New Beverly Trail, Footbridge, Bike Racks At Sally Milligan Park

BEVERLY, MA — A new trail, footbridge, bike racks and increased signage at Sally Milligan Park were recently completed through the work of the city's Open Space and Recreation Committee.

The work was funded through a MassTrails grant from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The new trail leads from behind the soccer field on Cross Lane enabling visitors to access land north and west of the field and the Mackerel River. Parking is available at the Cross Lane Soccer Field.

The project was proposed in 2019 and approved in 2021. The city applied for an received the MassTrails funding in 2022 for improvements that included a bridge over the Mackerel River, a new map kiosk for the Cross Lane Soccer fields and updated trail maps.

The trail and bridge were finished in June 2023 with the kiosks and maps installed in December. The bike racks completing the project were installed in recent weeks.

Sally Milligan Park was a gift to the citizens of the city from Hugh Taylor Birch as a memorial to his mother in 1933. The city bought 15 abutting acres from the Santin family in 1999 and added 37 acres to the park with the purchase of the former Hill Estate in 2002.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)