QUICK TRAIL FACTS
- Preserve Size: 48.5 acres
- Trail Mileage: 0.8 miles one way
- Pets: yes
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- Sights: freshwater marsh, stream, woods
A 0.8-mile trail, the Gowen Trail, connects Clark and Meetinghouse Roads, passing through these town commons. (But you can only park in a small pull-off area on Meetinghouse Road.) The trail, when I visited, was well marked and easy to walk. The bog bridges over the wet areas were sturdy, and their rough, textured surfaces should help prevent slipping.
The highlight for me was the hauntingly beautiful freshwater marsh (haunting, perhaps, because a mist hung over it on the day I visited…and because of the inference from the name of this trail!). Ghost Meadow is rather small, if the little clearing the trail passes through about half way is Ghost Meadow. Or perhaps Ghost Meadow refers to the misty marsh? I tried to find the history of the name but I couldn’t track it down on the internet.
Check out this post about the trail, from the perspective of an adventurer with dogs!
Directions: The pullover at the Meetinghouse Road trailhead is basically equidistant from the road’s intersections with Chick Crossing Road and Branch Road — roughly 0.7 miles from both.
