Trustees of Reservations

In With The New Hike

Snowy owls are just one of the surpises that you might find on the trails of the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Winter!

Welcome the New Year with a brisk hike through the Crane Wildlife Refuge! We’ll begin with a small fire on the beach – bring a slip of paper with regrets from the past year, and we’ll send them up in smoke. Then we’ll cleanse our psyches with a trek through the starkly beautiful landscape of the dunes; trails winding along the sandy hills, blood pumping, the smell of the sea in the air – what a perfect way to to enter into 2018! At hike’s end we’ll warm up with hot cider.

When: 
Monday, January 1, 2018 10am-Noon

Shine A Light: A Family Night Hike

Join the Trustees on a night hike with your Family at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts

On this Friday before Thanksgiving, in the dark of the new moon, we’ll walk with tea lights (no open flames!) to illuminate our passage through the trails and along the rolling hills at the Crane Estate. While we walk, we’ll talk about the first Thanksgiving, and how giving thanks can make us appreciate all the good and wonder in our lives. You’ll be amazed at how fortunate you are when you stop taking things for granted! Come with an attitude of gratitude! Pre-registration is suggested.

When: 
Friday, November 17, 2017 7-9PM

Haunted Hike

Walk through the Crane Wildlife Refuge Ipswich Massachusetts with the Trustees of Reservations on Halloween!

Join The Trustees of Reservations for a harrowing Halloween Hike through the haunted trails of the Crane Wildlife Refuge! All Hallow’s Eve is a night when the creatures of the woods roam the paths and the dunes, silent and scary. Bring someone you can hold on to – and be prepared to hike through soft sand up and down hills for approximately 1.5 miles! We’ll finish our adventure with witches brew and pumpkin bread around a campfire on the beach.

When: 
Tuesday, October 31, 2017 7-9pm

Autumn Ramble

The Cedar Point Trail at the Crane Estate winds through varied terrain to the be

Come explore the Crane Estate trails in this season between the chaos of summer and the quiet of winter. We’ll take note of the ways nature gets ready to rest – the preparations that plants and animals make to survive the snowfall that will arrive in a matter of weeks. Bring your sharp senses and your skills of observation! This is an outdoor adventure for the whole family! We’ll end our ramble with a campfire and hot chocolate.

When: 
Sunday, November 12, 2017 1-3PM

Beach Plum Jam Workshop at Appleton Farms

Learn about Beach Plums and making jam at this 'Appleton Cooks' Session in Ipswich MA!

Join us to gather these sweet and tart beach plums at Crane Beach. We’ll then head up to the Great House kitchen to make beach plum jam. All materials will be provided and participants are welcome to take their hard work home! Adults only. Pre-registration required. 

When: 
Tuesday, September 5, 2017 5-9PM
Location: 

Green Friday: For the Love of Dogs!

Bring your dog to the Appleton Farms Grass rides for an after Thanksgiving Hike!

Join the Trustees at Appleton Farms Grass Rides on Green Friday to walk off that turkey with your best bud! Choose to get outside on Friday, November 25th and join us at the Grass Rides for a dog party. A special doggy quest through the Grass Rides will have treasure boxes with treats along the trails. Meet back up at the parking area for people and dog refreshments, free pup nail trimming, compliments of Paws With Inn, photo opportunities with Lauren Mac Petography, and more! First 50 dogs to complete the quest get a special gift!

When: 
Friday, November 25, 2016 10am-Noon
Location: 

Clam-O-Rama! Wild Edibles from the Marsh

Joiin the Trustees for a clamming adventure at Fox Creek in Ipswich MA!

The Trustees of Reservations invites families to an edible adventure for the whole family! Ipswich has long been renowned for it’s delicious soft-shell clams. Join us as we wander into Fox Creek to find out firsthand where our food comes from! We’ll dig for a variety of clams – and maybe find some vegetables to go with them – and then hike to the Pine Grove to cook and eat what we’ve gathered. You may want to bring a bag supper to supplement our harvest – clamming is harder than it looks! 

When: 
Friday, August 11, 2017 6:30-9pm

Morning Kayak to Choate Island

Take a guided kayak paddle to Choate Island with the Trustees of Reservations!

Join The Trustees of Reservations for a paddle and a hike – what better way to spend a summer morning? Paddle across Essex Bay from the Trustees of Reservations boat dock to Choate Island. We’ll beach our boats for a tour of the island, stopping in at the Proctor Barn, the White Cottage and the Choate House, then continuing to the highest point on the island where Cornelius and Miné Crane are buried. After the hike, we’ll kayak around the island to get the views from the water (tides permitting).

