Wernick Farm offers a short, family- and dog-friendly hike around the ruins of an old farm in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. This post includes directions, a map, and parking information, along with pictures and videos of the hike. If you look at the pictures closely enough, you may see the ghost cow that we caught on camera.
Benny started the day in a spry mood one morning.
“Bob! We need to go to Wernick Farm! There’s a ghost cow there!” he exclaimed. “Unlike nearby Destruction Brook Woods, this place is haunted!”
As I poured my first cup of coffee that morning, all I could muster up as a response was, “Huh?”
“Yeah, Bob. There’s a ghost cow! I read it! It’s the spirit of a cow that used to be on the farm.”
“Where did you read it?
“Reddit! On Reddit!”
“Benny, what are you talking about?” I asked brusquely. I’m not one for mysteries before being able to savor my first sip of coffee in the morning. It took a few more terse questions to figure out he was talking about reddit.com. He tried to show me the thread he saw it on, but he couldn’t find it.
“Bob, I swear! It was there.”
“Okay, Benny, we’ll check out this place, but not until I’ve had my second cup of coffee.”
Finding Wernick Farm
Finding Wernick Farm wasn’t easy. We had to venture to Hixville, which is part of Dartmouth, MA. We knew we had to look for N. Albro Road.
We actually drove by the road a couple of times, before realizing that what we thought was a driveway was way to the farm.
“Bob, you really should have seen the sign that says ‘Wernick Farm,” Benny said. He wasn’t wrong.
“Benny, that’s just part of the adventure,” chimed in my wife, Christina, who decided that she wanted to take part in today’s expedition with us. “It’s going to make finding the ghost cow that much more rewarding.”
We drove about a mile down the dirt road. Important note: It’s a really narrow, two-way traffic road. It was fine for my sedan, but luckily there were no oncoming cars.
At the end of the road, there are two very small 3-car parking lots. We parked and began the ghost hunt.
Beginning of the hike
There’s a display at the trailhead with free maps. Benny opened up the free map box and instantly screamed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing, just a moth. It startled me…”
Christina added, “Oooohh, spooky!” clearly teasing Benny.
“Very funny. But I’m on ghost cow-hunting mode!”
We continued down the trail past old farm stone walls. Benny thought he heard something, but neither Christina nor I heard anything. We decided to stop for a photo op.
Along the way
Benny was determined to find evidence of this ghost cow. He was adamant that we check out an old gravel pit.
“There’s something here, I know it!”
Christina and I just looked at each other and shrugged. We didn’t see or ‘feel’ that anything was present except the remains of an old car and that crow that kept cawing in the background.
Disgruntled at not having found any ghost evidence, Benny suggested we move on.
Our next stop was a puddingstone rock.
“If I were a ghost cow at Wernick Farm, I would hang out here! It’s such an awesome rock.”
I do have to admit, puddingstone rocks are pretty cool. The fact that puddingstone rocks are made up of tiny pebbles cemented together always fascinated me. That, and every time I see one, I can’t help but feel a little victorious. I once had an elementary school teacher who was adamant that I was making up the term “puddingstone rock.” Even after all these years, every time I see one, I think, “Ha! I was right!”
“You’re thinking about your elementary school again, aren’t you?” my wife asked. She knows me too well.
Benny was tired of this story. “Bob, we came to Wernick Farm to find a ghost cow, not hear this same story for the hundredth time!”
Christina just laughed and said, “Thank you, Benny.” Benny loves having Christina come along on our adventures; she usually takes his side in our quibbling.
The Farm House
Our next stop was the remains of the farmhouse.
“We HAVE to find something there!” Benny said.
We made our way to the foundation.
“I feel something here!” Benny said.
Again, neither Christina nor I felt anything except the dichotomy of the pleasantly cool breeze and the warmth of the sunshine. (How about that for an SAT-worthy sentence?)
“Well, I’m not going to give up. Maybe we’ll find something around the pond.” Benny was determined to find evidence of this ghost cow.
The Pond
I gave Christina the map, asking her to figure out how to get to the pond. Admittedly, this was payback for her taking Benny’s side before. My poor wife is directionally challenged, and I had a feeling that she would have quite the fun time figuring out where to go. To her credit, she figured out how to get to the pond.
The pond isn’t far from the house foundation. Special note to visitors: No swimming, fishing, ice skating or even dogs are allowed in the pond. It’s a fragile environment.
Benny was still insistent that we would find a ghost cow.
“I hear something… I think we’re close to the ghost cow!”
Yet again, neither myself nor my wife could hear or feel an animal spirit. We continued to humor him.
“There’s one more spot we can look, and that’s probably where the ghost cow is.”
We were running out of places to look. We had almost covered every spot in Wernick Farm.
“Where?” Christina asked.
With a look of determination that would make Sherlock Holmes look like a an uninterested schoolboy, Benny replied, “Why, the barn of Wernick Farm, my dear Christina.”
The Barn
We couldn’t deny the fact that Benny was taking this ghost cow hunt very seriously. Our next and final stop would be the barn. I was hoping that we would find evidence of this cow for Benny’s sake, but also skeptical that we would discover any confirmation of this its existence.
At this point, we followed the red trail, which is much wider than the previous trails we were on. This former driveway made it easier for us to walk side by side.
We were almost back to the car, and we hadn’t seen the barn foundation even though its location was clearly marked on the map.
“Curious,” Benny said, stroking his chin. “The barn foundation has seemed to…disappear…just like a ghost.”
“Maybe we just passed it,” Christina offered. “Let’s backtrack.”
“Indeed…” Benny said. He was sounding more and more like a detective.
So we reversed course and renewed our search for this elusive barn.
“I see something in the woods!” Benny yelled.
“Sssshhhh,” Christina said. “You’ll scare the ghost cow.”
We walked about 15 feet into the woods, and, lo and behold, there was the old barn foundation.
“The barn foundation reappeared. The ghost cow of Wernick Farm is near!” Benny exclaimed.
We remained quiet for a few minutes, straining to hear something besides the breeze blowing through the pines and conversation of nearby crickets.
I was about to suggest that we turn around and head to the car. But just then, I heard an almost imperceptible sound, and I was lucky enough to catch it on video.
“I heard that! Did you hear that? The ghost cow is here and is glad that we visited!” Benny was absolutely beside himself. “Mission accomplished!”
When got back to the car, we had walked 1.65 miles.
When we returned home, Benny told me to look at the pictures I took. He assured me that there would be evidence of a ghost cow in some of them. I don’t see any evidence. Do you?
Disclaimer: Wernick Farm is a real place in Dartmouth, Massachusetts that is owned and managed by the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT). DNRT does a great job at maintaining their trails. Benny, Christina, and I will neither confirm nor deny the validity or origin of the folklore behind the ghost cow. We suggest you check out the place yourself and come to your own conclusion.
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Location
Wernick Farm is on N Albro Road, which is off of N Hixville Road, in Dartmouth, MA.
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Check out our map of places we’ve been in New England!
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I enjoyed every minute of that video and felt like I was there with you guys. It was exciting ,and mysterious all at the same time!!
We’re glad you enjoyed it!