Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary – Norfolk, MA
www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/stony-brook
It was a beautiful Fall day and we were looking for somewhere nice to take a walk. We decided to check out the Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary. We first arrived and checked out the Kid’s play area, created by the Boy Scouts. It was simply a wooden turtle, wooden snake, a tree that sort of made a secret hideaway and a lot of tree stumps. Regardless of what I thought, the kids had a blast here, hopping from stump to stump, climbing on the animals and hiding in the tree. We managed to break them away from the play area and headed down the first trail we saw. It was nicely maintained with ropes along the side guiding you through the forest. We came to a fork in the road and took a left. This led us to a series of boardwalks over a beautiful pond. My daughter thought it was a blast running down the boardwalks and my son had fun pointing out all the wildlife he saw. We managed to catch glimpse of a turtle, frog, three beautiful white swans, and some other birds we aren’t sure the name of.
At the end of the extensive boardwalk system, we came back into a forest, making a loop around. From there, we went back down the boardwalks in search of the waterfall we heard about. We took the other side of the fork in the road and went hiking through the forest for a bit. Nothing too strenuous, our 4 year old did it running in sparkly ballet flats. We eventually found our way to the waterfall (simply a man made dam) but exciting to kids nonetheless and back to where we started. We checked out the butterfly garden and were on our way. There was a building with bathrooms and a nature center as well but we didn’t go in since it closed at 4.
It was a beautiful place to take a nice walk with the family. Easy and short enough for little legs, yet exciting for the little ones as well. If you’re looking for a serious hike, this is not the spot. If you’re looking to spend an hour or so in the fresh air, check it out!
Few notes:
- no dogs allowed
- you could probably take a stroller down the trail that leads to the board walks
How to get there:
108 North St, Norfolk, MA 02056
(508) 528-3140
