Ellisville Harbor State Park – Plymouth , MA
Did you know there are over 160 state parks in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?? You can visit the mass.gov website if you are looking for a comprehensive list of all the parks and reservations in the state, including the ten that are listed in Plymouth County! The Ellisville State Park, along with all the State Parks is managed and maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the parking lot free, and open every day from sun up until sun down.
The Ellisville Harbor State Park, located in Plymouth is definitely a unique state park and a hidden gem in the area. The hike is very family friendly, although if your goal is to make it beachside a stroller isn’t going to cut it here. This is an in and out trail totaling just about a mile long. The path itself is well maintained and mostly packed down dirt, except for when you near the end and cut through the woods to make it down to the beach. Or if you follow your four year old down an off shoot into the woods and end up at the bottom of a ravine too steep for your youngest to climb out!
Like most of Plymouth this Park and filled with history which you can read about on the SeePlymouth website along with numerous blogs written about the area, of the sign located at the beginning of the trail. The park is named after the Ellis family who originally helped colonized the area in the 1700s, before the Harlow family followed suite. William Harlow, whom was a farmer, and town official, has a museum dedicated to him and his family which is located in Plymouth in an old gambrel-roofed house that was built in 1677!
I would definitely recommend this hike if you are looking to experience a bit of everything mixed into one, woods, marsh, grass and the beach all are accessible from the Ellisville Harbor State Park. Before you leave home pack a picnic and a few snacks because on a beautiful day, when you make it to the water, you’re absolutely going to want to stick around and watch the seals basking in the sun!
