Winnekenni Park (the name comes from the Algonquin dialect, which means "very beautiful") is a hilly, city-owned conservation area of more than 700 acres, ideal for bicycling, jogging, cross country skiing, hiking, horseback riding, ice skating, picnics, and observing nature. . Upon entering the Park, you will see the Basin and Kenoza Lake behind it.

Enjoy the beautiful ponds and trails in the Harold Parker State Forest, part of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management Division of Forests and Parks. The region provides summer hiking, winter cross country skiing, a picnic area and a campground.

This 721-acre former estate features pine needled paths, acres of sunny rolling meadows and spectacular rhododendrons which line old carriage roads.

Massachusetts Audubon's largest sanctuary, this property covers 2,800 acres of diverse habitats, including fields, vernal pools, forests, swamps, islands, eskers, and eight miles of the Ipswich River. Many species of animals make their home here either seasonally or year round. The Sanctuary offers an observation tower, a backyard-bird observation area and ten miles of trails.

Above the reservation is the former Babson Farm Quarry, now filled by natural underground springs. Granite quarried here at the turn of the 20th century paved thousands of city streets and built bridges, tunnels, monuments, warehouses, and buildings, such as Boston's Custom House Tower.

Olmsted Historic District Walking Map

Swampscott's Olmsted Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is an exceptionally well-preserved residential area designed in 1888 by Frederick Law Olmsted, revered as the father of American landscape architecture. Best known as the designer of Boston's "Emerald Necklace" park system and New York's Central Park, Olmsted came to Swampscott at the behest of the Swampscott Land Trust to create one of the North Shore's first residential subdivisions. Olmsted's distinctive signature is evident throughout the district: a dramatic entrance parkway, picturesque thoroughfares winding gently along rolling hills, beautiful plantings, an ideal balance between privacy and community for the neighborhood. Today, Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for Swampscott is as fresh as it was in 1888.