Ames Nowell State Park

March 28, 2020 Cloudy

This park consists of 700 acres in Abington, in southeastern Massachusetts. The main attraction here is Cleveland Pond and hiking trails along the shore.

We started our walk from the main parking area, which takes you immediately to the pond, with a small pier and a large dam. We had decided to loop around the pond, roughly 3 miles in total, heading west first.

The area near the dam and the first part of the loop trail were packed the day we came, mainly with families with children.

Along the shore in just the first minute, there was a huge boulder that the kids scrambled up.

The walk then continued on a boardwalk as it hugged the shore.

The trail then led into a more forested area that was filled with interesting boulders, alone or sometimes in small piles.

There were several sections that were a bit muddy, but fortunately some of these had boardwalks.

Part way around the pond you pass a strip of land with powerlines, which detracts from the generally peaceful and pristine views. We continued along the shore, heading toward the opposite side.

Although much of the trail was ordinary, some parts of the shore brought a surprise, such as the little boardwalk through an Atlantic white cedar swamp.

Soon after this point, the trail became quite muddy as it entered a wetland area on the northern side of Cleveland Pond. Several times we got lost and at one point found ourselves walking on an old stone wall and carefully jumping around as we tried to pick up the trail again.

Eventually we found our way out of this area and back onto the main path after several dead ends. Many thanks to Apple maps and GPS for pointing us in the right general direction.

Miles enjoyed peering into a little cave we found along the way.

We also came upon a simple teepee and fire pit along the trail.

And then once more the terrain turned swampy as we neared the northernmost part of the walk.

Turning a corner, we stumbled upon an unexpected site – two old gravestones near the base of a tree. One of these belongs to a Joseph Richards Jr. (1727-1785), who was a veteran of both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. The other gravestone was crumbled and illegible.

The trail then turned south and crossed a few brooks, one of which had a makeshift bridge with a helpful guide rope to steady us.

We found a few large boulders along the shore as we returned toward the main entrance. This one had been a cookout spot.

Much of the pond loop had pretty ordinary views. The generally muddy nature of the walk and the confusing wetlands (where we lost the trail for about 15 minutes) made us feel a bit sour about this park. We suggest coming at a drier time of the year and considering visiting only part of the loop.

• The trail was difficult to follow at times, but had a few interesting features like Atlantic white cedar swamps and colonial-era gravestones.
• There are parts that were very muddy and we lost the trail completely.
• Not only was it long, but it was also muddy and thorny. The only highlight was when I got to go the way I wanted instead of just the generic way.
• It was very muddy and long so not very good.
• it was super muddy.and it was 4 miles.

For more information: Ames Nowell State Park official site.