House Rock Park - North and South Rivers Watershed Association

House Rock Rd, Weymouth, MA 02188, USA

https://www.weymouth.ma.us/recreation/pages/parks-trails-and-open-spaces

Owned By: Town of Weymouth

24-acre park with 1/3-mile hiking trail and impressively large freestanding boulders, as well as a small playground. Featured in South Shore Quests.

Features

This small town-owned park is centered around one very large glacial erratic boulder, House Rock. The property, located at the end of a residential street, also features a small playground, a basketball court, an open grassy field, and a 0.34-mile woodland loop hiking trail.

According to the Town of Weymouth, House Rock is considered one of the largest freestanding boulders in New England. Very likely it was deposited here 10,000 years ago by a retreating glacier — the same glacial retreat that created the 90-foot-high esker at North Weymouth’s Great Esker Park.

This land is within the region of the Massachuseuk (or Massachusett) Native American tribe.

Trail Description

The 0.34-mile trail begins behind House Rock itself. Follow the white blazes into an open forest that is composed primarily of oak and pine. A footbridge leads over a dry stream, and then the trail continues up and down some moderate hills, looping around upon itself at the end.

Habitats and Wildlife

The woods here are primarily oak, with some pine and pitch pine scattered here and there, plus some greenbrier. The property lies on the border line between the Weymouth Back River watershed and the Monatiquot River watershed. The front section of the park itself drains southeast to Whitman’s Pond, but the rest of the property drains northwest, toward Tide Mill Brook and the Monatiquot River.

The Weymouth Back River rises from several ponds and swamps, including Whitman’s Pond in Weymouth. It flows for about 10 miles, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Hingham Bay, just south of Grape Island and Slate Island. Follow the Back River Watershed Association for more information about the Weymouth Back River.

The Monatiquot River rises in Braintree, at the confluence of the Farm and Cochato Rivers, within the Braintree Municipal Golf Course. It flows northeast for 4.9 miles before merging with Smelt Brook to form the Fore River. The Fore River serves as the boundary between the towns of Weymouth and Braintree. It flows for about 3 miles, into Quincy, where it meets Town River, and then flows for another 2 miles into Hingham Bay. In its final few miles, the Fore River is nearly a mile wide in some places. Follow the Fore River Watershed Association more information about the Monatiquot and Fore Rivers.