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SCENERY: Woods, former farmlands, views of Nasketucket and Buzzards Bay

EXPOSURE: A mix of sun and shade

TRAFFIC: Light

TRAIL SURFACE: Flat packed dirt, grass, beach sand, rocks

HIKING TIME: 1–2 hours, depending how much time you want to spend on the beach

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM BOSTON COMMON: 60 miles

ELEVATION: 21' at trailhead, no significant elevation gain

SEASON: Year-round

ACCESS: Open sunrise–sunset; free

MAPS: On a kiosk in the parking lot and at tinyurl.com/nasketucketmap

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Wheelchair users can access the full length of smooth, firm Bridle Trail (although it can get a bit wet if there has been a lot of rain).

FACILITIES: None

CONTACT: Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Resources, mass.gov/locations/nasketucket-bay-state-reservation, 617-626-1250

LOCATION: 94 Brandt Island Road, Mattapoisett, MA

COMMENTS: This is a great family hike that ends up on a rocky beach where you can hike and hang out.

Nasketucket Bay State Reservation is a unique mix of grasslands, woods, and shoreline.

ONCE OPEN FARMLAND, this reservation now offers wooded trails, open fields, and access to a classic rocky New England beach on the waters of historic Buzzards Bay.

DESCRIPTION

Once you arrive at Nasketucket Bay State Reservation, from the kiosk at the head of the parking lot you can follow a short connector path to the start of the Bridle Trail. Rolling wide and flat over a swath cut through woods and weeds, the trail bends farther west to meet the Meadow Trail just ahead.

If you would like to make a slight diversion, just before the Meadow Trail is an unmarked (as of researching this edition) trail to the right. This is the relatively new Shaw Farm Trail and bike path. It takes you on an excursion of slightly more than a mile through an open field along a majestic column of massive oak and maple trees, through some densely forested swamp, and along the far edge of the Shaw Farm. A simple out-and-back about a mile each way from the Bridle Trail, it’s quite a scenic hike if you’d like to add this into your plans.

If your plan is to proceed directly to the Meadow Trail, then keep your eyes open off to the right; the sign was fairly worn and difficult to see, much less read, when I researched this edition. Once you arrive at the trail, bear right and follow this narrower, somewhat overgrown path a few hundred yards behind wetland to another split. Keep left to step out from the dense thicket of blueberry bushes and tangled shrubs, and proceed across the open grassland toward the needle-thin tower at the center. Because of light traffic, this path can be difficult to discern, so feel free to improvise. You really can’t get too turned around here; all the loops here at Nasketucket Bay State Reservation eventually connect with each other, and the Bridle Trail cuts right through the middle.

This area was once part of a farm. Now this open meadow is a refuge for all manner of flora and fauna, birds, and insects. The tower topped with propellers was erected by the state to collect wind data as part of an alternative-energy initiative. If those work out, there may eventually be more wind turbines installed.

South of the tower, the trail becomes more defined and easier to follow. Hike along the meadow as it tapers to a point along the edge of the woods to the right. If you’re out there at the right time of the year, you’ll find some blackberries growing close to the ground as the trail filters into the Bridle Trail by a posted marker. Continue southeast several feet to where you meet the Holly Trail. Leave this sandy belt, and turn left into the woods. Passing by white pines and short scrubby ground cover, the path curves east. On the right, a stone wall fades away behind tree limbs.

There are plenty of maple, oak, and basswood trees growing along the trail. You’ll also start seeing several holly trees. As the trail continues south toward the seashore, you’ll enter the holly grove and start seeing the angular trees with elephant-gray limbs and tough, crinkled leaves. Beyond a stretch where the trail dips and mud puddles form even in dry months, past a grove of beech trees, the trail emerges from the woods to cross the sun-bleached tail of the Bridle Trail.

Beyond this junction, the Holly Trail continues to Buzzards Bay. Silvery birch and oak mix in the forest with increasingly impressive-looking holly trees. Glance to the right here over the stone wall running alongside the trail, and you’ll catch a sharp sliver of light flashing off the water less than a mile away. The trail passes several minor side trails cut by human, or perhaps animal, bushwhackers.

Sloping gently downhill, the trail soon arrives at a rocky beach. Just before that you’ll see a right turn to the Shoreline Trail. Unless the weather is nasty, take a break and head for the rocky beach and the soothing waters of the ocean. From your vantage point on the rocks along the shore, the fist of land at the end of a scrawny arm of rocks to the east is Brandt Island. Mattapoisett Neck and Antassawamock reach beyond to Buzzards Bay; Woods Hole lies approximately 11 miles farther south as the crow flies; and 6 miles farther out is Vineyard Haven of Martha’s Vineyard. Once you’re done on the beach, backtrack to the head of the Shoreline Trail.

As you travel west 0.4 mile along the edge of land nibbled by storm surges, you’ll pass over a wetland with some muddy patches where logs laid flat improve footing. After brushing past a boggy meadow, the trail snakes past an uncommonly large sassafras tree and a pine grove. You’ll see another grove of holly trees of varying sizes as well. After swinging left and then right, the trail spills into a grassy clearing. At this three-way junction, bear left to take the Salt Marsh Trail, and head southwest back to the seashore.

Approaching the beach, this former cart road encounters a substantial stone bridge built over a channel. The view straight on is of Nasketucket Bay, with Sconticut Neck lying prone on the horizon. The tidal zone of the Nasketucket River lies to the right, and just before it is Shaw’s Cove. The shallows behind the strip of sand left in a glacier’s wake have filled in over the ages to form salt marsh, which is home to a variety of endangered species. In fact, the marsh to the west is part of the South Shore Marshes Wildlife Management Area. If you’d like to spend some more time on a rocky beach, hike right, toward Shaw’s Cove. A 5-foot granite spike jutting from the sand 100 yards along serves as a handy destination point. After looping around this odd protuberance, head back to the Salt Marsh Trail.

Extensive boardwalks traverse the otherwise swampy areas of the forest.

Passing blackberry bushes and beach roses, return to the grassy junction you passed through before, and continue straight on the Salt Marsh Trail, heading northeast. Starting wide and becoming narrower, the trail travels through woods, climbing a subtle incline as it nears the Bridle Trail. At this split, keep left, beside the salt marsh. The Salt Marsh Trail soon turns to upland and once more crosses the Bridle Trail. Bear left onto the tried-and-true Bridle Trail, and follow it back to the parking lot.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Immerse yourself in the rich maritime heritage of the area with a visit to the New Bedford Whaling Museum (18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford; 508-997-0046). Admission is free for members, $17 for adults, $15 for senior citizens (65 and older), $10 for students (19 and over), $7 for children ages 4–14, and free for children under 3. The museum is fully wheelchair accessible.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES N41° 38.133' W70° 50.217'

DIRECTIONS From Boston take I-93 S. At Exit 4, merge left onto MA 24 S. After 18.3 miles, take Exit 14A onto I-495 S toward Cape Cod. Continue 19.7 miles, and at Exit 1 merge onto I-195 W. After 9.1 miles, take Exit 19A toward Mattapoisett, and at 0.3 mile merge onto North Street. After 0.9 mile, turn right onto US 6. Continue 1.7 miles to a left turn onto Brandt Island Road. Follow Brandt Island Road, bearing left at the fork, then bear right when you see the sign for Brandt Beach Road. You can park in the small gravel lot on the right, tucked behind the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management (DEM) sign. There is room for approximately 15–20 cars.