Top 9 Natural Monuments around Essex

Stage Head was a fishing stage, named in 1624. The first fort was built here in 1635. Today it's a state park with two beaches, the reconstructed civil war fort and other leisure infrastructure.

Although this area is perhaps better known for the Babson Boulders and their quirky phrases, Dogtown's history extends far past the Great Depression. Dogtown was originally known as the Common Settlement when it was settled in 1693. Within a few decades, there were about 60 to 80 homes in Dogtown, and by the mid-1700s through the American Revolution, there were as many as 100 families in Dogtown. Although none of these early homes remain, you can still make out cellar holes from this period in this area. Babson mapped and numbered these holes in the 1930s with caved rocks that you can see today.

Red Rock is the name of the largest granite dome in the Red Rocks Conservation area and stands at 230 feet above sea-level. From this bare rock summit, you get views through the trees of Gloucester, Rockport, and the ocean. On Red Rock and the surrounding granite walls and boulders you can frequently see rock climbers on spring, summer, and early fall days. The rock quality that made Gloucester and Rockport major quarrying towns also draw rock climbers who enjoy what is considered by some to be the best top-roping (climbing with the rope anchored above you) in eastern Massachusetts. When exploring the summit you might come across some climbing anchors. Please keep a safe distance from the edge and do not touch these anchors, someone below you might be relying on them for their lives!

Ravenswood Park is a 600 acre conservation area in west Gloucester with over 10 miles of trails and walking paths. The park is open year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset, and is a popular place to hike and run in the spring, summer, and fall, and cross-country ski in the winter. The well-marked trails take you through shaded, dense woods, wetlands, and ponds, and past glacial erratic boulders. You can download a PDF map of the area here: https://thetrustees.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ravenswood-park-trail-map.pdf

Overlooking one of the basefall fields in Stage Fort Park is a large bronze plauque on a huge grantite cliff that reads: "On this site in 1623, a company of fishermen and farmers from Dorchester, England, under the direction of Rev. John White, founded THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY. From that time the fisheries, the oldest industry in the commonwealth, have been uninterruptedly pursed from this port. Here in 1625, Gov. Roger Conant, by wise diplomacy, averted bloodshed between contending fractions, one led by Myles Standish of Plymouth, the other by Capt Hewes, a notable exemplification of arbitration in the beginnings of New England. Placed by citizens of Gloucester, 1907." This plaque speaks to the rich history of the area and believe it or not, you can sometimes see rock climbers ascending the rock faces next to the historic plaque!

Stage Fort Park is a park in Gloucester with a rich history. Gloucester's Visitor and Welcome Center and a reconstructed Civil War fort, Stage Fort, are both within park grounds. The park also has a playground, picnic benches, baseball fields, a dog park, and a bathhouse. There are two beaches in the park, Cressy and Half Moon Beach, stunning viewpoints, as well as a huge granite stone (with a plaque) thought to have been used by Native Americans, and cannons leftover from a Civil War-era fort. There is a privately owned seasonal restaurant, The Cupboard of Gloucester, where you can order fried clams and sandwiches.

Just south of Alewife Brook Pond and Old Rockport Road are some of the famous Babson Boulders, including the "Get a Job," "Help Mother," and "Save" rocks. These rocks with their somewhat quirky phrases date back to the Great Depression when Roger Bason hired local stonecutters to carve inspiration words into the rocks to both uplift the population (economically and spiritually) and give the stonecutters work. These boulders are located close to one of the main trailheads and are a great place to stop, especially if you are trying to see all 36 of the Babson Boulders!

Although this area is perhaps better known for the Babson Boulders and their quirky phrases, Dogtown's history extends far past the Great Depression. Dogtown was originally known as the Common Settlement when it was settled in 1693. Within a few decades, there were about 60 to 80 homes in Dogtown, and by the mid-1700s through the American Revolution, there were as many as 100 families in Dogtown. Although none of these early homes remain, you can still make out cellar holes from this period in this area. Babson mapped and numbered these holes in the 1930s with caved rocks that you can see today.