NATURE · PROTECTED AREA

The Monoliths

Nature
The Monoliths is a 116-acre protected landscape in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, known for dramatic glacial erratic boulders and terrain that vividly shows how glaciers shaped coastal New England. As ice moved over a resistant hill, it smoothed the north side and left the south side steep and broken, creating a compact display of glaciation. Its best-known features include Big Rock, a thirty-foot-tall erratic in a shrub swamp, and Little Rock, a balanced granite monolith along a one-mile loop trail. Long associated with Louis Agassiz’s glacier theory, the site was protected beginning in 1957 and renamed in 2022.
Hear stories like this as you drive
ExploreHere reads historical markers out loud as you pass them: over 325,000 stories across the US. No account needed.
4.7 · 800+ ratings · Free

FIND IT

Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts · United States
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
CITY · 1 STOPSExplore Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
Hear every story as you drive
4.7 Stars · 800+ Ratings
Hear this story on the road