Great Esker Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Great Esker Park
Looking up the Weymouth Back River from Great Esker Park, the esker is the tree-covered low ridge on the right.
Type	Urban park
Location	Weymouth, Massachusetts
Area	237 acres (96 ha)

Great Esker Park is a special place in Weymouth, Massachusetts. It's famous for a unique landform called an esker, which is a long, winding ridge made of sand and gravel. This amazing esker was shaped by a giant glacier about 12,000 years ago! The park sits along the Weymouth Back River, offering beautiful views and lots of nature to explore. It's also located across the river from Bare Cove Park in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Park Features

Great Esker Park is home to the tallest esker in North America, standing about 90 feet high! But that's not all. The park also has interesting "reversing falls" and wide salt marshes. These marshes are wetlands where fresh and saltwater mix, creating a special home for many plants and animals.

What is an Esker?

An esker is like a natural, winding road made of sand and gravel. It forms inside a glacier when meltwater rivers flow through tunnels under the ice. As the glacier melts, the sand and gravel that collected in these tunnels are left behind, forming a ridge. The esker at Great Esker Park is a great example of how powerful glaciers can be!

Fun Activities

If you love being outdoors, Great Esker Park is perfect! It has six miles (about 10 kilometers) of trails for hiking and exploring. There's also a playground and a picnic area where you can relax and enjoy the scenery.

Bird watching is a very popular activity here. You might spot amazing birds like Osprey, great blue herons, red-tailed hawks, and owls. These birds visit the park at different times of the year. You can even see special man-made shelters on the river where osprey build their nests in the spring and summer months.

In the summer, the park is used by Wey-Rec for fun children's programs. It's a great spot for kids to learn about nature and enjoy the outdoors.

Getting There

The main parking area for Great Esker Park is at the end of Elva Road. You can also find additional parking off of Bridge Street (Route 3A) and Puritan Road.

Images for kids

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  Fishing in Back River

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  Trail climbs the esker

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  Egret

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  Back River