Location: Depot Street and Bells Neck Road
Size: 72.77 acres
Max Depth: 6 feet
Public Access: Bells Neck Road off Great Western or Depot Street W from Rt 28
Recreation Activities: Fishing, Bird Watching, Hiking, Kayaking
History: Once the site of an Atlantic White Cedar bog, West Reservoir was originally acquired by settler John Bell in 1668 from Little Robin, a Saquatucket Native American (Josiah Paine’s “A History of Harwich 1620-1800). In 1925, Marcus L. Urann, a founder of Ocean Spray Cranberries, constructed a dam on the Herring River to transform the site into a reservoir to provide fresh water to cranberry farms. The town of Harwich purchased the land in the 1960s to protect the Herring River, West Reservoir and the surrounding woodlands, a 259-acre site known as Bell’s Neck Conservation Lands, under the care and custody of the Harwich Conservation Commission. Bell’s Neck features a network of trails that circle the West Reservoir and provide views of the water and salt marsh. The trails are popular with hikers and bird lovers due to the extensive wildlife, including ospreys, eagles, black-crowned night herons, otter, coyotes and deer. In the spring, river herring swim upstream through the reservoir to the Herring River and on to Hinckleys Pond.
For a trail map of The Bell’s Neck Conservation Lands, see the Harwich Conservation Trust trail map page.
We welcome your input on this Pond Profile. If you have questions or comments, please contact us at info@harwichwaters.org.