Sunday Morning Hike - Pine Pit to Woodland Acres and Gloucester Quarries

Join us for a hike in the northern woods of Cape Ann, following the old quarry “Rail Trail” from Pine Pit in Rockport, past the picturesque Sherburne Motions, to Bay State Quarry and Greenbelt’s Kleimola Reservation in Gloucester.   Along the way, we’ll take a detour to explore Woodland Acres, a regenerating native pine forest damaged by last summer’s fires, and will return to the Rail Trail via one of Cape Ann’s earliest roads, Blueberry Lane.

See the route here:  https://www.gaiagps.com/public/kkYxsNTZLTXVF3OfJV7WYMXZ

This is a relatively easy hike over typical woodland trails, with lots of rocks and roots underfoot, plus a good chance of icy and/or muddy patches at this time of year.  Total distance is about 4 miles, and the estimated time is just under two hours.

Meeting Spot:  Meet at the parking lot for the Pine Pit Conservation Area at the north end of Curtis St. in Rockport, adjacent to #64 Curtis.   Curtis St. is off Route 127/Granite St. and has two entrances: At the north end, it is on the right coming from Gloucester, a short distance past Halibut Point State Park; at the south end, it is on the left coming from Rockport, at Pigeon Cove Harbor. 

Please arrive early. The hike will depart promptly at 10 AM.

Please note that dogs are not permitted on the Sunday Morning hikes.  The Cape Ann Sunday Hikes group now has a Dog-Friendly Hikes group which is repeating each Sunday Morning hike the following month.  You can join the Dog-Friendly Hikes Google group from The Cape Ann Sunday Hikes  home page to get announcements of each Dog-Friendly hike.