This body of water is still part of Boston’s backup water supply, and there’s a five-mile trail through Southborough tracing the shore and the Wachusett Aqueduct that feeds it. There’s no shortage of inspiration for outdoor recreation in Southborough, with two state parks nearby, and pastoral conservation lands connected by the likes of the 33-mile Boroughs Loop Trail.

1. Southborough Center Historic District

Source: Jay Yuan / shutterstock

Dating back some 300 years, Southborough has an exceedingly quaint village center, added to the National Register of Historic Places as recently as 2021.

The crowning glory and landmark at the top of the slope is the fine Southborough Town House, constructed in the Italianate style in 1870.

The same architect, Alexander Esty, designed the Gothic Revival St Mark’s Episcopal Church (1863). On the other side of the Town House stands the Pilgrim Church (1806).

Originally the Unitarian Church, this is on the site of Southborough’s first meetinghouse, and in 1857 was purchased by the breakaway Pilgrim Congregational Church.

Down the slope the little common is centered on a Veterans Memorial from 1866, and edged by a row of elegant houses from the 18th and 19th century.

2. Sudbury Reservoir Trail

Source: Jay Yuan / shutterstock

The dominant feature of Southborough’s townscape is the 5,000-acre Sudbury Reservoir, which was excavated in the 1890s.

Still active as an emergency backup water supply for Boston, the reservoir is part of an interlinked system along the Sudbury River.

Water was delivered into the reservoir from the west via the Wachusett Aqueduct, and then sent along the Western Aqueduct to the Weston Reservoir several miles to the east.

Starting by the causeway along Framingham Road, you can follow five miles of the reservoir’s shores and the Wachusett Aqueduct in Southborough, heading west as far as the line with Westborough.

Historical markers point out landmarks like the Burnett House (1849), while there’s a gorgeous wooded stretch between White Bagley Rd and Cordaville Rd.

As the reservoir is still active, no dogs are allowed, but there are plenty of designated fishing spots on the trail.

3. Boroughs Loop Trail

Source: inewsfoto / shutterstock

The hiking networks in Southborough, Westborough, Northborough and Marlborough are in the process of being linked up to create a 33-mile loop.

Using sidewalks, bike paths, woodland cart paths, and aqueduct trails, this is a fantastic way to appreciate the abundance of natural beauty in these towns’ backyards.

In Southborough the trail incorporates a big section of the Sudbury Reservoir Trail, as well as paths at Chestnut Hill Farm and the Beals Preserve.

Starting in the northwest of Southborough, there’s also a beautiful section taking you into the Cedar Hill and Sawink Farm preserve, in the care of the Sudbury Valley Trustees.

4. Chestnut Hill Farm

Source: David Cianetti / shutterstock

About a mile west of Southborough Center there’s a working farm, one of the last of its kind in Southborough.

This beautiful tract of pastures, upland forest, all traced by old stone walls, has been preserved thanks to the efforts of a local family in the 1960s, as well as the citizens of Southborough who voted to purchase a Conservation Restriction here in 2006.

A cart path skirts past fields growing vegetables, alfalfa and hay, and climbs into a forest of white pine, red maple and oak. Chestnut Hill Farm runs a CSA program, but also has a seasonal farmstand selling homegrown produce.

5. Beals Preserve

Source: my_southborough / Flickr | CC BY-ND

A local couple donated this lovely 55-acre tract of land sitting by the open channel of the Wachusett Aqueduct.

Beals Preserve is managed by the Southborough Open Land Foundation, and has a web of trails in woods, over meadows, next to a pond and across the aqueduct.

The trails here connect with the Sudbury Reservoir Trail and with it the Boroughs Loop Trail. The best time to be here is in the summer, when the preserve hosts the Art on the Trails event, with engaging installations turning the landscape into a sculpture park.

6. Breakneck Hill Conservation Area

Source: my_southborough / Flickr | CC BY-ND

This 90-acre sweep of rolling open land is owned by the town and open to the public for passive recreation.

Breakneck Hill is a joy in summer when the meadows are scattered with wildflowers. Come on a clear day and the views reach out for miles.

You can even see as far as Mount Wachusett if the conditions are right. The hilly topography presents some stiff climbs, and there’s a 1.4-mile looping trail beginning at the parking lot in the southwest corner of the reservation on Breakneck Hill Road.

7. Callahan State Park

Source: Monika Salvan / shutterstock

A small piece of the 950-acre Callahan State Park is on Southborough’s northeastern nook. Mostly in Framingham and Marlborough, the park opened to the public in 1970, with inviting expenses of woodlands and open fields, surrounding Beebe Pond and Eagle Pond.

Callahan State Park is another local attraction on the Bay Circuit Trail, and has seven miles of marked trails for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing after snow.

The area around Eagle Pond in the southernmost section is an unofficial dog park, as a favored place to exercise pups off leash.

8. Eastleigh Farm

Source: Yingna Cai / shutterstock

Dating back to the turn of the 20th century, this historic farm was purchased by its current owner to avoid it being redeveloped.

Over the last 20 years Eastleigh Farm has returned to its roots as a dairy farm, but has also opened up to the public for seasonal events.

On an average day, the main reason to visit is for the ice cream, which is made on site. Black Raspberry, Cookie Monster, Maple Walnut and Chocolate Peanut Butter are a few of the great flavors.

You can also take a leisurely walk around the property, or book a wagon ride to see the cattle herd. On weekends you can call in at a multi-vendor vintage store, as well as an antique dealer, housed in a barn.

9. Trombetta’s Farm

Source: Trombetta's Farm / Facebook

This ice cream stand in nearby Marlborough is situated close to the northern tip of the Sudbury Reservoir.

Going back to 1978, Trombetta’s Farm is one of those rare ice cream shops that stays open all year, with reduced hours (weekends) in the winter months.

There are 40 flavors of homemade, old-fashioned ice cream to choose from. These are made daily to ensure a creamy texture and taste, and there’s also a choice of sherbets, soft serve, sorbets, sugar-free flavors and frozen yogurt.

Trombetta’s Farm has an 18-hole golf course on the property, housed in a converted 450-foot greenhouse.

The garden center here predates the ice cream operation, and offers an abundance of annuals, perennials, succulents, houseplants, hanging plants, garden ornaments and accessories.

10. Southborough Golf Club

Source: photoinnovation / shutterstock

This reasonably priced 9-hole course is open to the public at all times. Southborough Golf Club is in an attractive spot, bounded to the south by the Sudbury Reservoir, with the trail skirting the edge of the course.

The holes are laid out on undulating terrain, with glacial erratics hiding in the woods and views east to the Southborough Rural Cemetery, dating back to the mid-19th century.

The whole course has undergone an update in the last few years, renovating all of the cart paths, tees, and bunkers.

11. Hopkinton State Park

Source: Monika Salvan / shutterstock

The main parking lot for this popular state park is a stone’s throw from Southborough rail station, just over the line in Hopkinton.

Founded in 1947, Hopkinton State Park’s main attraction is an inactive, spring-fed reservoir, formerly part of Boston’s water supply.

There are two swimming beaches on the shore, and during the season you can rent kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards courtesy of Boating in Boston, which also offers sailing courses here.

You’ll find multiple picnic areas with grills around the shoreline where you can enjoy a family cookout, while the surrounding woods and wetlands can be discovered on a tangle of trails.

