Photo: Peter Marotta
Trek along Frederick Law Olmsted-designed carriage paths toward rolling hills and rocky shorelines, and discover sweeping views of the Boston skyline.
World’s End comprises four coastal drumlins—spoon-shaped hills formed by glaciers—extending into Hingham Harbor. John Brewer built a mansion here in 1856 and, over the next 30 years, acquired most of the peninsula’s 400-plus acres as well as Sarah and Langley Islands. In 1890, Brewer asked famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design a 163-home residential subdivision. The drives were cut, but the development never came to fruition, nor did later proposals for the United Nations Headquarters in the 1940s or a nuclear power plant in the 1960s.
In 1967, thanks to locals’ commitment and tremendous fundraising efforts, The Trustees and dedicated residents from Hingham as well as the surrounding communities were able to preserve this special place.
Throughout your journey, you’ll discover old features transposed to the modern era: just like in its pre-agrarian days, tides nourish former salt marsh through specially built culverts and promote habitat health and diversity, while Olmsted’s designed landscape is preserved through mowing, pruning, cutting, and planting.
Four and a half miles of tree-lined carriage paths and footpaths connect the drumlins, offering dramatic views of the Weir River, Hingham Harbor, and the Boston skyline. Depending on your inclination and the season, walk, jog, or cross-country-ski a rolling landscape encompassing saltwater marshes, meadows, woodlands, and granite ledges covered with red cedars and blueberry thickets.
When to Visit
Year-round, daily, 8AM to sunset. Allow a minimum of 2 hours.
Admission Fees & Permits
Advance parking passes are required on weekends, and strongly encouraged on weekdays.
$10 per Nonmember Vehicle and free for Member Vehicle.
For those walking into the park –
Trustees members and children: FREE
Nonmember adults: $8 weekend/holiday and $6 weekday
We welcome school and youth groups for experiential educational programs. Please visit our Education Page for details and to initiate a visit request.
Martin’s Lane
Hingham, MA 02043
Telephone: 781.740.7233
Gatehouse: 781.740.6665
Email: worldsend@thetrustees.org
Get directions on Google Maps.
This is a residential neighborhood, so please drive slowly.
From Rt. 3, take Exit 35, Rt. 228 North for 6.5 mi. Turn left onto Rt. 3A and follow for 0.7 mi. Turn right onto Summer St. and, at major intersection with Rockland St., continue straight across onto Martin’s Lane. Follow for 0.7 mi. to entrance and parking (70 cars) at end. Roadside parking is not permitted.
Trails
4.5 miles of carriage paths and footpaths. Moderate hiking.
Public restrooms. Benches. Drinking water fountain.
Accessibility Features
Portrait Photography Permits
Click here for more info and to get your portrait photography permit
Venue Rentals
We do not offer exclusive or private event space at this reservation, as that would not be in the spirit of maintaining it as a publicly accessible reservation. While it is a beautiful location, The Trustees do not allow for weddings, private parties, or any other private gathering here.
If your group is interested in having a wedding or event at a Trustees property, please visit our Rent a Venue page.
Printed trail maps are distributed free from the bulletin board in the parking area. Please understand that supplies periodically run out.
We recommend that you download a trail map before you visit.
Set into the landscape at Weir River Farm, home of 20th-century Massachusetts artist Polly Thayer Starr, visitors will be able to explore her artwork and to see the landscape through her eyes. Throughout the farm and out on the trail, exploration stations and some unexpected surprises provide visitors of all ages the opportunity to use imagination and observation to explore nature and celebrate the artist’s remarkable 75-year artistic legacy.
John Brewer built a mansion along Martin’s Lane in 1856 and, over the next thirty years, acquired most of the peninsula as well as Sarah and Langley Islands. His farming estate was vast and varied. He produced hay and crops and raised thoroughbred horses, Jersey cattle, pigs, chickens, and sheep. To support these operations, Brewer built a complex of farm buildings that included a blacksmith shop, greenhouses, a smokehouse, and homes for farmhands and their families.
In 1889, Brewer asked landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design a residential subdivision for World’s End. His plan included 163 house plots connected by tree-lined roads. The cart paths were cut and the trees planted, but the development never occurred.
At the time of its acquisition by The Trustees in 1967, World’s End was one of the most threatened landscapes on Massachusetts’ entire coast. The peninsula had survived a 1945 proposal to construct a new United Nations Headquarters and a 1965 proposal to build a nuclear power plant.
Property Acquisition History
Purchased in 1967.
This reservation is an absolute treasure. Regardless of the season, people can hike, bike, photograph, paint. It is a beautiful park. Beautifully maintained.
– Tripadvisor user
