Outdoor Activity

Map and Compass Treasure Hunt

Learn the basics of map reading and orienteering in this IRWS workshop.

It's nice to have GPS, but do you know how to read a map or use a compass? What happens if you're out on the trail and your GPS malfunctions or the batteries die?  Are you instantly lost?  Join Mass Audubon for a guided map-and-compass treasure hunt around the sanctuary. Bring your own compass or use one of ours and learn how to find north, orient yourself, count paces, and use the map and compass to find your way. After some basics, we'll hit the trails and use the new skills learned to search for some hidden natural treasures. No experience necessary. This program is a good introduction to orienteering for the whole family.

When: 
Saturday, September 14, 2019 1:30-3pm

Annual Intertribal Pow-Wow

Come to the Annual Native American Pow-Wow at Plug Pond in Haverhill, Massachusetts!

Come to Haverhill Massachusetts for the Annual Intertribal Pow-Wow! Sponsored by the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, this festival is a showcase for traditional Native American culture including dance, music, storytelling, craft making, singing, tipi building, native foods, interactive games and more. Bring the family, learn about the culture of the Native American tribes that existed here prior to European settlers arriving, and enjoy the beautiful setting of Plug Pond in Haverhill!

When: 
Saturday & Sunday, September 7-8, 2019 11am-6pm

Friday Farm Dinners at Appleton Farms

Families enjoy dinner on at Appletons Farms with ingredients fresh from the farm!

Join Appleton Farms for a dinner on the farm! Each Friday Appleton Farms invites you to join us for dinner. Relax under the setting sun and enjoy a truly unique farm to table experience. From fresh vegetables and fruits, to local pasture raised meats and sustainable seafood, Chive Events will prepare each meal using the best ingredients available from our own and other local farms. Menus may include slow roasted pork with rhubarb jam, seasonal fresh salads and homemade strawberry short cakes. Watch the season change with each meal and bring the whole family to enjoy the weekly harvests. A casual dinner set overlooking the Great Pasture will remind you to slow down and breathe in the summer's air. Enjoy a cold beverage from our friends at Ipswich Ale while you play old-fashioned lawn games and listen to live music.

When: 
Fridays through September 6, 2019 5:30-8:30pm
Friday, September 20, 2019 5:30-8:30pm
Location: 

Medicine in Colonial Salem - Witch House

Learn about colonial medecine at the Witch House in Salem Massachusetts as part of Trails and Sails!

Join us at the Witch House and Pioneer Village for a look at medicinal curiosities from the 17th century. At the Corwin House (a.k.a. the Witch House) we will share an exhibit featuring some of the more startling remedies our New England settlers trusted such as “snail water” and “skull moss”. The exhibit will be included in admission and free to Trails and Sails attendees each day of the festival.

When: 
Saturdays and Sundays, September 21-29, 2019 10am-4:45pm
Location: 

Party on the Bridge

Families are invited to the Beverly Harbor Fest for an afternoon of family fun.

Save the date to “PARTY ON THE BRIDGE”!!!!!!!! FREE & open to Everyone. Montserrat College of Art, Bridge Street Neck Neighborhood Association (BSNNA) & other City folk from Salem & Beverly are planning a fun, family-friendly evening block party as part of Montserrat’s week long Arts Festival on both sides of the Salem-Beverly Bridge. BSNNA will be lighting up the park while Montserrat lights up the bridge! Free admission!

When: 
Saturday, September 7, 2019 4-9pm
Location: 

American Music & Harvest Festival

An afternoon of family fun - The American Harvest and Music Festival at Spencer Peirce Little Farm in Newbury Massachusetts!

Enjoy a day of traditional music, baseball, and farm activities featuring New Orleans brass band, bluegrass, rock, funk, jazz, and beyond.! Watch Vintage Base Ball played by 1861 rules. See tractors and other farm equipment spanning the last eighty years. Try your hand at corn husking and win prizes at the pie-eating contest.

