The Friends of Breakheart Reservation

The Friends of Breakheart Reservation is a volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of Breakheart Reservation. The Friends also publish a newsletter that can be downloaded or can be obtained in paper copy at the Breakheart Visitors' Center. If you're interested in joining the Friends, download and fill out this handy PDF form.

The reservation is closed to vehicles year round, providing a pollution free atmosphere for our visitors. Ample parking is available at both the Forest Street lot in Saugus and at the Northeast Vocational School lot in Wakefield.

Full Access Trail

The Friends of Breakheart, in cooperation with the General Electric Employee's Good Neighbor Fund, the Saugus River Watershed Council and the Department of Conservation and Recreation are currently constructing a full access nature trail at the reservation. As part of the Friends contribution to this project, we have purchased an all-terrain wheel chair for use at the reservation. This chair can negotiate the majority of trails at Breakheart and can also be taken into the water at the beach. Chair use is on a first come, first served basis. Inquiries may be made at the Visitors' Center.

Barkley Speaks

Hi everybody! My name is Barkley the Beagle, and I walk in Breakheart just about every day. I also write a column in our newsletter about dog stuff. Stop by Breakheart and pick up a copy! Breakheart is a great place for you and your dog to go for a long, healthy walk. Just remember to bring a leash and to pick up after us. The Friends of Breakheart buy Mutt Mitts (TM), a photodegradable and biodegradable pick up bag for our use and place them in dispensers at the reservation gates. Can't make it any easier than that, can we? Hope to see you soon!

Bark Place - Breakheart's Leash Free Barking Lot

One of the latest additions to Breakheart is Bark Place. An area where dogs can run free and socialize.

Built as a cooperative effort between the DCR and the Friends of Breakheart by reclaiming an abandoned parking lot, Bark Place provides a safe dog play environment in an area surrounded by tall hemlocks. Benches are provided for weary owners along with Mutt Mitts for pickup of doggy deposits and even a fire hydrant!

Bark Place is located directly across from the Pine Tops picnic area. An easy walk from either park entrance.

A list of rules and a map for Bark Place (459885) is available as a PDF.

Activities

The Friends, in co-operation with the DCR sponsors a number of activities during the year. Although typically the exact dates will be announced in the Saugus Community Event Calendar as the events approach, details and pictures are available on our activities page.

Friends Of Breakheart Charities

The Friends sponsor several charitable drives each year. Our One Warm Coat collection helps keeps folks warm with hundreds of donated coats each November and December. Keep us in mind and look for newspaper notices at that time of year.

Our spring food drive has blossomed into a year round event. A collection basket is available at the visitor center for donations of nonperishable food items. It's easy! You drop them off. We see that they are distributed to local food banks.

Pictures of Breakheart

More pictures of Breakheart Reservation and Camp Nihan can be found online at Saugus Photos Online and the Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment home page.

Breakheart Reservation Collectibles

You can also help support Breakheart Reservation by purchasing a Christopher P. Dunne Visitors' Center Hometowne Collectible.

Maps of Breakheart

Maps of Breakheart Reservation can be downloaded in a few different formats. Generally, for best results, choose the smallest one that will work on your platform, or the PDF for printing.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) 170426

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) 156271

Portable Document Format (PDF) 617428

Classic Newton Book (PKG) 121464

MP2K Portrait Newton Book (PKG) 172968

There is also a table outlining basic trail information (how long, how difficult, etc., available in PDF (2803) and Newton book (22488) formats, and a color map available in PDF (742981) and PNG (731838) formats. Larger foldout versions of the color map will be available in the visitors' center for a small donation.

Other Links of Interest

A set of links that might be interesting.

Also, as noted on the Saugus Community Events Calendar, our annual Halloween BreakHaunt event is coming up soon. Read the poster for more details!