Passanageset Park at Broad Meadows Marsh
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About Passanageset Park at Broad Meadows Marsh
A Marsh Brought Back
Between 1938 and 1956, roughly 106 acres of salt marsh here were filled in with dredged material. From 2010 to 2013, the City of Quincy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reversed much of that in the Broad Meadows Marsh Restoration Project, moving 393,000 cubic yards of dredged material to restore 31 acres of salt marsh, 4 acres of wet meadow and 23 acres of coastal grassland. The variety of marsh plants and wildlife has kept growing ever since.
Today the 58-acre park in Quincy's Adams Shore neighborhood, near Houghs Neck, is a passive recreation area and historical landmark where the Town River meets the Atlantic, with wide views over the river and the marsh.
A Name With Deep Roots
"Passanageset" is the Native American name for this area, a seasonal home of the Massachusett people and the seat of Chickataubut, their Principal Sachem when English settlers arrived. Artifacts around 3,500 years old were excavated nearby during the construction of Caddy Memorial Park in 1999.
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The park got its name thanks to an extensive research project by a group of seventh graders at Broad Meadows Middle School, known as the "History Girls", who uncovered the site's Native American heritage. Four interpretive signs in the park cover both its natural environment and this history.
Trails and Birdwatching
The park's wide packed-gravel loop trails add up to 1.3 miles. They're easy, mostly flat and ADA accessible, winding through upland meadows and along the edge of the marsh and the Town River, past scattered birch and sumac, with broad views of Town River Bay. There's no direct water access, though. Leashed dogs are welcome if you clean up after them, while dirt biking is prohibited.
Birders take note: the park has been designated a Birding Hotspot by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with over 150 species recorded since it reopened in 2015 - herons, egrets, terns, sandpipers and osprey among them. Mink, raccoons, skunks and weasels live here too. The Quincy Parks Conservancy especially recommends a visit at sunset.
Before You Go
In the warmer months, mosquitoes can be a real nuisance - bug spray alone may not be enough - and tall vegetation along the trails in mid- to late summer can block views into the meadows, so cooler or drier seasons are worth considering. Ticks have been reported as well.
There are two pedestrian entrances: one by the Quincy Youth Arena parking lot (a little tricky to find) and one by the Broad Meadows Middle School lot, which is available outside school hours. The park is open daily and free to visit.
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Notable Sights (3)
Points of interest, landmarks, and things to see in this park
Monument (1)
Four on-site signs explain the park's dual heritage, covering both the restored natural environment and the site's deep Native American history as the ancestral home of the Massachusett People and the seat of their Principal Sachem, Chickataubut.
Trail (1)
A 1.3-mile packed gravel loop that is ADA accessible and rated easy, winding through upland meadows and along the edges of the salt marsh and Town River with expansive views of Town River Bay.
Viewpoint (1)
A restored salt marsh ecosystem spanning tens of acres, where the Town River meets the Atlantic Ocean, offering sweeping waterfront views and a thriving habitat for over 150 bird species including herons, egrets, osprey, and sandpipers.
