Plum Island Hike

We like to visit the ocean in the fall because it's quiet and the grass begins to turn into a beautiful goldish color. This time we headed down to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island in Newburyport, MA for some fresh air and sunshine. This was the first time for the GOers on our trip and I suspect it won't be their last.

After paying the 5 dollar admission fee per car we drove 3.5 miles down the park road to the Hellcat trail area. During the drive we observed Parker River to the right before emptying into the ocean at the tip of the island. Marshes and pools made for plenty of birds that were all over the place. 

To the left was the tall Atlantic barrier island sand dunes. Something I've seen in Ogunquit and Provincetown. When we made it to the Hellcat trail other members began to arrive. 

We first followed the path out to the observation tower that gave us a view of the river, the pools and the Hellcat trail area. Birds, birds, and more birds were everywhere. They filled the pools and shorelines while plenty of songbirds filled the air, especially red winged blackbirds which seemed to be everywhere. They don't call this a national wildlife refuge for nothing I guess!

The Hellcat trail is divided into two sections: the marsh and the dunes. We chose the Dunes first as it's the most strenuous of the trails. Not terribly tough with about 100 feet of climbing up stairs over .6 miles, with the biggest climb being about 50 feet to the observation deck atop the dunes. The entire trail is actually elevated boardwalks and stairs that wind their way through vernal pools, woodlands, swamps and sand dunes which we had a great time on. Much different that our White Mountain hiking trails! After about 1/3 of a mile we reached the high point for the day atop the Hellcat Dunes where we took a group picture. 

The trip back starts off going down maybe 30 feet of steps before leveling off again and rejoins the main path for awhile until we returned back to the marsh/dunes junction. We then took the marsh branch of the trail for another .8 mile loop, this time through the marsh and out over the river. Birds were plentiful on both sections. 

When we were done there was time for more fun so we headed to the Sandy Point Reservation at the southern end of the island. It's a huge sandy beach, and in the summer, almost impossible to get a parking space. But this time of year, it's a perfect sandy secluded beach with only a few other people. 

We walked along the shore getting some sun and having fun. What made this so special is that we had a summer like day in November with temperatures near 70! Afterwards almost everyone went back to Bob's Lobster for a late lunch outside on their picnic tables. 

Sunny fun, close to home with a great group of GOers! Five miles of walking and only 100 feet or so of elevation gain. The trails were interesting and different than most hiking trails. It's a perfect paradise if you're into birding. There are people running all over with spotting scopes and $20,000 camera/lens combos that make my little camera seem like a disposable. The beach was amazing and it only costs $5 to enjoy it. It's open sunrise to sunset. No mountains but with the little hiking trails and beach it was a great place to spend a day with our our GO friends on a summer-like November day! 

~ Mike Boisvert

We'll be visiting the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and our first stop will be to walk the Hellcat Swamp Nature Trail. We'll then drive to the south end of the island for some seashore walking. There will be observation towers to climb with views of the entire island and surrounding coast! By the time we finish, we will have walked an easy 5 miles in the salty air and you may have a fine sunburn, too. Aftwerwards, we'll have a late lunch in Newburyport.