When: 
Saturday, September 28, 2019 12-6pm

Family Hour in the Open

Come Enjoy Family Hour in the Open by Theater in the Open at Maudlsay State Park

Bring the kids, the dog and the picnic blanket out to beautiful Maudslay State Park! One Saturday of every warm-weather month, we will be joined by many of our good friends in the community to present storytelling, song, dance, fairytale-theater and a fun group activity, all right here in the park and all entirely free! Come make a friend, sing a song, take in some sun and get to know your park better.

When: 
Saturday, August 17, 2019 11am-12pm

Millbrook Meadow Grand Reopening

Grand Reopening of Millbrook Meadow in Rockport Massachusetts!

Rockport’s Millbrook Meadow and Mill Pond will have a “Grand Re-Opening” Saturday (August 17) with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held midway through the park. There’ll be popcorn, strolling miniature horses, Millbrook Meadow souvenir bandanas, nature explainers, music, jugglers, and Rockport’s annual Rubber Duck Race.

When: 
Saturday, August 17, 2019 noon-6pm

Waterfront Summer Cinema: Pirates of the Carribean - Curse of the Black Pearl

Come watch a FREE showing of Pirates of the Caribbean on the waterfront in Gloucester MA

Come enjoy a movie projected on a giant screen on the waterfront, under the stars in downtown Gloucester Massachusetts! Bring a lawn chair, blanket and your family for a night of Hollywood blockbuster fun! Food and refreshments will be available starting at 6pm, and movies will begin at dark!

When: 
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 8-10pm

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Art Academy Summer Program at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly MA

Trails & Sails

Explore the North Shore with over 150 Free Events in Essex National Heritage Area's Trails & Sails celebration in Massachusetts.
Essex National Heritage Area sites will offer over 150 free family fun events from September 14-29, 2024 for the annual celebration of TRAILS & SAILS. Discover special places in your backyard and be guided through unique landscapes on land and sea, explore historic properties, and take in...
7:00 am to 10:00 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

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

Outdoor Sculpture at Maudslay | Thread

Artists will install their sculptures at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts for public viewing!
Enjoy a self-guided walking tour of the 25th Annual Outdoor Sculpture at Maudslay Exhibit September 8-29 featuring 50 site specific sculptures by local artists addressing this year’s theme, ‘Thread' within the magnificence of Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. Look for the large green trail head...
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School in Hmailton Massachusetts hosts their annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture exhibit each Fall. Sculpture: Phoenix by Robin Tost.
Pingree School hosts the 15th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, MA. Pingree . The exhibit will open in early September with more than 50 temporary works on display in addition to the 20 pieces in the permanent collection of Pingree School. The exhibit ...
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Gloucester Gratis Days at Hammond Castle

Bring your kids to the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester Massachusetts during April Vacation
In keeping with John Hays Hammond, Jr's original vision for his seaside castle-home to serve as a museum offering the Gloucester community access to ancient works of architectural art, Hammond Castle Museum will offer Gloucester residents free, self-guided tours each Tuesday throughout the regular...
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Music Together - Tuesday in Marblehead

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® of Salem classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Self-guided Tours at Hammond Castle Museum

Take a self-guided tour of Hammond Castle in Gloucester as part of Trails and Sails!
Hammond Castle Museum was built in the 1920s by inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr. as a home for his extensive collection of medieval artifacts and his research laboratory.Guests may explore the breathtaking building and grounds of Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester and take a SELF-GUIDED tour...
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Barnyard Story Hour at Appleton Farms

Kids can meet the barnyard animals and hear a story at Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts.
Barnyard stories really come alive when you get to see the main characters in real life! Bring the kids down to Appleton Farms for our farm-fresh version of story time. Explore the farmstead, visit our learning garden, see our cows and rabbits, and find a spot to play under a shady tree in our...
10:30 am to 11:30 am

Salem Witch Hunt Walking Tour

Learn about the true reality of the Salem Massachusetts Witch Trials Salem Massachusetts on a guided walking tour with Essex Heritage
Essex Hertiage invites you to learn the true causes and events behind the Salem Witch Trials in our documentary film, then discover the myths during our walking tour. The Salem Witch Trials happened over 300 years ago, and it has been dramatized in books, documentaries, movies, and even TV shows....
11:45 am to 3:00 pm

