Once the interactive map opens, click the ➤ button to locate yourself.
Overview
This area offers open and rolling meadows, sprawling wetlands, and even stands of birch, beech, and oak. Acting primarily as conservation land for Amesbury's Powow River watershed, it is fully open to the public. Popular uses are dog walking, sledding, hiking, and various organized events.
Woodsom Farm was purchased by Amesbury in 1989 in order to protect it from being the site of a housing development. Thirty years later in 2019, Woodsom was officially declared a city park.
The beautiful Powow River shapes the farm's western border. Follow the main trail from the soccer fields parking lot to a perfect swimming hole where dogs and humans can often be found taking a dip. For intrepid kayakers, start at Lake Gardner beach and paddle 3.8 miles up river to this spot for a picnic!
A Wide Variety of Uses
Here is a list of activities that have been known to take place at Woodsom Farm, in no particular order:
Hiking
Bird watching
Cross-country running
Cyclocross training
Mountain Biking
Sledding
Model rocket launching
Kayaking
Horseback riding
Drone racing
Snowkiting
Snowshoeing
Model aircraft flying
Picnicking
Jogging
Cross-country skiing
Paramotoring
Berry picking
Human walking
Unauthorized motorized vehicles are prohibited.
Access
Follow Lion's Mouth Road from downtown.
For Woodsom South, parking is on the left at the very beginning of the open field.
For Woodsom North and the soccer fields, look for the unsigned driveway on the right at a crosswalk. Follow to the end of that driveway for a parking lot with porta-potties.
Woodsom can also be accessed from various trailheads on Whitehall Rd. and Woodsom Drive.
Refer to the trail map above for more information.
Greenbelt's Whittier Hill Reservation
Whittier Hill is the beautiful forested ridge running behind Cashman Elementary. If you're at Lake Gardner beach, Whittier Hill is that tree-covered crest forming the left side of the lake.
Whittier Hill Reservation was permanently protected from development by Greenbelt in 2016. A walking trail into this 21-acre property starts at the end of Whitcher Court, the side street opposite Town Park on Friend St. You can follow this trail through the forest, over the hill, and all the way to Woodsom Farm. This follows the path of an old Indian trail. Settlers used this path as one of the first roads in Amesbury, the "Road of 1641", which ran from the Merrimack River to New Hampshire.
