Community Corner

Go for a Walk Through the Great Wenham Swamp

The open space project, a boardwalk that loops for a third of a mile through the Great Wenham Swamp, is finally complete with a table and benches on the observation platform for a peaceful respite.

The SwampWalk is finally ready for its grand debut.

The Danvers Open Space & Recreation Committee is planning to hold a grand opening ceremony May 18 (10 a.m.) and local nature lovers are invited to come by to check out the birds, wetlands, beaver dams and other wildlife that inhabit the Great Wenham Swamp. There will even be special prizes for anyone who spots a spotted turtle or a member of three local beaver families.

The project, which has been a decade in the making, has created a 1,769-foot boardwalk that loops through the swamp and provides another link to two neighboring towns: Danvers and Wenham.

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The SwampWalk is directly accessible from the Danvers Rail-Trail, which was another long-awaited project that was finally publicly dedicated last summer. But you can get to the swamp via the trails at Choate Farm.

Parking is available either off Route 97 in Wenham, across the street from Agway on Wenham Street or at Choate Farm off Locust Street.

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Planning for the SwampWalk began 10 years ago and the actual construction took three years with the labor of hundreds of volunteers and support by both towns and other organizations.

Last weekend, a team of volunteers installed the finishing touches with a table and benches at the West-Wolniewicz Observation Platform, situated midway along the boardwalk.

The boardwalk itself was completed last fall.

You can check danverswenhamswampwalk.org for more information. The ceremony May 18 will be held at the north entrance to the boardwalk, which can be accessed from Route 97.


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