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A place where local children have come to play in nature for more than 300 years, Jennie Lagoulis Reservation at Four Rock & Devil’s Den offers a unique landscape and biodiversity of uplands, wetlands and maritime forest.
A gently rolling, wooded trail with numerous boardwalks is well marked, starting at the parking lot. The first boardwalk skirts the edge of the large, open wet meadow and provides an excellent vantage point for birding.
The trail leads hikers through a pine forest and eventually past the Devil's Den limestone quarries which can be explored by visitors of all ages. The trail continues over rolling terrain through stands of pine, cedar and oaks.
When the quarries were abandoned, the land became a place for summer recreation where imaginative children added tales of sorcery, renaming the cave Devil’s Den.
Today, the Merrohawke Nature School is in session much of the year Monday-Friday. Their main classroom area is immediately adjacent to the parking area. Ground tree forts and fire pits built by Merrohawke in various areas are not for public use. Please be respectful of all Merrohawke related activities.
A large wet meadow surrounded by upland forest of cedars, conifers and hardwoods laced with colonial era stonewalls. Wildflowers are abundant in the open meadow rimmed by marsh grasses and plants that turn from lush green in spring/summer to golden waves in the fall.
Deer, coyote, fox and other forest-loving creatures make their home in the meadow and forests. The property provides important habitat for state-listed species like northern harrier and short-eared owl, as well as warblers, egrets, herons, bitterns and occasionally the elusive whip-poor-will.
82 Boston Road, off Route 1, Newbury
Latitude 42.778958, Longitude -70.876544
From Route 1 North/Boston Road:
Turn right onto Boston Road. In 0.3 miles, bear left on Boston Road. Trailhead and parking are 0.25 miles ahead on left.
From Route 1 South/Boston Road:
Turn left onto Boston Road. In 0.3 miles, bear left on Boston Road. Trailhead and parking are 0.25 miles ahead on left.
From Route 95/Exit 56 Scotland Road:
Go northeast on Scotland Road towards Newburyport. In 2.0 miles, turn right onto Highfield Road. In 0.7 miles, turn right onto Middle Road. In 0.8 miles turn left onto Boston Road, cross Route 1, and in 0.3 miles bear left on Boston Road. In 0.45 miles, bear left on Boston Road. Trailhead and parking are 0.25 miles ahead on left.
A large gravel parking lot is marked with Greenbelt signage. Note the Devil's Pulpit rock formation across the street.
Town: Newbury
Total Acres: 28
Year Conserved: 2014
Difficulty: Easy
82 Eastern Avenue, Essex,
Massachusetts 01929
e. ecga@ecga.org
p. 978.768.7241
f. 978.768.3286
Greenbelt is grateful to several professional and staff photographers whose work is featured prominently within our website.
Thank you Jerry Monkman / ecophotography.com, Lynne Holton, Kindra Clineff, Adrian Scholes and John Raleigh.