Great Meadows NWR--Wash Brook Trail

Great Meadows NWR--Wash Brook Trail

Pelham Island Road Wayland, Massachusetts 01778

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Official Website

About this Location

Wash Brook is south of and parallel to the Boxton Post Road (US-20). The brook lies north of Heald Pond. 

About Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

See all hotspots at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Just twenty miles west of Boston lies an oasis for wildlife, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Roughly 85 percent of the refuge’s more than 3,800 acres is comprised of valuable freshwater wetlands stretching along 12 miles of the Concord and Sudbury Rivers. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service protects and manages Great Meadows as nesting, resting, and feeding habitats for wildlife, with special emphasis on migratory birds. The diversity of plant and animal life visible from refuge trails provides visitors with excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing and nature study. A great diversity of birds has been recorded at Great Meadows NWR; an annotated list of over 220 species is available in a separate brochure.

In 1944, Samuel Hoar, a hunter, donated the first 250 acres of land that now makes up the refuge. The refuge now consists of two units of land in seven historically significant towns: Billerica, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland.

The refuge is open year-round from sunrise to sunset and has an entrance fee of $4 per vehicle or $2 per person. Pets and bicycles are not allowed on the trails, but restrooms are available at the parking lot.

Features

  • Entrance fee

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

Content from Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Official Website

Last updated December 29, 2023