Den Rock Park

Greenbelt’s 48-acre conservation area adjoins the city-owned Den Rock Park, together creating a 129-acre natural wooded setting. Den Rock itself is a massive granite rock formation located on the border of Andover and Lawrence, a popular spot for rock climbers.

The property traces its history to Indigenous people and the first European settlers in Massachusetts.

Den Rock and other glacial erratic boulders and caves in this park had spiritual significance to Indigenous people living in the Shawsheen Valley. The park encompasses a ceremonial stone landscape and occupation sites spanning millennia. Fire-blackened quartz indicates its small caves could have been used for shelter and food storage.

The area offers a rich diversity of subsistence resources from riverine, wetland, and forest biomes.

The area was also important for Indigenous mining and quarrying industries. As early as 8,000 years ago Maritime Archaic people were quarrying soapstone from outcrops and along the banks of the Shawsheen’s tributaries. Den Rock Park lies in a geologic formation called the Nashoba Traverse, with deposits of volcanic rocks such as basalt, granite, and diorite, and minerals such as quartz and calcite.

Later Eastern Woodland people used ground quartz to temper their pottery and mined chalcopyrite, pyrite, and galena—forms of lead used in fire-making. The colonists later quarried serpentine rock from the mines and used the ancient excavations as lime kilns. At the time of European contact, the Shawsheen was a Pawtucket canoe route to the Merrimack, where they gathered to fish at Pawtucket Falls in the spring.

Over 1,000 shards of pottery were discovered during archaeological excavations decades ago. Glass and iron gun parts in the area are likely remnants of the early European settlers, according to the Massachusetts Archaeological Society.

Purchased in 1877 for a cemetery but then changed into a city park in 1896, Den Rock was improved in the 1930s by workers with the Civilian Conservation Corps who installed rock steps, two amphitheaters, a boardwalk, and numerous trails.

In December 2020, Greenbelt acquired 48 acres in Andover and Lawrence from the Merrimack River Watershed Council (MRWC).

MRWC had owned and managed the land since 1999, and we're grateful for their stewardship.

Greenbelt's ownership of the land brings the resources and experience of the organization to bear on a significant community resource. We look forward to working with local partners, including Groundwork Lawrence, the City of Lawrence, the Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) and other groups.

We encourage you to visit Groundwork Lawrence for a comprehensive description of Den Rock Park’s history, trails and natural resources.

Native tree species include white and red oak, gray birch, scotch and white pine, poplars and red maples. The wetlands and Shawsheen River banks are home to cattails, skunk cabbage, rushes and sedges.

Observe spring warblers, woodpeckers, herons and egrets in the wetlands, belted kingfishers, and birds of prey such as the red-tailed hawk. A variety of woodland animals also call the park their home, including deer, fox, fisher, coyotes, beavers and racoons.