Nature Reserve

 Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to herring and great black-backed gulls.  The refuge serves as a stopover site for songbirds and other migrants to rest and feed during seasonal migration.  Off-shore habitats are used by seals, waterfowl, loons, grebes, cormorants and alcids.

There are two lighthouses are only hundreds of feet apart on Thatcher Island, which makes it unique to New England.  The only other twin light house is Twin Lights of the Navesink in New Jersey. 

Park on Middlteon Road and hike in.  Check the trail map [download link below] for the best parking spaces.

Bald Hill West consists of 222 acres, and offers a great place for hiking, snowshoeing, crosscountry skiing and exploring nature.

Willowdale Mill is the site of a 19th century textile mill constructed that produced various textiles until it was destroyed by fire in 1884.   Remnants of the mill are still evident as is the sluiceway that channeled water from the Ipswich River to power the mill. The sluiceway is dry now, but still runs from one end of the property to the other. The surrounding woods are dotted with white pine, with fine broad paths carpeted in layers of pine needles for walking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and  horseback riding.