Things to Do in Andover & North Andover

The best outdoor things to do in Andover and North Andover are Harold Parker State Forest, with 35 miles of trails, 11 ponds and a campground; The Trustees' Ward Reservation, home of Holt Hill and the Solstice Stones; Weir Hill on Lake Cochichewick; and the gardens at Stevens-Coolidge House. In summer add Andover's Pomps Pond beach, and for an easy accessible walk, the new Haggetts Pond Rail Trail.

Harold Parker State Forest

DCR's 3,295-acre forest spans Andover, North Andover, North Reading and Middleton, with 35 miles of shared trails, 11 ponds, swimming at Berry Pond in summer, an 89-site campground and free DCR programs from summer into early October. Dogs may be off-leash on its trails. Parking is $5 for Massachusetts plates from May 23 to October 12. Start with the home page or trails and hiking.

Charles W. Ward Reservation (Andover)

The Trustees' 729 acres at 65 Prospect Road climb to the top of Holt Hill, the highest point in Essex County, where the Solstice Stones mark the sunset on the longest and shortest days. A boardwalk crosses the quaking bog at Pine Hole Pond, and a quarter-mile accessible trail reaches a viewing platform. Open 7 a.m. to sunset; nonmembers pay a parking fee. See Ward Reservation.

Weir Hill (North Andover)

Free, sunrise to sunset, at 65 Stevens Street: four miles of trails over a 305-foot drumlin and along more than a mile of Lake Cochichewick's shore. See Weir Hill and Lake Cochichewick.

Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens (North Andover)

The Stevens family bought Ashdale Farm in 1729. From about 1914 to 1962 it was the summer home of Helen Stevens Coolidge and her husband, the diplomat John Gardner Coolidge, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and nephew of Isabella Stewart Gardner. In 1918 they had preservation architect Joseph Everett Chandler remodel two connected farmhouses into the Colonial Revival house that stands today, and Helen added the walled rose garden, greenhouse, brick serpentine wall and French vegetable garden. She left the estate to The Trustees when she died in 1962.

The Trustees' 2026 schedule: gardens and grounds open daily May 14 to September 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free to all except during special events. Self-guided house tours ran Friday to Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., free for Trustees members and North Andover residents with ID and $5 for others; guided tours at 11 a.m. cost $12 for members, $20 for nonmembers and $10 for children 12 and under. The Stevens to Stevens Trail links the gardens with Weir Hill.

Pomps Pond (Andover)

Andover's town beach at 147 Abbot Street. The 2026 season ran June 15 to August 21, weekdays 9 to 6 and weekends 10 to 6, with season passes sold online. See Pomps Pond.

Haggetts Pond Rail Trail (Andover)

Opened in April 2026, Andover's first town-sponsored ADA-compliant trail runs 0.6 mile on a paved former railbed from Haggetts Pond Road to a boardwalk overlook. The pond itself is drinking water: no swimming, kayaks or dogs in the water. See Haggetts Pond.

Skug River Reservation (Andover)

The Andover Village Improvement Society's 75-acre Skug River Reservation sits just north of Harold Parker, between Salem Street and Jenkins Road. The Bay Circuit Trail crosses in and out of it from Harold Parker past vernal pools and rock formations to a boardwalk at the Salem Street exit, then continues through AVIS's Hammond and Mary French Reservations to Korinthian Way, 1.1 miles in all. AVIS parks visitors at a lot on Salem Street between Route 28 and Jenkins Road, with limited parking on Jenkins Road, Rachel Road and Korinthian Way. AVIS says "Skug" was likely the Native American word for snake, and points out the stone walls of an old millrace, visible in Harold Parker from the reservation trail, and the soapstone William Jenkins quarried near the bridge. See history.

Ipswich River Park (North Reading)

North Reading's 49-acre town park at Haverhill, Central and Chestnut Streets, with a paved two-mile path, a canoe launch, playgrounds, courts and summer concerts. See Ipswich River Park.

Boxford State Forest

DCR's quieter 1,045-acre forest next door, for hiking, birding and mountain biking, with the remains of a 1960s missile radar site. See Boxford State Forest.

Plan a Day

• Morning: a pond loop at Harold Parker (Stearns Pond, 3.1 miles) or the Holt Hill climb at Ward.
• Midday in summer: swim at Berry Pond or Pomps Pond.
• Afternoon: the gardens at Stevens-Coolidge, then the lakeshore at Weir Hill.
• Overnight: camping at Harold Parker's Lorraine Park Campground.