Essex Heritage 'Trails & Sails' Offers 200+ Free Events For 2024

SALEM, MA — North Shore residents can take part in a few of the hundreds of free events over a 16-day stretch of annual "Trails & Sails" events across Essex County this month.

Essex Heritage is presenting the program of more than 200 programs that celebrate the historic, cultural and natural resources of the 34-community Essex National Heritage Area.

"Trails & Sails was created 23 years ago to encourage residents to experience some of the wonderful trails, museums, historic sites, and water-based activities that abound in this region," Essex Heritage CEO Annie Harris said. "All the events are free, so there is plenty of incentive for locals to visit these special places that they drive by every day."

Event participants can take advantage of a variety of family-friendly activities, including bird walks, guided hikes, historical tours, interesting lectures, schooner sails, and river paddles.

A full list of events for 2024 can be found here.

The themes for this year's events are "On the Trail to a Better Future" highlighting the natural beauty of the region's parks and trails, "Essex County Revolution 250" highlighting the role of the region in the Revolutionary War, "Exploring Our Coast and Waterways" highlighting the impact of climate change on the coastline, "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage" with programs on the contributions of the Latino community in the Essex National Heritage area, and "Sharing Untold Stories" of some lesser-known North Shore figures who have made a significant on the region's history and landscape.

Many programs are available on a first-come, first-served basis except for certain reservation-required events.

Trails & Sails 2024 is sponsored by Eastern Bank, Salem Five Charitable Foundation, M&T Bank, and Institution for Savings.

(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.)