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7 PARKER RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: Hellcat Trail

DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 1.84-mile double loop

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SCENERY: Salt marshes, sand dunes, Atlantic Ocean

EXPOSURE: Mostly shaded, with some exposed areas

TRAFFIC: Moderate

TRAIL SURFACE: Boardwalks traverse the dunes and marsh along the entire length of the trail

HIKING TIME: 30–45 minutes

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM BOSTON COMMON: 53 miles

ELEVATION: 5' at trailhead, no significant gain

SEASON: Year-round

ACCESS: Open sunrise–sunset. Daily entrance fee is $5 per car and $2 for people on foot or bicycle; annual pass is $20 (credit cards not accepted).

MAPS: Available at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge headquarters and visitor center (6 Plum Island Turnpike, Newburyport, MA), the gatehouse, and the trailhead while supplies last. Also available at tinyurl.com/parkerrivermap.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A small section of trail off the southernmost parking area (7) is designed for wheelchair users. In addition, Pines Trail (at parking area 5) and many of the wildlife-observation areas are wheelchair accessible.

FACILITIES: There are no concession stands on the refuge; however, there are several restaurants and shops where the Plum Island Turnpike ends just outside the refuge entrance. Facilities at Hellcat Swamp include restrooms, an information center, a public boat launch, and many wildlife observation areas.

CONTACT: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/refuge/parker_river, 978-465-5753

LOCATION: Plum Island, Newburyport, MA

COMMENTS: Although Plum Island’s 6.3-mile beach is closed April 1–August 31 for piping plovers to nest and rear their chicks, the Hellcat Trail remains open all year. Also, as an interpretive trail that’s entirely boardwalk, it is convenient for families with small children or less mobile hikers.

The Hellcat Trail is made up entirely of an extensive series of boardwalks to preserve the landscape.

TRAVELING OVER AN elevated boardwalk, this hike surveys the freshwater marsh of the Parker River Wildlife Refuge, passes through Plum Island’s inner beach, and then crests enormous dunes to reach a lookout over the Atlantic Ocean. Those interested in increasing their hiking time can add the Pine Wood Trail, located south of the Hellcat Trail, and/or the Sandy Point State Reservation hike that loops around the southern end of the island opposite Ipswich Bay.

DESCRIPTION

In days long past, there was not a more remote and forbidding place on Plum Island than the Hellcat Swamp. Today, thanks to an elevated boardwalk, nearly anyone can venture into the farthest reaches of the swamp and the inner beach that insulates the swamp from the sea.

Begin at the trailhead located north of the parking lot beside the path that leads northwest to a wildlife lookout tower. Step up onto the boardwalk and follow it south through bayberry bushes to a junction where the trail divides in two. To start the hike with a tour of Plum Island’s dunes, bear right, and continue east. As it’s an extended boardwalk, it is virtually impossible to lose the trail. Even the steps are painted yellow to help you avoid tripping or losing your footing. This is accessible to anyone who can walk.

Ahead, where the boardwalk bends north to cross the island, the trail passes through woodland where black oaks and red maples grow in an oasis created by the weather-shielding dunes and marsh. Farther along, the boardwalk reaches an area where freshwater vernal pools form when hard-hitting storms bore craters in the sand. As sources of rain-fed freshwater, these pools are critical to the island’s wildlife.

After bearing east once more, the trail cuts across the access road. Cross carefully, then take up the boardwalk again as it climbs into the beach’s back dunes. You’ll pass through a grove of tenacious black cherry (Prunus serotina) and cedar trees.

Continue left at the split beyond the road to loop around the Dunes Trail. As the trail emerges from the shelter of the inner dunes and proceeds through the more exposed territory of secondary dunes, you can’t help but notice the botanical changes. Where fierce wind and salt spray are able to penetrate, only the hardiest plants, such as beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa), manage to survive. Their root system provides a modicum of stability for the shifting sand dunes. On the western slopes of the next set of dunes, you’ll see bayberries and beach plums (Prunus maritima) growing in sheltered niches.

