February 21, 2016

Coolidge Reservation (Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA)

By New England Nomad

Date visited: February 20, 2016

Cost: Free

Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset

Address: 15 Coolidge Point, Manchester By-The-Sea, MA

Coolidge Reservation

Parking: about 8-10 parking spaces, small lot.

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How could you not want to visit an area with the name “by the sea” in its name?  It sounds like the name of an idyllic setting from a novel.  And the town lives up to that description.  I passed by several fruit, vegetable and flower stands as well as signs to watch out for people riding horses.  The houses and town also had a very Norman Rockwell feel.

I wasn’t sure how the footing and appearance of the park would be given the recent snowy weather and icy conditions on many of the trails at other parks.  As it turned out, most of the ice and snow on the trails had melted and I only had to manage some small patches of ice and mud from the melted snow.

The trails are clearly marked and easy to walk.  There are no steep inclines and the paths are wide enough to accommodate the throng of visitors.

There are a few trails that meander slightly off the trail.  But one trail simply leads to the street and is behind a bunch of cattails so you really can’t view much of the pond.  The other stupid trail goes to a thorny, rocky dead end.

As you walk on the main trail, you will pass Clarke Pond on your left.  It was partially frozen and there were some ducks and geese milling around.  I also got a few shots off them dunking for lunch.  The gulls in the first photo looked like big blocks of snow at first glance.  I especially like how the mom and dad duck kept the baby duckling close to them.

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There were many breath taking views of the pond.  I especially like how the frozen parts of the pond break with the unfrozen sections.

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To the right of the main trail, I found a side road with a pond that channels into Clarke Pond. There were a variety of ducks and geese in this pond.

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I met a lot of friendly and cool people at Coolidge.  Shapoo was one of the cool and friendly folks I met (the name is a mix of shih tzu and poodle) .

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Much to my consternation, I was unable to find the Ocean Lawn which offers views of the Boston skyline and Cape Cod as well as scenic views of the water.  I totally missed the boat on that one as there are some great views and opportunities for some great shots from there.  But, to the left of the trail, Magnolia Beach more than made up for it which I will post about very soon…click here to read about my visit to Magnolia Beach.

 

About New England Nomad

Hi I'm Wayne. Welcome to my blog. I am a true New Englander through and through. I love everything about New England. I especially love discovering new places in New England and sharing my experiences with everyone. I tend to focus on the more unique and lesser known places and things in New England on my blog. Oh yeah, and I love dogs. I always try to include at least one dog in each of my blog posts. I discovered my love of photography a couple of years ago. I know, I got a late start. Now, I photograph anything that seems out of the ordinary, interesting, beautiful and/or unique. And I have noticed how every person, place or thing I photograph has a story behind it or him or her. I don't just photograph things or people or animals. I try to get their background, history or as much information as possible to give the subject more context and meaning. It's interesting how one simple photograph can evoke so much. I am currently using a Nikon D3200 "beginner's camera." Even though there are better cameras on the market, and I will upgrade some time, I love how it functions (usually) and it has served me well. The great thing about my blog is you don't have to be from New England, or even like New England to like my blog (although I've never met anyone who doesn't). All you have to like is to see and read about new or interesting places and things. Hopefully, you'll join me on my many adventures in New England! View all posts by New England Nomad
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 21st, 2016 at 4:25 am and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , and posted in dog, ducks, geese, Massachussetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, pond, trees, Uncategorized, views, water. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

14 responses to “Coolidge Reservation (Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA)”

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