12. Bay Circuit Trail

Source: Michael Sean OLeary / shutterstock

A stretch of newly completed connecting trail, by the Sudbury Reservoir in the east of Southborough is part of an epic, 230-mile trail weaving through Boston’s outer suburbs.

On its journey from Newburyport in the north to Duxbury in the south, the Bay Circuit Trail uses existing infrastructure and properties, from sidewalks on quiet roads to conservation lands, trails and public parks.

In Southborough you could use the trail to visit an enormous sequence of interconnected natural spaces in Framingham and Sudbury.

After the Sudbury Reservoir Trail you’ll enter Callahan State Park, and from there you’ll move onto Henry’s Hill and Wayside Forest, maintained by the Sudbury Valley Trustees.

13. Southborough Golf-Learning Center

Source: amenic181 / shutterstock

Another place to fine-tune your golf game is this driving range off Route 9. Something going for the Southborough Golf-Learning Center is the location, as the range is draped over a wooded hillside with nothing but trees bordering targets.

The range is floodlit, and there’s a choice between grass and artificial tees. You can work on your swing in the winter thanks to a set of heated bays.

There are a couple of pros based at the center offering private and group lessons, with video analysis, and you’ve also got a full-service club repair business here.

14. Fayville Park

Source: Rahmanjinov / shutterstock

In Southborough’s Fayville village there’s a well-equipped public park, laid out on the slope overlooking the reservoir.

Fayville Park shines most of all as a place to bring children. There’s a fantastic playground here, with separate climbing structures and swings for kids aged 1-5 and 5-12.

A few steps away there’s a picnic shelter with plentiful shade and clear lines of sight of both the playground and the reservoir. Fayville Park also has a single-hoop basketball court, and a baseball/softball diamond.

15. Heritage Day

Source: Ajax9 / shutterstock

For half a century now, Southborough has marked the fall season in October with a big annual get together.

Mostly anchored by St. Mark’s Field, at the corner of Routes 85 and 30, Heritage Day packs a lot into just a few hours.

For a brief summary, there’s a parade, dozens of food and craft vendors, free demonstrations by local clubs and businesses, and a host of child-friendly attractions and activities.

Some of the groups and services taking part in the parade include veterans, the fire department, police, school marching bands, scouts and youth sports teams.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Southborough (MA) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Scores of cranberry bogs, many of which are now retired, make up a big slice of Hanson’s countryside.

At the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area you can see where the state intervened in 2002 to preserve a network of old bogs and natural wetlands.

Now, Hanson is a low-key town, with a civic heart that backs onto a beautiful pond, and a number of conservation areas where you can wander in nature along miles of trails.

1. Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area

Source: Nancy Morelli / shutterstock

In 2002 the state purchased some 2,000 acres of retired cranberry bogs, cedar forest and swamps, preserving a rural landscape typical of the South Shore and Southeastern Massachusetts in the 20th century.

In Hanson and Halifax, The Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area is laced with wide and flat paths that used to service the bogs, making it easy to explore on foot or on a bike.

If you take your time you’ll become aware of the amazing variety of wildlife, from turtles to otters, amphibians, deer, herons and ospreys.

On the Hanson side you can walk the Indian Crossway, a section of an ancient trail walked by Native Americans and connecting the Taunton River and North River watersheds.

2. Wampatuck Pond

Source: Jeremie Doucette / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

In the civic heart of Hanson, the Town Hall is on the northern shore of this manmade 64-acre pond along Indian Head Brook.

Named for Wompatuck (c. 1627-1669), the sachem of the Mattakeesett band of Massachusett Indians, Wampatuck Pond is a real emblem for the town.

Something remarkable is that the Town Hall is one of just a handful of buildings on the shoreline.

The remainder is town forest (more later), the Fern Hill Cemetery and a small residential subdivision on what used to be a youth camp.

There’s a little patch of waterfront parkland by the Town Hall’s parking lot, and you launch a boat here and on the west shore by the cemetery.

With almost no development on the shores, this is a lovely place to go for a paddle, and you can explore a small canal system dug to irrigate cranberry ponds off the southern shore.

3. Cranberry Cove

Source: LOGVINYUK YULIIA / shutterstock

For people who have grown up in and near Hanson, the name Cranberry Cove will conjure memories of carefree summer days.

This beach on the shore of Maquan Pond has welcomed bathers since 1940, and features a nice patch of sand, a roped-off swimming area, and little piers that kids can jump from.

Cranberry Cove is part of the town-owned Camp Kiwanee, set on almost 70 acres and boasting a campground and function venue.

Most summers there are kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals available at the beach, and you can also sign up for lessons if you want to improve your paddle skills.

4. Bay Circuit Trail (BCT)

Source: Michael Sean OLeary / shutterstock

A good way to see as much of Hanson’s nature as possible is to walk some of the Bay Circuit Trail, which passes through the town on its 230-mile course through Boston’s outlying suburbs.

The trail makes a giant arc from Plum Island in Newburyport down to Duxbury on the South Shore, and mostly uses existing sidewalks, conservation areas and public parks.

Heading west to east and marked with white blazes, the trail makes its way through Hanson’s Smith-Nawazelski Conservation Area, across Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area via the Indian Crossway.

You’ll pass along the lovely north shore of Wampatuck Pond via Liberty Street, before heading out towards Pembroke past retired cranberry ponds at the Alton. J. Smith Reserve.

5. Oldham Pond

Source: Nancy Morelli / shutterstock

Hanson’s eastern boundary includes some of the shoreline of this 235-acre natural pond, which is drained by Herring Brook, a tributary of the North River.

Along with Furnace Pond to the south, Herring Pond is the spawning ground for alewife herring, which make an epic journey upstream every spring.

You can witness this migration, which has really bounced back since the 20th century, at a few locations in neighboring Pembroke.

Oldham Pond is a hive of recreation in the summer, when people launch boats, flock to the beach area on the eastern shore, and cast a line for a variety of fish species.

6. The Blueberry Farm

Source: AstroStar / shutterstock

A summer staple in Hanson, the Blueberry Farm opens to the public in July and August for pick-your-own blueberries.

There are hundreds of bushes on this spacious property, and you soon get into the rhythm of picking, with the help of a blue bucket that hangs from your neck.

As well as the satisfaction of picking one of the healthiest fruits you’ll get to enjoy the farm’s pastoral scenery on the bank of Poor Meadow Brook. Be sure to wear a hat on hot days, although the owners offer free cold water to all pickers.

7. Veterans Memorial Town Forest

Source: Song_about_summer / shutterstock

The stand of hardwood and pine forest on the eastern shore of Wampatuck Pond was acquired by the town in 1938 to become its first conservation area.

Accessed via the trailhead opposite Indian Head School on Route 58, Veterans Memorial Town Forest is a blissful piece of nature within shouting distance of the town’s civic functions.

The mile-long warren of trails includes a stretch of the Bay Circuit Trail and takes you to the water’s edge for a gorgeous view later in the day when the sun starts to go down. One of the sights to check out during your walk here is a massive yellow birch tree.

8. Channell Homestead Family Farm

Source: Steven Salgado / shutterstock

This farm is run by a couple who bought the property in 2014 and have gradually expanded to offer a variety of products, events and services.

The Channell Homestead raises Nigerian dwarf goats for milk and to sell, but also has an apiary, Wyandotte chickens, Swedish blue ducks, Flemish giant rabbits and more.

You can visit the farmstand for a wealth of products, from organic goats’ milk soaps, balms and lotions to bath bombs, room sprays and honey.

