Norwood Pond in Beverly with your dog: the loop and the three parking spaces

Greenbelt lists dog walking among the activities at Norwood Pond, with hiking, trail running, mountain biking, fishing, paddling and winter recreation. The city owns the land, and Greenbelt has held a permanent conservation restriction on it since 2015, so Greenbelt's policies set the baseline: carry a leash, leash an aggressive dog, keep noise down, never leave a dog unattended, prevent digging, and pick up and carry out the waste. Greenbelt land is open from sunrise to sunset.

Its Trail Safety Guidelines add the manners. Leash dogs where required and follow posted guidelines, which may vary by property and season. Do not let a dog approach wildlife, horses, other dogs or people uninvited, recall and restrain it when others approach, and step off the trail holding the dog while hikers, riders or bikers pass. Bags go home with you, never on or beside the trail. Neither Greenbelt nor the city posts a separate dog rule for Norwood Pond, so read the kiosk at the Elnew Avenue end.

Greenbelt rates the terrain easy and counts 3.4 miles of trail. Its 2025 map shows the trails on the pond's western and southern side, joining into loops at numbered junctions from 1 to 11, with several short boardwalks over wet ground, and a scenic viewpoint over the water between junctions 4 and 5. The city's page counts eight trails and calls the ground fairly flat, which suits an older dog or a puppy building stamina, and it notes that the trails are not suitable for wheelchairs.

The two sources differ on size as well. Greenbelt's property page gives 160 acres, its 2025 map labels 134 acres owned by the city and conserved by Greenbelt, and the city describes a 50-acre pond with about 88 acres of land. Whatever the count, the walk passes woodlands, red maple swamps, wet meadows and vernal pools, crossing stone walls that Greenbelt dates to the 17th century, on pasture that was left to grow back in the early 1900s.

Mountain biking is allowed on Norwood Pond's trails, and the city asks riders to watch for walkers, so keep the leash short on bends and step aside with your dog when a rider comes through. Ticks live in the grassy, brushy and wooded edges, and the CDC puts their most active months at April to September; walk the middle of the trail and look your dog over before the drive home. Expect wet ground in the swamps and meadows; the map shows boardwalks over the wettest stretches.

A pond walk you keep dry still ends with muddy legs. Our bath and brush in Gloucester is $55 for a dog up to 25 pounds, $65 up to 50, $75 up to 90, $85 over 90 and $95 for an extra-large long coat, and grooming needs no evaluation, so book online or in the Dogtown app. From Beverly, Route 128 north runs to its end in Gloucester near 210 Eastern Ave; the city sits outside the four Pup Van towns, so ask us about a pick-up.