When: 
Sunday, June 25, 2017 8:30-10:30am

Kayak Fox Creek with Picnic

Kayak the twists and turns of Fox Creek in Ipswich with the Trustees of Reservations

Join The Trustees of Reservations as we kayak the winding waters that meander through the marsh between the Ipswich River and Essex Bay. We’ll start our adventure at Steep Hill Beach, then paddle into the Ipswich River to Fox Creek, traveling through the oldest man-made tidewater canal in the United States! As we wend our way through the marsh, we’ll be on the lookout for herons, egrets, and other shore birds -- with luck we’ll spot an osprey hunting for its supper! A picnic lunch will be waiting for us when we return. We’ll supply the kayaks and lifejackets; please call to learn more.

When: 
Sunday, June 11, 2017 11am-2pm

Mother's Day at Appleton Farm

Mother's Day fun for NorthShore Families

Join us this Mother’s Day for an adventure with the classic characters from Beatrix Potter! Bring the whole family to enjoy a morning with the mischievous Peter Rabbit and his friends!

Attendees will explore the farm and meet some of the classic characters such as; Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Johnny Town Mouse, Tom Kitten and more! Visit Mr. McGregor’s garden, Mrs. Tiggy Winkle’s kitchen, Jemima Puddle Duck’s nest and Hunca Munca’s doll house.  After your adventure, join us in the Carriage Barn for light refreshments and meet our farm animals in the barnyard.  Kids will also make a beautiful potted lettuce garden inspired by Peter Rabbit as a gift for mom!

When: 
Sunday, May 14, 2017 10am-Noon
Location: 

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A Landmark Summer Experience at Landmark School in Beverly Massachusetts prepare students for success in the fall and beyond.

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Breakfast with Santa

Kids will enjoy breakfast with Santa at the Hamilton Wenham Community House
Come and enjoy a continental style breakfast and get your picture taken with Santa. We will also have a letter writing station and music entertainment. Following the event at 3 pm, the Musary will be sponsoring a FREE Holiday concert! Donations to The Musary will be welcome. We hope to see you!...
7:30 am to 1:30 pm

Middle Street Walk 2024

The lighting of the Lobster Trap Tree is part of Middle Street Walk's finale in Gloucester Massachusetts.
The Annual Middle Street Walk is a great way to experience Gloucester's Historic District and waterfront while having Holiday fun with the family. An updated schedule of this years walk will be available for download on December 1, 2024 at this link.
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Music Together - Saturday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45 minutes...
9:15 am to 11:15 am

CraneExplorer: Coastal Holiday Crafts

Make holiday gifts with beach treasures from the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts
This holiday season, give a gift from the sea! Beach treasures make beautiful holiday ornaments, jewelry, and keepsakes. Join this workshop to take a beach walk to collect coastal treasures and then make some coastal crafts with our educators. Bring your own shells and beach treasures and we will...
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts
Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm

Second Saturdays at Cape Ann Museum

Second Saturdays mean free admission for local Families at Cape Ann Museum!
The Museum is free all day for Cape Ann residents* on the second Saturday of every month in 2024! The second Saturday of every month is free for Cape Ann families. Pre-registration and timed tickets are required.
10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Deck the Docks at Maritime Gloucester

Deck the Docks at on the Gloucester Massachusetts Waterfront and join the holiday cheer!
Come to Maritime Gloucester for fun holiday happenings on the waterfront in Gloucester Massachusetts!
10:00 am to 7:00 pm

Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

A holiday themed tour of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10am for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

2nd & 4th Saturday at Lynn Museum

Lynn Museum in Massachusetts offers free admission on the second Saturday of each month.
Come to the Lynn Museum and Historical Society for FREE family fun. Join us on the second and fourth Saturday of each month for FREE admission to the Museum from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.! You can view our latest exhibitions, purchase Lynn-themed goods in our shop, check out books in our free library, and...
10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Middle Street Walk Gingerbread Contest 2024

Middle Street Walk Gingerbread Contest entries can take any shape.
Everybody is invited to enter the Gingerbread Contest for the Middle Street Walk in Gloucester this year! Groups and individuals are encouraged to get creative and come up with entries that can take any shape.  All entries will be judged during the Middle Street walk with winners being announced at...
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Ipswich Jingle Bell Walk

