Cranberry Watershed Preserve

54 Lake St, Kingston, MA 02364, USA

781 585-0537

https://sites.google.com/view/kingstonconservation/cranberry-watershed-preserve

Owned By: Town of Kingston

• Directions
• Trail Map

Large property adjacent to Silver Lake High School with several miles of walking trails through woodlands and wetlands, and around retired cranberry bogs. Abuts the Jones River, Pine Brook, and Howard’s Brook. Some trails are suitable for horses. The Bay Circuit Trail extends through this property.

Features

This former agricultural property may be too large to explore in a single visit! There are some bridges and boardwalks within, plus numerous ponds, streams, and retired cranberry bogs and wetlands. 220 acres of the property were acquired by the Town of Kingston in 1998 with assistance from the state. An additional 32 acres were acquired in 2016.

The cranberry bogs on site were established between 1940 and 1945. Totaling 22 acres, they were leased out and managed by a private company.

The Patuxet, members of the Wampanoag tribe, made their home in the area now known as Duxbury, Kingston and Plymouth. Numerous artifacts have been found throughout the region surrounding the Jones River.

Trail Description

This is a sprawling property with numerous intersecting trails totaling at least 5 miles, many of which are cart paths and old bog roads. There are some narrower footpaths as well, plus the cross country running course for Silver Lake Regional High School (blazed with with XC markers). The Bay Circuit Trail runs through this property. A map is strongly recommended!

You can access the trails from a small parking area on Lake Street. If you’re headed south, it comes up on the left, just after the athletic fields at Silver Lake Regional High School. Look for the small informational kiosk. There is also pedestrian access from the high school complex, however fenced-in areas make this a bit of a challenge.

Note; While there used to be an additional, larger parking area on the north side of Grove Street, just west of the railroad overpass, this entrance is now closed. Please respect private property.

Habitats and Wildlife

Much of the land here is a forest of white pine and oak, with beech, maple, and pitch pine. There are also considerable wetlands, including several retired cranberry bogs. Some of the wildlife commonly spotted here include 4 varieties of turtle: spotted, snapping, painted and Eastern Box; freshwater mussel, wood frog, spotted salamander, deer, coyote, red fox, great blue heron, wood duck, and red-tailed hawk.

This property lies within the watershed of the Jones River, which flows through the western quadrant, near Lake Street. Pine Brook and Howard Brook, both tributaries to the Jones River, flow through the property as well. There are also two large reservoirs on site, named for the brooks. Follow the Jones River Watershed Association for more information.