Indian Brook Conservation Area - North and South Rivers Watershed Association

1197 State Rd, Plymouth, MA 02360, USA

Plymouth Parks & Forestry: 508-830-4162, ext. 12116

Owned By: Town of Plymouth

This 210-acre wooded property offers a 1.1-mile out-and-back trail with frontage on Indian Brook, and with a distant view of Shallow Pond. According to the Plymouth Trail Guide, the trail was originally a game trail, established by deer. Access available toward the rear of the Manomet Recreation Area.

Features

This land is within the region of the Wampanoag tribe, who in earlier times, maintained a fishing weir at the mouth of Bartlett’s Pond, nearby. The name Manomet has been interpreted to mean “bearing of a burden,” possibly referring to the baskets used by the Wampanoag on trails between their settlements at Patuxet (Plymouth) and Cape Cod. To learn more about our local tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and the Herring Pond Wampanoag both share information on their websites.

Trail Description

Drive down the access road to Manomet Recreation Area and look for the trailhead behind the playground. This is an out-and-back trail of about 1.1 mile. It heads into the woods, offering occasional glimpses of Indian Brook. Follow the trail arrows (there are some unmarked side trails). You will pass over some furrows in the landscape, possibly dug by hand at an earlier time, to help with drainage. After 0.4 miles, the trail merges with Indian Brook Road (a cart path) and turns left. Then after 0.1 mile, it turns right, heading back into the woods. The final half mile of the trail leads through the forest, up and down some moderate hills, before ending, with a bench, at a distant overlook on Shallow Pond.

To see Indian Brook, when you return to Indian Brook Road, turn right instead of left, and walk another 0.1 mile.

Habitats and Wildlife

This property features a mixed upland forest, with white pine, pitch pine, oak, ash, beech, birch, maple, holly, sassafras and mountain laurel. The understory is primarily fern, sweet pepperbush and viburnum.

Indian Brook itself looks more like a pond here, as it’s been dammed for decades to create a cranberry farming reservoir. Its waters flow eventually to Cape Cod Bay near Ship Pond. There is hope for the future removal of the dam at State Road, which would permit this waterway to flow freely again after a long interruption.