McKenna Marsh Conservation Area

130 Scotland St, Hingham, MA 02043, USA

Hingham Conservation: (781) 741-1445

Owned By: Town of Hingham

• Directions
• Trail Map

Features

According to the Hingham Conservation Land Trust, the freshwater marsh here was once used as a waterfowl preserve. McKenna Marsh is immediately adjacent to some of the town wells for Hingham and Norwell.

This land is within the region of the Massachusett (or Massachuseuk). To learn more about local Native American tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Massachusett tribe at Ponkapoag and the Mattakeeset band of the Massachusett share information on their websites.

Trail Description

A property sign on Scotland Street marks the trailhead. An approx. 2-mile loop trail leads through an open woodland to a footbridge over Accord Brook, and then along the edge of a large freshwater marsh. From there, it continues through a more dense pine forest before arriving at 205 acres of Norwell Water Department land on Grove Street. The trail continues to the right, through the Water Department land, eventually leading back into Hingham. The last leg of the loop includes a pine forest with an additional crossing of Accord Brook, and a short walk through a meadow.

In the pine grove between the first Accord Brook crossing and the Norwell Water Department land, look for a spur trail to the left. It extends for 0.4-miles to the Wanders Drive neighborhood.

Habitats and Wildlife

Some of the birds observed here include chickadees, Carolina wrens, house wrens, blue jays, catbirds, killdeer, tufted titmice, nuthatches, warblers, red tailed hawks, and downy woodpeckers. Other wildlife include deer, wild turkeys, and beavers. Look for evidence of beavers in the area around Accord Brook. You may see a dam, or some chewed-up trees. Some of the trees present here include pine, oak, maple, cedar, American chestnut, and beech, along with buckthorn, sweet pepper bush, viburnum, huckleberry, fern, evening primrose, cardinal flower, and partridge berry.

Accord Brook flows through this property and eventually into Wompatuck State Park, through Triphammer Pond, to the Weir River.

Formed at the confluence of Crooked Meadow River and Fulling Mill Brook, the Weir River flows north through Hingham, with Tower Brook and Accord Brook joining it in its first mile. It gradually turns northeast and flows for another 1.4 miles, through Weir River Farm and eventually into Foundry Pond. The Weir River Estuary, designated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Area of Critical Concern, begins just below the manmade dam at the pond. The mile-wide estuary — with numerous acres of undisturbed salt marsh — forms the border between Hingham and Hull, and empties into Hingham Bay. We encourage you to follow and support the Weir River Watershed Association.