Board Game Club at Ipswich Library

Join the Ipswich Public Library for a fun day of boards games! All ages Welcome. Trails & Sails 2023
Do you love playing board games with other people who like playing board games?  Join the board game club!  every month we will have snacks and play a new game together! Show off your board game strategies, make some friends and have some fun!
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Sunday, September 22

Vintage BaseBall at Spencer-Peirce Little Farm

Come see how baseball used to be played at Spencer Pierce Little Farm. Photo: Matthew Muise Photography
It’s Base Ball, 1864 style at Spencer Peirce Little Farm! These fun, historically accurate games feature underhand pitching and no gloves are allowed. A ball bounced once and caught is an out! Snacks, baseballs, and cards are available for purchase. Come and see for yourself how this game was...
12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Touch a Truck Salisbury

Kids (and adults) can get up close and personal with all kinds of trucks in Salisbury Massachusetts
The Salisbury Historic Society will host a 'Touch-a-Truck' Event to celebrate Salisbury Days! Kids (and adults) can get up close and personal with all kinds of trucks in Salisbury Massachusetts.
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Drop-in Open House at the Nature Center

Drop-in Open House at the Bradley Palmer State Park Nature Center in Hamilton Ipswich Massachusetts
Explore the Nature Center at your leisure. The Park Interpreter will be on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. Come see and touch animal furs, replica skulls, animal models, and other natural history materials. For little artists, coloring pages and washable markers will be on hand.
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Brocklebank Museum Open House

Explore the Brocklebank Museum in Georgetown Massachusetts as part of Trails and Sails!
Visit the Brocklebank Museum, built in the late 1600s, with ties to the abolitionist movement and the famous Beecher family.
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Fireman's Muster in Salisbury

Join the fun of the Fireman's Muster in the heart of Salisbury Massachusetts as part of Salisbury Days
The Town of Salisbury hosts a fireman's muster as part of Salisbury Days! Come join the fun with your family and watch the teamwork involved in this New England Tradition! As Part of Salisbury Days Celebration, on Sunday, in addition to the Muster event attendees can enjoy:
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Step Aboard the Friendship of Salem

Permission to come aboard the Friendship of Salem is granted at Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts!
Explore the FRIENDSHIP OF SALEM, a replica tall ship based on a 1796 Salem vessel at Salem Maritime National Historic Site.
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Powow Scenic Vista Hike

Take a Trails & Sails hike to the top of Powow Hill in Amesbury Massachusetts!
Come join the Lake Gardener Improvement Association for a guided up Powow Hill. We will hike to the top of Powow Hill, the highest point on the Essex County seacoast! Hike through hundreds of acres of unspoiled greenspace to reach the summit vista, from which you can see three states and the...
2:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Tours

Free Ranger guided tours at Saugus Iron Works Colonial Industrial Site in Massachusetts
Join the National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a tour of the colonial industrial site. On select days, you may be able to stick around and witness pop-up molten iron pour, blacksmithing, waterwheel demonstrations, and take part in hands-on river stewardship activities.
2:00 pm

Monday, September 23

Trails & Sails

Explore the North Shore with over 150 Free Events in Essex National Heritage Area's Trails & Sails celebration in Massachusetts.
Essex National Heritage Area sites will offer over 150 free family fun events from September 14-29, 2024 for the annual celebration of TRAILS & SAILS. Discover special places in your backyard and be guided through unique landscapes on land and sea, explore historic properties, and take in...
7:00 am to 10:00 pm

Outdoor Sculpture at Maudslay | Thread

Artists will install their sculptures at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts for public viewing!
Enjoy a self-guided walking tour of the 25th Annual Outdoor Sculpture at Maudslay Exhibit September 8-29 featuring 50 site specific sculptures by local artists addressing this year’s theme, ‘Thread' within the magnificence of Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. Look for the large green trail head...
7:00 am to 6:00 pm
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