Usually in the warmer months you can also visit the property for ticketed events, such as goat yoga or the opportunity to pet newborn kid goats.

9. Rocky Run Conservation Area

Source: North and South Rivers Watershed Association / Facebook

There’s a small but spectacular conservation area in the far northeast of Hanson, where Rocky Run Brook flows into the Indian Head River.

The Rocky Run Conservation Area is one of a sequence of protected spaces allowing you to walk for miles along the banks of the Indian Head River in Hanson, Pembroke and Hanover.

What you’ll find on the Hanson side is a small network of trails, leading to rocky ledges for stirring views over the river.

These cliffs are completely unique in Hanson, and at the foot you’ll be standing at the lowest elevation in the town, at just 25 feet above sea level.

Away from the river old cart paths lead into the forest where you’ll discover the remnants of a stone and earthen dam, harking back to the area’s early industrial past.

10. Boston Skydive Company

Source: Sky Antonio / shutterstock

Cranland Airport, in Hanson’s southeast corner, is home to the Boston Skydive Company, which specializes in tandem skydiving.

These jumps, in which you’re attached to an experienced and qualified instructor at four points, require no prior skydiving experience.

The company uses the most advanced tandem systems on the market (United Parachute Technologies SIGMA and Micro SIGMA), and performs its jumps from a trusty Cessna 182 jump, which is maintained to the highest standards.

For an additional fee you can order photos and/or video recordings of your jump. Including check-in, safety briefings and gearing-up, the entire experience will take about four hours.

11. Plymouth County Hospital Meadows

Source: Gabby Morse / Facebook

Finally demolished in the late 2010s, the Plymouth County Hospital (1919-1992) in South Hanson had been a prominent part of the town’s 20th-century history.

One of the first hospitals to have a modern heating system, this facility opened as a tuberculosis sanatorium, and evolved into a place for chronic care.

You can hike on the former property, starting at The Last Meadows, which were maintained as an agrarian farm by the hospital.

A trail, nearly a mile long, leads through woods before opening out onto a large meadow. Additional trails take you around the old grounds of the hospital, past a cranberry pond and swamp, both of which are privately owned.

12. Smith-Nawazelski Conservation Area

Source: Belinda M Gordon / shutterstock

Another parcel of nature that is crossed by the Bay Circuit Trail, the Smith-Nawazelski Conservation Area is just west of the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area.

Purchased by the town in 1989, this swath of old farmland is in fact the largest conservation property in Hanson, covering more than 100 acres.

There are about two miles of trails in woods made up of pine, oak, beech, cedar, maple, and blueberry.

One beautiful feature is a flourishing stand of holly, while there’s also red maple swamp, several large glacial erratics, and vernal pools that brim with wildlife in spring.

13. Heidi’s Hollow Farm

Source: Heidi's Hollow Farm / Facebook

Up to 2020 this cherished seasonal ice cream stand in Hanson had been run by the same couple for more than 30 years.

Now enjoying a well-earned retirement, the founders Tony and Lynda Quigley have passed the business over to new owners.

A quintessential New England ice cream shop, Heidi’s Hollow Farm is open April to October, serving some 40 flavors of Richardon’s ice cream, along with soft serve, fro-yo and sherbet. There’s also a lineup of sundaes, and you’re free to come up with your own sundae creation.

14. Hanson Bowladrome

Source: Aleksandar Karanov / shutterstock

The Hanson Athletic Association runs this candlepin bowling alley, one of the oldest and best facilities of its kind for miles around.

If you’re new to candlepin bowling, it’s a variation on ten pin bowling that broke through in Worcester in the 1880s.

The pins are longer, narrower and, partly thanks to a smaller ball, they are more difficult to knock down.

Strikes are very rare in candlepin bowling, but you do get three rolls each time. Generations of bowlers have learned the ropes at the Hanson Bowladrome, which has 12 lanes and still uses manual scoring.

15. Old South Hanson Station

Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Next to the current MBTA commuter rail on Main Street in South Hanson there’s a fascinating remnant from the mid-19th century in the form of the old South Hanson station.

This was built in 1845, the same year the Old Colony Railroad started operations, and has been out of service since the line shut down in 1959.

Even in its abandoned state, with some windows boarded up, it’s a beautiful building, with large eaves, carved corbels and sash windows.

There has been plenty of debate about the future of the station, but when we wrote this article the building was unused.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Hanson (MA) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Downtown Asheville is like a time capsule, with a big quantity of early Art Deco architecture that has made it intact to the present day, all setting the scene for shopping, dining and live entertainment.

In fact, Asheville’s irresistible sense of creativity is everywhere you look, from the traditional Southern Appalachian crafts at the The Folk Art Center, to the open studios at the River Arts District, and outdoor fairs and performances at Pack Square Park.

1. Biltmore Estate

Source: Konstantin L / shutterstock

George Washington Vanderbilt II (1862-1914) fell for the natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and so in 1889 he commissioned this humble abode on the French Broad River in the south of Asheville.

The Biltmore House is officially the largest privately owned house in the United States, with 250 rooms and four acres of floor space.

Every inch of this Châteauesque mansion is lavishly decorated, with tapestries, family portraits, European masterpieces, original furnishings, and intricate architectural details.

Among the major rooms are the library, with 10,000 volumes, and the Banquet Hall, with ceilings rising 70 feet.

The house is the crowning glory, but also just one element of an 8,000-acre estate. You’ll see gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, a conservatory with a model railroad, natural landscapes with 22 miles of trails, and a winery with complimentary wine tasting.

2. The North Carolina Arboretum

Source: Jill Lang / shutterstock

The Southern Appalachian Mountains have a degree of biodiversity that is off the charts, so Asheville had always been a perfect candidate for a major arboretum.

A century after it was mooted by Frederick Law Olmsted, this was finally planted in the late 1980s, on 434 acres off Milepost 393.6 of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

As these institutions go, the North Carolina Arboretum is relatively young, and is still being developed some 40 years later.

Still, you’ll be wowed by the size of some of the specimens, especially by the stand of metasequoias, rising to more than 100 feet, making them the tallest in the South.

There are 65 acres of cultivated gardens awaiting you, with more than 100 specimens on show in the Bonsai Collection, and uplifting spring color thanks to the National Native Azalea Collection and dozens of species of native wildflowers scattered across the property.

I definitely recommend visiting when you’re in Asheville around Christmas for the walk-through Winter Lights display, featuring a 50-foot lighted tree.

3. River Arts District (RAD)

Source: aceshot1 / shutterstock

Starting in the mid-19th century an open patch of land on the east side of the French Broad River became an industrial area.

This growth was accelerated when the railroad arrived in 1879, and soon the river was hugged by a line of factories, mills, and warehouses.

These hulking buildings were slowly abandoned in the 20th century, which made the area ripe for a transformation when artists came in search of cheap rents and ample space to let their ideas take flight.

Now the River Arts District is a true community, with hundreds of artists happy to show off their skills to the world.

Enticing food and drink options make this somewhere you could spend an entire trip, hopping from studio to studio and gallery to gallery. If you happen to be here on a Second Saturday the district is a mass of demonstrations, workshops, live performance and fresh culinary experiences.

4. The Folk Art Center

Source: EWY Media / shutterstock

Eight miles from downtown Asheville at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Folk Art Center is dedicated to Southern Appalachian craft and culture, both traditional and contemporary.

This is the home of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, with three galleries displaying examples of workmanship passed down the generations to the present day.

