Phillips Moraine Gravel-ish Loop

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Unknown

This ride spans two Beverly properties, JC Philips and Moraine Farm. With mostly wide trails, and really only one "hill," the loop isn't technically challenging, but you'll have views of Wenham Lake and the grounds of Moraine Farm, designed by the famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.

Starting from the parking area, you'll head in on a short flat singletrack trail, and if going clockwise, will take a quick left when you hit the wider trails and then head down a gentle hill. At the bottom of the hill, there's a short trail you can take to a bench that overlooks the Wenham Lake. Back onto the loop, wind along a carriage road with the lake on your left.

If you want to hit some technical trails, there are a few sections off of this trail, including Phillips Ridge that are a bit more challenging with plenty of roots. As you continue, you'll go through a pine forest with giant clusters of rhododendrons. When you hit the Ramble, which is a short singletrack-ish trail that winds behind the estate house, you'll encounter one large root--the only obstacle on this loop, and then roll through more rhododendrons and mountain laurels. It's pretty awesome when blooming.

If you did NOT want to take the Ramble, you could just as easily go on the other side of the estate and connect back with the loop as it head south on a wide carriage road, along huge fields. It dips back into the wood before looping back to the upper part of the fields and back to the Ramble. At this point, you may want to hop off your bike and check out the formal gardens and the tea house, both of which are beautiful. You'll head back to the JC Phillips property and have a bit of a climb before the downhill roll back the parking lot.

This was all once a single property, and the remnants of an old mansion can be seen at JC Phillips. The grounds of Moraine Farm were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect responsible for New York's Central Park.