Join friends and family for a day of holiday festivities and cheer! Sing carols with Buddy the Elf while waiting for Santa’s arrival.
Greet Santa as he arrives at Town Wharf on East Street, at the north end end of Water Street, in Ipswich!  Come sing carols with Buddy the Elf as we await Santa’s arrival.  Jingle Bells will be available for purchase.  Jingle your bells and follow our honored guest and Buddy the Elf on a festive “...
11:00 am to 1:30 pm

Santa's Workshop

Santa's Workshop in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Visit Newburyport MA during the holidays
Newburyport is a favorite local town to shop - especially during the holidays. The fantastic lights downtown, the tree in Market Square, all the beautifully decorated window boxes and of course, Santa's Workshop, where the kids can whisper their wishes to Santa.
11:00 am to 2:00 pm

Gingerbread Contest at Wenham Museum

Wenham Museum Gingerbread Contest is free to enter and open to all!
Everyone's invited to enter Wenham Museum’s gingerbread contest! Individuals, families, groups, teams–all are encouraged to create a Gingerbread House for this friendly community competition.
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

The Nutcracker by Greater Salem Ballet

The Greater Salem Ballet performs the Nutcracker at Lynn Auditorium featuring more than 100 children and adults from the North Shore!
Join Greater Salem Ballet Company for their annual performance of 'The Nutcracker' at the at Lynn Memorial Auditorium at Lynn City Hall!  Follow Clara on her magical journey.
12:00 pm

Free Holiday Concert in Hamilton

The Musary performs A Charlie Brown Christmas at the The Community House in Hamilton Massachusetts
The Musary brings Charlie Brown's Christmas to The Community House!
3:00 pm

A Christmas Carol Panto

Theater in the Open celebrates the holidays with their interpretation of Dickens' Christmas Carol at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport!
Bah, humbug! Theater in the Open celebrates the holiday season with this Dickens classic, presented in true TITO style. So be prepared for anything to happen!  
3:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Winter Solstice Walk

Come celebrate the Winter solstice at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary with a night time walk using lanterns!
Celebrate the shortest day of the year and welcome the lengthening days ahead with a candlelit evening walk on the trails of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. The evening will begin by making your own lantern in our cozy, heated barn while sanctuary naturalists share the science of solstice....
4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Night Tree Celebration at Appleton Farms

Come to Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts to celebrate the holiday tradition of the Night Tree
Join the Trustees of Reservations at Appleton for this holiday tradition to feed the animals of the forest from your own handcrafted edible ornament. We will begin the night in our historic carriage barn where we will cozy in with hot cocoa and popcorn to read the holiday classic tale “Night Tree”...
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

NCS Winter Concert - Liminous Night

Newburyport Choral Society Winter Concert featuring Contemporary Norwegian Christmas music.
Luminous Night includes a contemporary Norwegian piece on the beauty and mystery of a winter night, Christmas carols arranged with rich textures by Alice Parker, "A Jubilant Song" by Norman Dello Joio, and Latin American, Chanuka, and seasonal favorites.
7:30 pm

Saturday, December 28

Deck The Halls: Hammond Castle

A holiday themed tour of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts
Come to Hammond Castle for the 6th annual Deck The Halls holiday celebration. Hammond Castle Museum will be dressed for the holidays inside and out. Delight in the enchanting ambiance of Christmas and White Birch trees, meticulously arranged garlands, festive wreaths, and the warm embrace of...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at the Crane Wildlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Sunday, December 29

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Tower School Tower Tots

Tower School Tower Tots: PARENT & TODDLER WORKSHOPS Marblehead Massachusetts
Our free Parent and Toddler Workshops are teacher-led, interactive, fun and open to everyone! Each workshop has its own unique theme—incorporating music, art, read-aloud stories and sensory explorations—selected to delight children aged 2–4.
9:00 am to 10:00 am

A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts
Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Sunday Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Join the Trustees of Reservations at dlife Refuge in Ipswich Massachusetts in search of the Snowy Owl!
Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge.
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Trustees Winterlights at Stevens Coolidge Place

The Trustees of Reservations Winterlights at the Stevents-Coolidge Place North Andover North Andover.
Winterlights is back! Join the Trustees for a magical outdoor experience at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens, and see the gardens aglow with your favorite light installations as well as marveling at new components. Bring the whole family for a fun and safe outdoor experience. Winterlights runs...
4:30 pm to 8:00 pm

Monday, December 30

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm
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