ravenswood park

This place is not easy to find, but once you experience, you'll never forget it. There are different trails to choose from and we enjoyed hiking one of them with our small granddaughter. It's just lovely, with many trillium patches and we thanked the generous donors all the way. Not too strenuous, but you might want a little bug spray.

A Great place for a hike with several different trails. We did 4 miles and two trails. A lot of people walk their dogs there too. It starts with carriage type trails and goes into smaller trails marked by colors. There are a handful of views such as A Quarry and a view of a lighthouse and the ocean. Not a lot of parking so go early.

We got up early, had breakfast, and went to Ravenswood for a lovely walk. The main trails are old carriage roads, and thus they are relatively smooth, good for me with my arthritic knee. The paths do run up and down some, so we got a good workout despite not truly hiking. The visitor center (this is Trustees of Reservations site) was open, and the volunteers working there were informative and fun to talk to. A great morning on a gorgeous fall day.

We hiked here on a lovely spring day and spent nearly 3 hours. The trails go through pine and oak woods with a wild magnolia swamp board walk, enormous glacial bolder fields, and around a pond and old quarry. Make sure you go into the visitor center and learn about the history of Magnolia and the wild magnolias from Ramona. She and her team have designed a warm family space where very young children can look through microscopes, visit Cleopatra the grey tree frog or climb up into an indoor tree house. Please join Trustees of Reservations to help support critical habitat such as Ravenswood.

The quality of light is never better than winter time. Fun to watch dogs bounding through snow, and feels like walking in a snowglobe each time the trees sway and shake flakes down like glitter.

You can make several visits before you walk all the trails. We just had a couple of hours and hiked a few of the outer trails. Trails run from easy to moderate, Your GPS may tell you that you have arrived when you have not. If coming from Gloucester, keep going straight and the entrance will be on your right. If coming from Manchester, the entrance may be on your left before the GPS tells you that you have arrived.

This park is a woodsy area with a variety of trail. People were bringing their dogs for walks but all were well behaved. It's a nice little get away for people.

My Husband and I love taking long hikes at Ravenswood. It is so beautiful there. It is also dog friendly.

Plenty of parking most times. People do come up there to walk their dogs so if you aren't a fan of dogs you might want to avoid this. The scenery is nice and their are many paths you can take for your walk.

Great hike, tour, and discovery center for our family. You can hike on your own or join one of the tours. The discovery center is a clean, friendly, and educational place to meet up, hang out, or explore with kids. Also, nearby is the state park with a beach and large playground.

Excellent choice to walk off all those calories from visiting Gloucester restaurants (only a short ten minute drive away.) Very relaxing hiking, not to strenuous. Take trails to the right after entering to get to scenic overviews of the ocean, nice spot for picnicking.

The park has a number of well marked trails. Some were rocky and others flatter or on board walks over the swamp. It was very quiet on a Monday in off season, so perfect for enjoying the sounds of the birds.

If you decide to go to Ravenswood Park, keep in mind that there is limited parking. Otherwise, there a variety of trails to choose from. I PERSONALLY like the "Ridge Trail" because it takes you up on a ridge where you can overlook Gloucester and see Boston skyline. Just watch out for dog poop!

Ravenswood Park is by far my favorite place to take my dog for a walk, no matter the season. There's one main trail that forks off into other directions plus there are tons of side trails (more woodsy and harder with rocks and roots but with awesome views). At one spot, kind of off the beaten path, you can see the harbor and it is so pretty. My favorite season to visit is fall because the trees are so beautiful and the bugs are gone. It does get extremely buggy in the spring and summer. I don't normally use mosquito repellant but it's a must as you get devoured. In the winter, you can see people snow shoeing around the trails and you can also walk there but no one clears it out so it's quite muddy and icy. I went the other day (I go weekly) and it was pretty muddy and cold but the parking lot was still full of cars. It's definitely a great spot for animals and nature lovers! And, unlike most parks in the area, parking is still free.

Nice nature trails with a bit of history, and it is literally next to my house with the back entrance to the park 25 yards from my driveway.