To see these skills in action you can check out daily craft demonstrations in the lobby from March to December.

And if you want to pick out a piece to call your own, the center is home to the Allanstand Craft Shop, established in 1895 and officially the oldest craft shop in America, with work by more than 400 members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.

The center has its own nature trail, while Milepost 382 is also an access point on North Carolina’s 1,200-mile Mountains-to-Sea trail.

5. Biltmore Village

Source: Nolichuckyjake / shutterstock

Near the main entrance to the Biltmore Estate, George Vanderbilt built this idyllic village in the 1890s as a company town for the estate’s small army of workers.

With Tudor-style half-timbering, Biltmore Village was designed to resemble an English country village, complete with a parish church, the Cathedral of All Souls.

Now the village’s cottages and leafy cobblestone streets are the canvas for a quaint commercial district, with a mix of small businesses and national brands.

You can hunt for antiques, browse galleries, try some local craft beer, and try to choose from a menu of cuisines.

6. Downtown Asheville

Source: Sean Pavone / shutterstock

In a curious twist of fate, a long period of hardship has helped make downtown Asheville so enthralling. The Great Depression was cruel to the city, which elected to pay off its debts over the course of more than half a century.

The upside is that very little development happened, which meant that one of America’s finest and largest arrays of Art Deco buildings has made it to the 21st century intact.

At a time when downtown Asheville is on top of its game, that exquisite architecture is allied with upscale shopping at more than 200 locally owned stores and boutiques.

You’ve got dining for all tastes, contemporary art and culture, and so many events that there will always be something happening when you’re in town. Pack Square Park, at the foot of several Art Deco wonders, is where many of the free festivals and events take place.

Be sure to also check out my guide on Downtown Asheville!

7. Thomas Wolfe Memorial

Source: Nolichuckyjake / shutterstock

The novelist Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), one of the great American literary figures of the 20th century, was born and grew up in Asheville.

His childhood home downtown became the setting for his first novel, Look Homeward, Angel (1929), as “Dixieland”, and is preserved as an historic house museum.

This two-story Queen Anne house dates to 1883, and is presented as it was when Wolfe was growing up, when a changing cast of boarders would spend the summer at what was then called “Old Kentucky Home”.

The rooms are sprinkled with snippets of Wolfe’s writing, and give you a taste of early 20th-century Asheville as a summer health resort.

8. Water Adventures on the French Broad River

Source: Gingo Scott / shutterstock

Flowing at a gentle pace through Asheville from south to north, the French Broad River is thought by some to be the third oldest river on the planet.

Almost half of the river’s total length is an official paddle trail, and there’s a big choice of access points in and around Asheville, whether you’re kayaking, paddleboarding or tubing.

At the drop of a hat you can set off on your own self-guided trip, with the help of a roster of local adventure companies like French Broad Outfitters, The Outpost, Wai Mauna Asheville SUP Tours, and Asheville Adventure Co.

To mix nature with sightseeing you can start a little way south of the Biltmore Estate and see that magnificent house cresting over the treeline from the river.

If you like some adventure I suggest having a look at this French Broad Whitewater River Rafting Experience

9. Grove Arcade

Source: Nolichuckyjake / shutterstock

One of the first indoor shopping malls in America was built on a full city block in Asheville in the late 1920s. If you’re wondering about the peculiar profile of the Grove Arcade from the street on Battery Hill, this is actually the base for a skyscraper that was never constructed.

The architecture fits in well downtown, with Late Gothic stonework and a Parisian feel along the corridors, illuminated by skylights.

Since 2002 the building has become a tasteful lifestyle destination, with galleries, specialty shops and lots of enticing places to eat, many with seating on the sidewalks outside.

Off the Battery Park end you can see what catches your eye at the outdoor Makers Market, with a dozen stalls for artisans selling art, jewelry, local farm products and more.

10. Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center

Source: Margaret.Wiktor / shutterstock

Asheville shines on its own, but there are many reminders that the city can be a key component in long-distance adventures.

And it doesn’t get much longer than the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is the longest linear park in the United States at 469 miles.

No unit in the National Park System receives more visitors, and that isn’t too surprising given the awesome scenery along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where waterfalls and soaring peaks await you.

The headquarters and visitor center for the parkway are on the eastern edge of town, and this is the place to go to plot every detail of your journey and get excited about the things you can see and do along the way.

11. Craggy Gardens

Source: Cvandyke / shutterstock

Another place you have to visit on the Blue Ridge Parkway is this set of natural summit meadows about 14 miles northeast of downtown.

Much higher than Asheville, Craggy Gardens are posted more than a mile above sea level, and the absence of tree cover at the highest points gives you epic panoramas like something from a fantasy movie.

The scenery is jaw-dropping at any time of year, but takes on an ethereal quality in June when the sea of pink and purple Catawba rhododendrons are in flower.

The hike of choice here is the Craggy Pinnacle Trail, leading through wind-sculpted hardwood forest with rare or endangered species up to a high overlook, with the peaks of Pisgah National Forest zigzagging for miles.

Temperatures here are up 20° cooler than downtown Asheville, so this is a great place to come for a little respite in summer.

12. Basilica of Saint Lawrence

Source: Nagel Photography / shutterstock

The Spanish building engineer, Rafael Guastavino (1842-1908), spent the last part of his career in Asheville, working on the Vanderbilt House, but also on this stately minor basilica downtown.

In the Spanish Renaissance style, the Basilica of Saint Lawrence was ready in 1909 and is one of Asheville’s great landmarks.

The most celebrated feature, and the reason you have to go inside, is the dome. This measures 58 feet x 82 feet, which makes it the largest freestanding elliptical dome in the country.

The highly detailed stained glass windows are also a delight, and there’s a wealth of statuary carved in Italy.

13. The Orange Peel

Source: Jeffery Edwards / shutterstock

Opened in 2002 during downtown Asheville’s transformation, The Orange Peel remains the pick of the city’s many live music venues.

The building dates back to 1950 and was a roller skating rink and then a nightclub where the likes of The Bar-Kays and The Commodores played. After a long abandonment, the Orange Peel has rebounded as the place to catch your favorite live act.

A few performers over the last 20+ years are Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Smashing Pumpkins, Queens of the Stone Age, and Kings of Leon.

The venue holds 1,100 and has been listed among the Top Five Rock Clubs in the Country” by Rolling Stone.

14. Woolworth Walk

Source: Fotoluminate LLC / shutterstock

How much more Asheville can you get than an art gallery in a converted Art Deco department store?

Woolworth Walk is in a former Woolworth branch, built in 1938 and staying open until 1989. A lot happened here in that time, including sit-ins at the lunch counter during the Civil Rights movement.

The origins of the gallery go back to downtown’s revival in the early 00s, and the meticulous restoration work at that time earned the owners two Griffin Awards.

This is officially the largest gallery in the city, but what makes it such a destination is its focus on local artists.

There’s photography, painting, woodwork, pottery, glass, digital art, metal work, and more, along with an old-school soda fountain, in full working order.

15. Western North Carolina Nature Center

Source: wildwnc.org

A zoo with a sense of place, the Western North Carolina Nature Center shows off the wildlife of the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.

This attraction goes back decades, but has made some big changes since the late 1990s, focusing on regional species and designing a variety of award-winning habitats as part of a long-term masterplan.

Local faces include American river otters, turkey vultures, great horned owls, gray foxes, cougars, eastern mud turtles, American red wolves, and black bears.

