Tompson Street Reservation is a free 302-acre reservation in Gloucester. It is the largest owned by Greenbelt, Essex County’s Land Trust. You can hike its wooded trails through lowbush blueberry and pitch pine, and climb a large granite ledge, Eagle Rock, for stunning views of Cape Ann and the Great Marsh.

Sunset Mountain, at the southern end, offers another spectacular vista, perfect for catching the sunset. Bring a picnic. Your kids can hunt for many geocaches, and your dog can run off leash, one of the few places allowing this in the summer. Several trailhead entrances, on Bray, Concord and Fernald Streets in Gloucester.

Photo Credit: Essex County Greenbelt

Find more information and download a map at ecga.org.

Written by Patricia Mandell

The Get Outside Center in Gloucester is where kids get to go on adventures in the wilds of sea and shore, woods and fields, ponds and streams, getting wet and muddy in the process. In July and August, the center has daily summer drop-in programs for kids of all ages, even teenagers. The staff doesn’t script everything, letting kids learn how to deal with what happens in nature when you’re out there.

The little ones, ages 4-7, will get to “experience the world through the eyes, ears, nose and paws of a different animal each morning,” in “Being Animals.” Older kids, 8-12, can learn about outdoor survival: how to build shelters, which wild plants are edible, and how to make tools and track animals. Preteens and teens get to go on “Travel Adventures,” planning day trips each morning to explore the wilds of Cape Ann: woodlands, beaches, marshes, lakes and streams. The center also has nature exhibits and books.

Photo Credit: Kestrel Educational Adventure

The Get Outside Center is located at 186 Main Street in Gloucester. 978-633-7100. kestreleducation.org

Written by Patricia Mandell

Maritime Gloucester is hands-down the best place to show kids what Gloucester is all about: four centuries of fishing. You can spend hours here, enjoying the vibrant hands-on and interactive exhibits, indoors and out. Your kids can handle oilskins and fog horns, sail maker’s tools and handmade nets. They can pick up all kinds of sea critters in the touch tanks, from sea stars and periwinkles to whelks and lobsters.

Out on the pier stands a giant lobster trap, so big that kids can walk inside it and pretend to be a lobster, and figure out how it works. Inside the Dory Shop, they can watch a real boat builder at work on sailing and rowing dories. The Diving Locker holds all sorts of scuba gear, including a 1949 rig. Take a sail on a real schooner, the Ardelle, a 55-foot traditional pinky schooner built in Essex by a fourth-generation boat builder.

Daily drop-in summer programs start in June, such as Catch of the Day, Creature of the Week and Plankton Safari.

Photo Credit: Maritime Gloucester

Maritime Gloucester is located at 23 Harbor Loop in Gloucester. 978-281-0470. maritimegloucester.org

Written by Patricia Mandell