This former coastal farmland now welcomes visitors to a broad salt marsh and a dike path that leads to a loop trail around Eagle Island.

A historic dike once connected Eagle Island to the mainland so livestock could graze the island’s pastures. Today, wandering the gently rolling fields and marsh meadows means encountering bobolinks and other wildlife that cluster around this placid island, located in one of the least disturbed parts of the entire 25,000-acre Great Marsh. The backside of the island overlooks an extensive open marsh drained by Labor-in-Vain Creek, a remote landscape isolated from the modern world. Watch wading birds such as glossy ibis and snowy and American egrets hunt for fish in this. Just be sure to check a tide table before your trip: the property is only accessible at low tide.

A one-mile loop trail circles a landscape covered by a forest of white pine, oak, and hickory, revealing the remnants of stone walls that were built along its perimeter.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at Hamlin Reservation.