An incongruous stand of black pine (Pinus nigra) lies ahead to the northeast. These trees were planted as part of a dune-stabilization effort during the 1950s. Although the black pine took hold successfully, the project was of dubious merit. What scientists understand now but didn’t then is that barrier islands quell forces—such as hurricane winds—by deadening them with the drag of sand and waterlogged marsh peat.

Bear right at a memorial to conservationist Ludlow Griscom, and follow the boardwalk trail to the east. You’ll be able to see the Joppa Flats and Merrimack River to the left. The walls of sand block sight of all but a sliver of the Atlantic to the east. Sloping uphill toward the primary dunes, the boardwalk scales a set of stairs to a lookout constructed behind one last great dune. On a clear day, you can see Cape Ann on the eastern horizon. To the right, the pale band of Crane Beach stretches south toward Essex.

The boardwalks make otherwise challenging terrain accessible.

From the lookout, the trail descends steep stairs as it retreats back under tree cover on its return southwest. After once again crossing the access road, retrace your steps over the boardwalk to the trail’s initial fork, and this time bear right onto the Marsh Trail.

Where the trail splits a short way in, follow it left as it departs high ground dense with bayberry and beach plum for open marsh thick with cattails. Elevated above the marsh floodplain, the boardwalk bears west and bends north. If you’re out on this boardwalk as early as March, you’ll be treated to the sights and sounds of migratory birds arriving and filling the air with a symphony of honks, screeches, and chirps. Upwards of 350 species have been sighted on the island, and Hellcat Swamp is a favorite viewing location. Purple martins arrive in mid-April, as do hundreds of American kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks, and other raptor species. As spring eases into summer, you’ll see waves of warblers, thrushes, vireos, fly-catchers, and other songbirds arrive and settle to rejuvenate and nest.

After arching out to a lookout station that provides a view over the northern freshwater pool and the town of Newbury beyond, the trail aims east and returns to high ground. Upon reaching a junction, bear left to access a wildlife lookout.

Returning by the same path, bear left at the next fork in the boardwalk, and continue south through the shrub land that borders the marsh. Sharp white birches lean into the breeze above an otherwise tangled thicket. Continue straight at the next fork, then bear right at the last to arrive back at the trailhead. If you’d like, you can extend the hike by following the trail to the right of Hellcat Trail to a lookout tower positioned beside the dike and the freshwater pools.

The ocean tides, terrain, and weather have long conspired to make Hellcat Swamp inaccessible at best. Before 1942, when the Audubon Society turned over its Annie H. Brown Wildlife Sanctuary to the federal government, allowing it to become part of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, there was no way to reach it other than by boat or by foot. After acquiring the land, the government constructed the access road that now runs the entire length of the island, increasing access to this dramatic landscape.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS

Newburyport boasts an assortment of attractions, including many historic homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A locale of unique appeal to boat lovers is Lowell’s Boat Shop (978-388-0162), located in nearby Amesbury. The boat shop opened for business in 1793 and has been producing dories ever since.

For information, schedules, and listings of special events, visit Historic New England’s website, historicnewengland.org. Though steeped in history, Newburyport is a vibrant commercial and cultural center with many excellent restaurants.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES N42° 44.483' W70° 47.733'

DIRECTIONS From Boston, take Storrow Drive E, following signs for US 1 N. Merge onto US 1 N toward Tobin Bridge/Revere. At 15.1 miles, merge onto I-95 N. From I-95, take Exit 57 and travel east on MA 113 to MA 1A S. At the intersection with Rolfe’s Lane, turn left, and continue 0.5 mile to its end. Turn right onto Plum Island Turnpike and travel 2 miles, crossing Sergeant Donald Wilkinson Bridge to Plum Island. Take the first right onto Sunset Drive and travel 0.5 mile to the refuge entrance. Continue 3.5 miles to the Hellcat Wildlife Observation area, on the left.