These are a few of the 60+ species at the center, matched with interesting natural history facts, and set on winding wooded trails by the Swannanoa River. All through the park, restless kids can stretch their legs at a series of play stations.

16. Asheville Art Museum

Source: Nolichuckyjake / shutterstock

At Pack Place downtown, the Asheville Art Museum reopened in 2019 after a $24 million expansion and renovation project.

There are up to 20 important exhibitions in these galleries every year, and one of the great things about the expansion is that the museum can now receive major traveling exhibitions from the country’s top institutions.

The permanent collection specializes in American art from the 20th and 21st century, but is also steeped in the traditions and eclectic cultures of Western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia.

There’s a rooftop sculpture terrace over Pack Square, with the Blue Mountains in the distance, while the first thing you’ll see when you arrive is Henry Richardson’s Reflections on Unity, a two-ton glass sphere at the entrance.

17. Gray Line Trolley Tours

Source: Nolichuckyjake / shutterstock

A good first port of call in Asheville is the Visitor Center, which has an information desk, brochures and a store stocked with goodies from across Western North Carolina.

This is also the departure point for Gray Line’s hop-on, hop-off trolley tours around the city. Setting off every half an hour, these trips last 90 minutes and wrap up many of Asheville’s highlights in a neat package, with a lot of riveting anecdotes on the way.

You’ll see downtown’s Art Deco wonders, the River Arts District, the famed Omni Grove Park Inn, and the stately residences of the Montford Area Historic District, with more than 600 buildings from the turn of the 20th century. If you’re in town for 2 days I suggest getting 2-Day Pass.

18. Grovewood Village

Source: Bob Pool / shutterstock

This historic campus next to Omni Grove Park Inn once housed Biltmore Industries’ woodworking and weaving operations, producing crafts and textiles of the finest quality.

That tradition continues into the 21st century, as the picturesque complex has been revived as an arts and crafts hub. Grovewood Village has working artist studios, home to specialists in anything from ceramic art to metalwork.

You can shop for exceptional crafts at the gallery, see these skills in practice at the studios, and find out about the village’s craft heritage on a guided history tour.

Also take time to explore the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum, and the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum, with a set of gleaming vintage cars in the old weaving shop.

19. McCormick Field

Source: MikeKalasnik / Flickr | CC BY-SA

If you love quirky old ballparks, the 4,000-capacity home of MiLB’s Asheville Tourists is a treat. McCormick Field is one of the oldest minor league stadiums still in use, and has a setting that is typical Asheville, resting on a small plateau halfway up a wooded hillside.

The stadium has been here since 1923, and was being updated when we wrote this article. The Tourists meanwhile date right back to 1897, and have bounced around a long list of classes and leagues since then. When we went to press they were the High-A affiliate for the Houston Astros.

Here as much as anywhere else, food and drink are part of the experience, and there’s a good choice of vegetarian options, local craft beers, and specials on hot dogs on Fridays.

20. Fine Arts Theatre

Source: Andriy Blokhin / shutterstock

In downtown’s contingent of sleek Art Deco buildings there’s a movie theater that opened in 1946. With an understated cream facade featuring a stepped gable and two narrow strips of block glass, this spot opened in 1946 and was originally the Strand Theatre.

Since then a second screen has opened on the former balcony, and both auditoriums went digital in 2012. The Fine Arts Theatre is the only operating movie theater downtown, and is devoted to independent, foreign and classic movies.

Both screens have working curtains, which may come as a shock to younger audiences, while this is one of those rare theaters where you can sip on a glass of wine or beer as you watch.

21. Asheville Community Theatre (ACT)

Source: ashevilletheatre.org

We know what you’re thinking. But, rest assured, the Asheville Community Theatre is no ordinary community theatre. Founded in 1946, this is one of the oldest still operating in the United States.

More than that, the legendary actor Charlton Heston and his wife Lydia Clarke were in charge for a season in 1947. It was here that Clarke decided to get into acting full time, while Heston’s career in Broadway started soon after.

It’s easy to be swept along by these shows, because everything is on point, from the performances to costume, direction and sets. The mainstage auditorium downtown is named for Heston, with all-volunteer shows for all tastes throughout the season.

22. Appalachian Trail

Source: MarkVanDykePhotography / shutterstock

The trail to end all trails passes close to Asheville, along the North Carolina/Tennessee border. On its 2,200-mile path from Springer Mountain, GA, to Mount Katahdin, ME, the trail cuts through the scenic town of Hot Springs, about 30 miles north of Asheville.

This is a good on-ramp for a day hike, for a shorter out-and-back adventure for a taste of what those hardy thru-hikers have to endure.

Within a mile you’ll get to a breathtaking lookout at Lovers Leap. Another stunning location within reach of Asheville is Max Patch, a bald mountain summit, freckled with wildflowers, and with views that scroll out for miles in all directions.

23. Barley’s Taproom

Source: www.barleystaproom.com

If you’re into craft beer I highly recommend a visit to Barley’s Taproom. Asheville has a craft beer scene to be reckoned with, and it was spearheaded by this local icon on Biltmore Avenue downtown.

Barley’s Taproom opened in 1994, in a converted appliance store from the 1920s. With the taproom came Highland Brewing, which operated in the basement as the first brewery in Asheville since Prohibition and has since moved to larger premises.

You can try Highland’s signatures, Oatmeal Porter and Gaelic Ale, which are poured along with dozens of other local and regional craft beers.

There are 28 taps in the main bar, another 28 upstairs, along with a billiards room, and a food menu dominated by Barley’s famous sourdough pizza.

24. Botanical Gardens at Asheville

Source: Jill Lang / shutterstock

You don’t need to stride out onto the Appalachian Trail to see the region’s rich flora. There’s a more manageable showcase by the University of North Carolina at Asheville campus, a mile or so north of downtown.

Free to enter, the Botanical Gardens at Asheville present the plants and habitats of the Southern Appalachians, and were planted on ten acres of abandoned timberland in the early 1960s.

There are more than 650 species of trees, grasses, herbs, ferns, and wildflowers growing here, a proportion of which are seldom found in the wild. Although there’s color to be found at any time of year, the gardens are a joy during wildflower season in spring.

25. Festivals

Source: Fotoluminate LLC / shutterstock

If there’s a city that knows how to have fun it’s Asheville, where there’s something going on all year round, and often with an artsy twist.

Take the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands in July, when close to 200 artists and crafters from the region descend on Asheville. You’ve got a weekly dose of free mountain music at Pack Square Park for Shindig on the Green all through July.

Then in August AVL Fest is a four-day medley of music and art, filling a host of venues around the city. Fall means Blue Ridge Pride, and Asheville Art in the Park, when Pack Square Park becomes a giant art fair on consecutive Saturdays in October.

The Biltmore Estate welcomes its fair share of action, with heartwarming displays in the holiday season, and 130,000+ flowers for Biltmore Blooms in spring.

You may also like some of the other posts I wrote on Asheville and North Carolina:

• Best Day Trips from Asheville
• Neigborhoods & Area Guide of Asheville
• The best hotels in Asheville
• 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in North Carolina

The post 25 Best Things to Do in Asheville (NC) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

The most successful enterprise to spring up at that time was the Converse Toy & Woodenware Company, making everything from hobby horses to doll furniture, and giving Winchendon the nickname Toy Town, which has stuck to this day.

A rocking horse appears on the town’s official seal, and you can see this emblematic horse, Clyde II, in the center of town under a pavilion.

