Pudding Hill Reservation

Pudding Hill Reservation

Pudding Hill Lane Marshfield, Massachusetts 02050

Official Website
Pudding Hill Reservation map

About this Location

Pudding Hill Reservation offers a variety of habitats and an oasis of quiet just minutes from Marshfield Center. A pond-side meadow, a bubbling stream, and a pine-covered ridge are linked by a wide path that offers a pleasant stroll at any time of year. The trailhead begins near the preserve sign on the left side of the road. A path leads through a small field and up the hillside from Pudding Hill Lane.

White pines dominate on the gravelly soils of this glacial ridge and create an open, airy forest. In spring, a high-pitched, trilling song may alert you to the presence of a nesting pine warbler or chipping sparrow. White oaks and black oaks are found in some parts of the preserve. The South River is little more than a brook here and flows through Chandlers Pond, over a spillway, and along the base of Pudding Hill. Red maples predominate in these lowlands. Waterfowl, herons, and belted kingfishers visit the pond in spring and fall. In the moist soil along the shores of the pond, you may see mosses and skunk cabbage, and wildflowers such as starflower, Canada mayflower, and pale green orchids. You are welcome to walk through the open field, which is within the reservation, and along the shore of the pond.

Like most ponds in New England towns, Chandlers Pond owes its existence to a dam built for milling operations in colonial times. During the 18th century, the Baker family operated several gristmills on the pond, which were succeeded by the Marshfield Cotton and Wool Manufacturing Company in the 1800s. By the middle of the 19th century, the area where Pudding Hill Lane crosses the spillway was the site for a factory school, a dye house, and boarding houses for the mill workers, and work areas for a blacksmith, a cooper, and a coffin maker.

Swimming and boat launching are not permitted at Pudding Hill Reservation.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Official Website

Last updated March 2, 2024

Wildlands Trust