QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 11 acres
- Trail Mileage: 0.5 miles in network
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: Muscongus Bay, seaside ledge, interesting geological formation
For a small preserve, quiet, out-of-the-way Bass Rock Preserve offers a lot of beauty. Two short forested loops — and a quick side trail (that you can skip) — bring you to the shores of wide Muscongus Bay. The shore is ledgy — so good for taking in some sun, the sounds, and the sights. Someone had also strung up a simple swing when I visited, so you could glide over stone and sea edge. The preserve includes an interesting well-like rock, “a geologic mystery, a 2-ft by 2.5-ft-round, 4-ft-deep hole” in the bedrock off the main trail.
You can access the shore at the two main viewpoints indicated on the land trust map and on my Google map. (You can see other spots where people have scrambled down the steep banks to the water, but there’s no need to take this risk!)
Directions: Take Route 32 to Round Pond. At the Granite Hall Store, take the north fork (to the left of the store), which is Back Shore Road. The preserve is about 1.1 miles on the right. There’s room for about two cars in the small lot.
