This hidden urban wild is tucked carefully in the middle of a neighborhood in the New North End. Although it makes for a short hike, the rare ecosystem affords a contemplative walk over the often natural earth, sometimes boardwalk trails. Mount Calvary Red Maple Wetland (MCRMW) is a place of tall trees on sandy and dry places and water loving ferns and water-loving species along pools beside them.

Unlike the vast majority of the New North End whose ground is sandy, well-draining and boasts sandplain forests, the MCRMW offers something different. To understand this, you’ll have to imagine the ancient Winooski River which once emptied into the Champlain Sea. The land on which MCRMW sits was at one time likely a small, slow-moving side channel of the Winooski River and silts and clay particles were deposited here. The result? While water quickly filters down through the sandy soils of most of the New North End, the ground of MCRMW holds water far longer, allowing water-loving species to thrive. Sand deposits are present as well and those areas that are drier are a hospitable sight for species such as pitch pine and oak.