If you’re yearning for the great outdoors, Winchendon will oblige, with thousands of acres of state forest and wildlife management areas, woven with some 50 miles of trails.

1. Lake Dennison State Recreation Area

Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

A natural body of water, Lake Dennison is part of a giant flood management project by the US Army Corps of Engineers, initiated with the construction of the Birch Hill a couple of miles up the Millers River in 1940.

Most of the surrounding landscape is leased to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which is the origin of Lake Dennison as a hub for recreation.

The lake has a swimming beach, open from late May to early September, as well as a boat ramp (non-motorized), a pavilion, and picnic areas on the tranquil shoreline.

There’s a campground close by with 150 sites, while the recreation area is embedded in a vast area of public land, with access to more than 50 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing.

2. Winchendon History & Cultural Center

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

The Winchendon Historical Society was founded in 1930 and began a new era in 2000 when the palatial Murdock-Whitney House (c. 1850) was gifted to it.

That original house had been shifted in from Front Street at the turn of the 20th century, and was enlarged at that time into a 22-room mansion.

The interiors abound with carved oak and cherry, along with mirrored mantles and leaded stained glass.

As well as being the main depository for the society’s collections, the house also fascinates fans of the paranormal and welcomes ghost hunts several times a year.

Also part of the Winchendon History & Cultural Center is the Isaac Morse House (135 Front St), where you can browse the range of toys manufactured in Winchendon by the Converse Toy & Woodenware Company between 1887 and 1934.

3. Downtown Winchendon

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

If you haven’t visited Winchendon’s central commercial area for a while you might be shocked by just how much things have changed for the better.

In the early 2020s the town received state grants to make the arterial Central Street ADA compliant, and there are now new sidewalks, curbing, crosswalks, streetlights, and a bus shelter.

Backed by the steep wooded sides of the Millers River valley, there’s a small but spirited community of local-owned stores and service businesses.

You can shop here for furniture, homewares, antiques, fabrics, flowers and handmade gifts. In October this is the setting for the Winchendon Fall Festival, which we’ll cover in more detail below.

Close by on Whitney Pond, the Winchendon Community Park is a new space for outdoor events. In a pavilion at 226 Front St, you can check out Clyde II, a 1988 replica of a giant rocking horse carved by Morton Converse in 1912.

4. Otter River State Forest

Source: doug m / shutterstock

Lake Dennison is just one element in a massive swath of protected public nature, encompassing the southwest of Winchendon, parts of Royalston and Templeton, and bordering the Birch Hill State Wildlife Management Area, which we’ll talk about below.

Otter River State Forest was the first property to be acquired by the State Forest Commission in 1915, and the day-use area was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression.

You can access more than 50 miles of trails here, discovering huge stands of pine, northern hardwood forest and oak-hickory forest.

There’s wonderful paddling too, along the Millers River, while the day-use facilities are centered on Beaman Pond, where there’s a beach, picnicking areas, pavilion and ballfield.

5. North Central Pathway (Winchendon Rail Trail)

Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

At the end of Summer Drive in downtown Winchendon you can get onto a paved trail that will one day link this town with downtown Gardner 16 miles to the south.

North North Central Pathway is along a former railroad right-of-way, and in Winchendon there’s some beautiful scenery to appreciate.

The trail passes by the south shore of Whitney Pond, and continues southeast through the Millers River valley, twice crossing the river and ending at a picturesque spot by N Ashburnham Rd.

You can pick up the next section from the parking area on Old Gardner Rd, and this stretch leads south through remote woods, parallel to Route 140 as the northern edge of Crystal Lake near downtown Gardner.

6. Winchendon Fall Festival

Source: AN NGUYEN / shutterstock

On a Saturday in October, this lively festival brings thousands of people downtown, closing down a long stretch of Central Street.

The Winchendon Fall Festival was first launched in the 2010s, but has already become a big success, with upwards of 200 vendors setting up along Central Street each year.

This is a showcase for local organizations, clubs, service, as well as small businesses, so there’s a choice of great food and handmade crafts.

You can enjoy some live music, fun contests, and a demonstration by the Winchendon Fire Department, while there’s a host of activities for wee ones, including a tram ride.

7. Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail

Source: mimagephotography / shutterstock

Extending the Fitchburg Railroad into New Hampshire, the Monadnock Railroad was initially completed in 1870 connecting Winchendon with Jaffrey, NH. Later part of the Boston and Maine Railroad, the line was finally abandoned in 1972.

Today you can walk or ride for almost ten miles along the railbed through a secluded wooded corridor, from the edge of downtown Winchendon to Jaffrey.

Contrary to some maps, the trail can be accessed from a spur at the end of Poland Avenue. For most of its route the Monadnock Recreational Rail Trail is unpaved or laid with crushed stone, so conditions can be tricky after heavy rain.

8. Birch Hill State Wildlife Management Area

Source: Dalton Rasmussen / shutterstock

Spread across several parcels, there’s more than 4,500 acres of conserved land open to the public at this WMA on the west side of Winchendon, as well parts of Templeton and Royalston.

The Birch Hill State Wildlife Management Area is composed of wetlands, hardwood and softwood forests, shrublands, as well as historic orchards long reclaimed by nature. You’ll travel across these landscapes on a system of unmarked trails and maintenance roads.

The largest section in Winchendon is on the Millers River, and is a paradise for birding, home to American woodcocks, great blue herons, eastern whip-poor-wills, ruffed grouse, prairie warblers and many more.

9. Toy Town Stained Glass

Source: Toy Town Stained Glass / Facebook

Just off Route 202 in the northeast of Winchendon there’s a studio specializing in stained glass and fused glass.

If you’re based in the area you can sign up for stained glass or fused glass classes. The main course for beginners lasts several weeks, during which you’ll work on your own project, which comes to life as you develop skills like cutting, grinding, foiling, soldering, framing and polishing.

If you’re just passing by there’s a wonderful gift shop selling a wealth of finished stained glass with all kinds of forms and functions.

10. Beals Memorial Library

Source: jakkaje879 / shutterstock

Rooted in the Winchendon Scientific and Literary Association in the mid-19th century, Winchendon has had a public library since 1867.

The library bounced around a few locations in the town before moving into a handsome permanent home at 50 Pleasant St in 1913.

Partly funded by Andrew Carnegie and local businessman George L. Beals, this Beaux-Arts building was constructed from Indiana limestone with granite trim.

There’s an auditorium inside with a Chickering grand piano that was donated by Beals in 1914.

A long-term project to make the library fully accessible was completed in 2018, and this amenity continues to shine as a free and open environment, fostering literacy, growth and curiosity. For visitors to the town, one useful service is the free Wi-Fi.

11. Winchendon Community Park

Source: Kabakova Tetiana / shutterstock

Over the last few years, this park on the east side of downtown Winchendon has gradually taken shape as a top-notch community asset.

On the north shore of Whitney Pond, Winchendon Community Park covers land that belonged to the Winchendon School until late 2016.

You can stroll along a small web of trails, admire the views and enjoy a picnic in a tranquil spot so close to downtown.

The park is intended as a public gathering space, with outdoor performances hosted by the WCP Performing Arts Amphitheater, which was under construction when we compiled this list.

12. Winchendon Farmers’ Market

Source: Matej Kastelic / shutterstock

Winchendon has a contingent of small-scale farmers, makers, gardeners, and more, selling their wares downtown in the summer.

The farmers’ market takes place on Saturday mornings and Thursday afternoons, May through October.

