Canoe Club Preserve

https://wildlandstrust.org/canoe-club-preserve

Owned By: Wildlands Trust

• Directions
• Trail Map

This 20-acre Wildlands Trust nature preserve, with 100 feet of frontage along the North River, features red maple swamp, small stands of Atlantic White Cedar, and a view of the freshwater tidal marsh. A boardwalk trail provides an overlook of the wetlands but no access to the river. For a longer walk on similar terrain, consider Willow Brook Farm Preserve, nearby.

Features

The Canoe Club Preserve was donated to the Wildlands Trust in 2005 by developer Ron Wilson.

Prior to European contact, the Mattakeeset band of the Massachuseuk (or Massachusett) Native American tribe lived for thousands of years in the North River watershed. Their village included most of today’s Pembroke and Hanson. The word “Mattakeeset” means “place of many fish.”

Trail Description

The trail is a loop, nearly half of which is a boardwalk that traverses red maple swamp and tidal freshwater marsh. The trail also leads through a pine, oak and hemlock forest, with pockets of Atlantic white cedar.

Habitats and Wildlife

The Canoe Club Preserve is located in the valley of Pembroke’s Herring Brook. Half of the preserve is upland and the other half is marshland and swamp. You may notice springs flowing downstream toward Herring Brook, which flows into the North River at an area called The Crotch. Look for skunk cabbage in the early spring and also ferns and false hellebores. In the summer, sweet pepper bush can be found along the trail. You may also see an occasional white birch tree or witch hazel shrub. Beware of poison ivy!