Sylvan Lake

3 Center St, Holbrook, MA 02343, USA

Owned By: Town of Holbrook

• Directions

This 12-acre pond on Centre Street, near the MBTA station, features a rough 0.08-mile trail through the woods and brush along the shoreline, with numerous spots for fishing.

Note: The fish here are contaminated with pesticides. Do not eat any bullhead, eel, or carp from this pond. For all other fish caught here, limit consumption to 2 meals per month.

Features

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

Trail Description

Two large boulders mark the trailhead. There is a rough trail along the edge of one side of the pond. Accessible from Centre Street, it extends for about 0.08 miles through light woods and brush, with numerous spots to pause and enjoy the view.

Habitats and Wildlife

The woodland at the edge of the pond is mostly oak, maple and birch trees, with an understory of shrubs. Some of the fish commonly found in the pond include: brown bullhead, pumpkinseed, American eel, common carp, mirror carp, white perch, yellow perch, and largemouth bass.

Trout Brook flows through Sylvan Lake. After joining with Mary Lee Brook, Glovers Brook, and Tumbling Brook, it flows into the Cochato River on the Holbrook/Braintree line.

The Cochato River rises in Avon and serves as the boundary between Randolph and Braintree. Within the Braintree Municipal Golf Course, it merges with the Farm River for form the Monatiquot River. 

The Monatiquot River 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.