For a sense of what you might find there’s organic seasonal fresh produce, from garlic to corn to zucchini, along with fresh herbs, homemade pickles, jams, teas, and baked goods.

In terms of crafts you can browse knitted items, handmade soaps and lotions, jewelry, home decorations, and a lot more.

13. Lickity Splitz

Source: Lickity Splitz / Facebook

This seasonal, family-run ice cream stand has been a staple of the summer in Winchendon since 1998.

All of Lickity Splitz’s ice cream is made on site, and this place is regularly listed among the top ice cream shops in the state.

For a small cross-section of the flavors you’ve got frozen pudding, banana chip, black raspberry, rum raisin, blueberry cheesecake, almond joy, butter pecan and peanut butter cup.

There’s a choice of soft serve, sugar-free options, sundaes, parfaits, and flurries, as well as a lineup of savory food. On that side of the menu, a few specialties include the footlong hot dog, the onion rings, and the haddock sandwich.

14. Gardner Municipal Golf Course

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

The closest public golf course to Winchendon is little more than ten minutes from Lake Dennison in Gardner.

This 18-hole facility dates back to 1936, and has a relatively open layout, with boundless views of the hilly scenery and the stunning Crystal Lake to the south.

There are four sets of tees, so the course can accommodate players of all abilities, and despite the open layout, careful shot placement is always rewarded.

If you need to get into the swing of things there’s a driving range here, along with a putting green, while the clubhouse has a restaurant with a second-story deck overlooking the last few holes.

15. Winchendon Music Festival

Source: Irving Sandoval / shutterstock

In 2016 the composer and multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Arceci launched a concert series in Winchendon, in memory of his father Robert J. Arceci (1950-2015), who had a love for the arts.

The festival consists of live performances in a variety of genres including classical, jazz, folk, world music and period performance.

These involve soloists, small ensembles and chamber orchestras, and take place at evocative venues like the First Congregational Church on Winchendon’s Old Centre Common, and the salon at the Winchen History & Cultural Center.

All Winchendon Music Festival concerts are free to the public.

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Known as Nashoba, the village was located between Fort Pond and Lake Nagog, much of which is now taken up by the Sarah Doublet Forest, named for the last “praying Indian” who died in 1736. Today Littleton is the New England headquarters for the technology giant, IBM, and benefits from massive tracts of conservation land containing overlooks, a ravine, caves, and mature lakefront forest.

1. Long Pond

Source: Alex Stafstrom / shutterstock

A lovely natural feature within shouting distance of Littleton Common is this 113-acre Great Pond.

Despite being so close to the center of town, Long Pond is surprisingly free of development, with the southern and western portions of the shoreline ensconced in conservation land.

Open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, Littleton’s public beach sits on the northwest shore, and is a fine place to unwind or cool off on a hot day.

There’s a good sweep of sand, a bathhouse, a kayak/canoe launch and picnic areas. You can purchase seasonal membership or pay a daily use fee.

2. Kimball Farm

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

Next door in Westford, this cherished family entertainment center attracts people from all over New England.

Dating back to 1939, Kimball Farm is a dairy farm that has added a host of attractions over time. If golf is your game, you’ve got two 18-hole adventure golf courses, a 9-hole pitch & putt course, and a driving range with 75 hitting stations.

Beyond that there’s a zipline, batting cages, bird of prey demonstrations, pony rides, a petting farm, bumper cars, bumper boats, and an arcade.

Kimball Farm is equally famous for its creamy homemade ice cream, which comes in more than 50 flavors.

There are two places on the farm where you can order hot food, one of which is a classic New England seafood shack making regional fare like lobster rolls, clam strips, fried scallops, and hand-cut onion rings.

3. Nashoba Valley Tubing Park

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

The Nashoba Valley Ski Area is on the Littleton-Westford line, and for many people the main attraction is the giant snow tubing park on a deceptively steep hill.

With as many as 18 lanes, served by four lifts, this is officially the largest tubing park in New England.

You’ll pay for a two-hour slot, and will then be free to make as many runs as you want. The lanes are carefully maintained, and are suitable for everyone over 42” in height or 6 years old.

Doubles and group tubing are permitted, depending on the conditions. As you can imagine, the experience depends on the weather—if you visit after fresh snowfall the lanes will be a little slower.

4. Nashoba Valley Ski Area

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

The entrance for the tubing park is in Littleton, while the main ski area is accessed from the Westford side of the town line.

This small mountain has been open to the public since 1964, and is known for having one of the best terrain parks in the state. With a vertical difference of about 240 feet, the Nashoba Valley Ski Area has 17 runs, the longest of which is 1,400 feet.

The area has four conveyor lifts, four chairlifts and three rope tows, which keep things flowing with a capacity of 11,600 per hour.

The on-site Outlook Restaurant is open all year round, and outside the winter season there’s a summer camp for kids, and Witch’s Woods, one of the top Halloween scare experiences in the region.

5. Prouty Woods

Source: L.A. Nature Graphics / shutterstock

One of the best places for a walk in Littleton is the town-owned stand of mature woods on the western shore of Long Pond.

Prouty Woods has some 1,600 feet of lake frontage, and the picturesque woods on the shore have a vital ecological purpose, ensuring the purity of the lake’s watershed and preventing erosion.

Another essential natural feature at Prouty Woods is Wilderness Hill, which climbs to 170 feet over the surrounding land.

Thanks to its prominence the views from the summit are astonishing on a clear day, with Mount Monadnock visible around 35 miles to the northwest and Mount Wachusett on the western horizon, about 20 miles away.

Come in early spring and you can witness the bizarre courting ritual of the American woodcock, known as the “Sky Dance”, in which the male soars 350 feet in the air before descending in curious zigzag style, while generating strange noises with their special wing feathers.

6. O’Neil Cinemas

Source: photastic / shutterstock

This sleek multiplex opened at Littleton’s The Point shopping center in 2017. With eight screens, the theater is part of a small chain in New England, delivering a state-of-the-art movie experience in a sophisticated ambience.

There are recliners throughout, complete with drink holders and trays, and you’ll be wowed by the latest sound and picture technology in every screen.

But the star is the Grand DLX, billed as the largest screen in Boston’s Metro Northwest, at 72 feet across and four stories high, with multidimensional Dolby Atmos sound.

In keeping with the upscale feel, there’s the Backstage Lounge, a full-service eatery/bar, with a 15-foot video wall showing sports events, trivia and more.

7. Oak Hill Conservation Land

Source: Belinda M Gordon / shutterstock

You could easily spend hours exploring the trails at this large conservation property in the west of Littleton and not get bored.

There are seven miles of trails at Oak Hill, with plenty to be discovered as you go. One highlight is Lookout Rock, rising to 475 feet above sea level, and with views that take in Boston’s Prudential Tower and John Hancock Tower (26.5 miles to the southeast) on a clear day.

Also thrilling is Tophet Chasm, dropping 80 feet at the site of what was once a monumental waterfall at the end of the last Ice Age.

Incorporated into the trail system at Oak Hill are a pair of 19th-century stagecoach roads, and if you look closely you can see where the wheels of these coaches cut grooves into the bedrock.

8. Smith Conservation Land

Source: PanyaStudio / shutterstock

South of Oak Hill and overlapping into Harvard you’ll find this treasured conservation area, mixing wetlands, open fields and former farmland on just over 60 acres.

The Smith Conservation Land straddles Whitcomb Avenue, offering very different experiences on each side.

