Westwoods Loop 9 – The Plank Walk

Distance: Just under 2 miles

Allow: 90 minutes

Elevation Gain: 307 feet

General Description: A fun and moderate hike highlighting the Massive Rock Formations (aka Dinosaur Rock), the Great Marsh and the Plank Walk.

Terrain: Some trail is narrow and exposed with a drop off to one side. Expect muddy conditions in low-lying areas and there are plank walks through the marsh where there is always standing water.

Not suitable for trail running

General Description: It’s not called the Great Marsh for nothing, and this trail takes you through the heart of it on a 660-foot-long plank walk. Before you get to the marsh there are narrow trails along the mountainside, and forest passages highlighting the massive rock formations including the Dinosaur Rock.

Hiking Narrative: Park at the larger Peddler’s Road parking area. The trail now begins on the White Circle trail located behind the kiosk. (The original trail has been rerouted to avoid the poorly paved road, occasionally used by the town.)

  • Stay on White Circle as it goes left and White Square goes right.
  • White Circle crosses gravel road back into woods.
  • White Circle makes left and rejoins old trail.
  • Take a left on to White Circle where the White Square continues straight.
  • White Circle descends to the Great Marsh, straight ahead.
  • At the base of the hill take a left on to Green Circle as White Circle continues straight.
  • The trail follows a level path along the edge of the Great Marsh. Uphill to your left are exposed bedrock outcroppings.
  • After about 1/8 mile, you’ll enter a Boulder Garden (POI-1). Imagine the glacier that deposited the boulders here while it slid past and made it’s way to the Atlantic.
  • Leaving the garden, you’ll climb onto a grove of White Pines (POI-2) that flourished after the hemlocks were decimated by the woolly adelgid infestation.
  • Green Circle drops and follows along a Stone Wall (POI-3). The wall dates back centuries when the Great Marsh was cleared and used as a ‘wet meadow’ for grazing livestock. Now, the Land Trust boundary follows this wall.
  • Green Circle makes a right over a bridge and crosses Marsh Brook. You have traveled about 3⁄4 miles. Expect the area just past the bridge to be wet and muddy. The ridge to your left has several Hemlock trees and a few are seen along the trail.
  • Green Circle meets up with Green Rectangle. Make a right on Green Rectangle. Green Rectangle was once an old colonial road called Marsh Road (POI 4). You’ll see the remnants of rock walls on either side of the trail. Colonial roads often have rock walls on either side. A lone rock wall in the woods is likely marking the edge of a field from long ago.
  • Green Rectangle crosses a bridge. The body of water is called the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) Pond (POI-5). The pond was created in the 1930’s as a fire pond in case of a forest fire.
  • Make a right on Orange Circle soon after crossing the CCC Pond.
  • After turning onto Orange Circle, you will approach the Massive Rock Formation (POI-6). The Orange Circle trail takes you right through this magnificent feature. The trail zigzags left and right through a narrow corridor between rocks. As you hike out of the rock corridor with the cliff side to your left, look at the fallen rock to your right. The fallen rock has a shape similar to a dinosaur (POI-7) with the head pointing to the Great Marsh.
  • Stay on Orange Circle as Orange Square veers left.
  • Orange Circle ends.
  • Continue right on White Circle onto the 660-foot-long plank walk (POI-8) as it crosses the Great Marsh. The plank walk was constructed in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s and there have been 2 major overhauls since its construction. The most recent overhaul (by members of the Westwoods Trails Committee) was in 2023. The sections are built using natural features like tree clumps when possible. In the center channel of the marsh, the sections were built by driving stakes into the ground and using struts.
  • After the plank walk, White Circle takes a right and goes uphill.
  • At the top of the hill, take a left on White Square. White Circle will continue right. White Square passes along the edge of a field before it ends. Make a left onto White Circle and continue to the parking area.