To the west, you’ll travel along an unforgettable ravine perforated with caves that are known to provide a shelter for porcupines, coyotes, bobcats and even black bears.

Things are gentler east of Whitcomb Avenue where the trail skirts the edge of the marshes on Beaver Brook, with distant views of a great blue heron rookery if you have binoculars with you.

9. Spring Brook Farm

Source: Spring Brook Farm / Facebook

Covering more than 400 acres, this farm in the north of Littleton can trace its history back all the way to 1713.

Even more remarkable, Spring Brook Farm has been in the same family since that time. Ten generations later, the farm remains a vital community asset, valued for the home-grown and homemade products on the shelves of its country store.

Think freshly picked fruits and vegetables, eggs, honey, plants, the farm’s popular line of jams, farm-raised meats, and a bounty of baked goods, from fresh breads to pies, quiches and cookies.

The store also has a trove of charming gifts like candles, jewelry, linens, and decorations for interiors and gardens.

10. Sarah Doublet Forest

Source: billysfam / shutterstock

The Littleton Conservation Trust’s largest property is 100 acres of woods on a piece of the historic Nashoba Plantation.

There’s an exciting mix of natural abundance and history to be discovered along a warren of blazed trails at the Sarah Doublet Forest.

The yellow loop traverses former pasture and passes a long abandoned quarry, while the red loop passes vernal pools and a patch of witch hazel shrubs, which are stunning in fall when their yellow flowers are in bloom.

Close to the parking lot on the orange trail you’ll see the mysterious remnants of an old farmhouse, with only a chimney stack and foundations remaining.

11. Houghton Memorial Building

Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia | CC BY 3.0

One of the finest pieces of architecture in Littleton is the former public library building, now home to the Littleton Historical Society.

Built with yellow brick and completed in 1895, the Houghton Memorial Building is in a Colonial Revival style, with Romanesque Revival elements on the main facade.

This was a gift from the son of William S. Houghton, a wealthy Boston merchant who was a Littleton native and had earlier funded the library’s collection.

When we wrote this article the building was open on Wednesday afternoons and occasional Sundays. Head inside for enlightening exhibits about various aspects of local history, as well as for seasonal gifts at the museum shop.

12. Bobby’s Ranch

Source: Svadilfari / Flickr | CC BY-ND

Close by in Westford there’s an equestrian business that dates right back to 1972. Bobby’s Ranch started out as a way to keep the namesake proprietor, Bobby, occupied during the summer as a 16 year old.

The ranch flourished over time and is now run by Bobby, his wife Celia and their daughters Cassie and Theresa.

There’s a boarding service, a horsemanship program for kids in summer, and a menu of private, semi-private and group horse riding lessons.

But the ranch’s main business is a guided trail riding service (by reservation). On docile and friendly horses, these take place in bucolic rural scenery, and you can even go on a weekend-long adventure if you book in advance.

13. The Point

Source: Day Of Victory Studio / shutterstock

When it opened to the public in 2015, this mixed-use development became the first of its kind in Boston’s Metro Northwest region.

The Point is just off I-495 and integrates a hotel (Courtyard by Marriott), offices, entertainment attractions, and a selection of stores, eateries and other service businesses.

Hand-in-hand with O’Neil Cinemas, one of the best things going for The Point is its food scene.

At close quarters you can choose from Indian, pan-Asian, tavern fare, and New England-style seafood.

There’s also a wine bar, and locations for Starbucks, Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza & Wings, and Moe’s Southwest Grill.

14. MetroRock Littleton

Source: oleksboiko / shutterstock

Opened in 2019, this indoor climbing gym at The Point is part of a regional chain, catering to climbers of all abilities.

After signing a waiver and picking up any necessary gear, experienced climbers can start exploring the bouldering terrain at MetroRock within minutes of arriving.

There’s a test for top-rope climbing, and a more stringent assessment if you’re here for lead climbing.

Novices are free to drop in anytime, and will be given a thorough orientation, and a tutorial on how to use the auto-belays.

If you’d feel more comfortable with a guided intro to climbing you can book a private belay, and will be talked through the techniques by a member of staff.

15. Shaker Hills Country Club

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

Moments away in Harvard there’s a publicly accessible golf course with a high reputation. In its time, Shaker Hills Country Club has been listed as the top public course in Massachusetts, and this prestige is reflected in the green fees, which are at the upper end of the market.

The current layout goes back to a renovation in 2012, and one of the course’s biggest assets has always been its spectacular, rambling scenery.

As a fitting finale, you’ve got a breathtaking 560-yard dogleg par 5, ending at the clubhouse. This facility is perched above a natural amphitheater, with views of the 1st, 9th, 10th and 18th holes from the top deck.

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Set close together, there’s a local movie theater, an innovative performing arts venue, and the massive ArtSpace studio complex, home to a community of more than 80 artists.

Maynard was incorporated in 1871, so is quite a new town by Massachusetts standards.

The name comes from Amory Maynard (1804-1890), the, founder of the Assabet Woolen Mill, which powered the local economy for more than a century, and made cloth for Union Army uniforms

Within moments of downtown Maynard you’ll find yourself in the pristine nature of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, and you can get there via a stretch of rail trail that was completed in 2018.

1. Downtown Maynard

Source: Wangkun Jia / shutterstock

As a flourishing 21st-century central business district, downton Maynard would give any town a run for its money.

There’s art, entertainment, culture, great food and drink, and a buzzing social calendar. Packed onto a relatively short section of Main Street and Nason Street are dozens of small businesses.

In terms of food you’ll find everything from Korean to deli food, and that selection is matched by the stores, whether you’re shopping for a one-off work of art, outdoor gear, comics, musical instruments—you name it.

There’s history too, with lots of stately commercial architecture from Maynard’s textile-making heyday, as well as a lovely view from the shore of the old Millpond.

June through September, the parking lot here is the setting for one of the best farmers’ markets in the MetroWest region.

2. Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge

Source: quiggyt4 / shutterstock

Most of southern Maynard is taken up by a 2,230-acre National Wildlife Refuge, spread across four different towns in two sections, along the uninhabited floodplain of the Assabet River.

Maynard is on the larger northern section, in an area of wetlands, old farmland, and pine and hardwood forest containing vernal pools.

Something intriguing about this land’s human past is that it was a WWII-era ammunition storage facility.

The military presence continued into the second half of the 20th century, and today there are strange reminders in the form of large bunkers more than 80 feet in length. The refuge brims with wildlife, and is treasured as a resting place for migratory birds.

3. Fine Arts Theatre

Source: Wangkun Jia / shutterstock

Maynard wouldn’t be Maynard without this lovable triplex movie theater that has been on the scene since 1949.

Before then this building was a garage that had been converted from a horse stable and livery established in 1897.

Under new management since 2021, the Fine Arts Theatre is a charming alternative to modern multiplexes, and was given a major renovation in the 2010s.

Head here for first-run movies in comfortable auditoriums with digital projection and high-end sound. Concession prices are surprisingly reasonable for a movie theater, and a major plus point is that you can purchase alcoholic beverages.

4. Sanctuary Maynard

Source: Sanctuary - Event and Live Music Venue / Facebook

An arresting sight downtown is the Greek Revival Union Congregational Church, which has recently been turned into an entertainment venue.

The church was constructed in 1853, and eventually closed in 2017 before a new chapter began with Sanctuary.

Complete with a bar, the historic nave is now a hall for concerts, comedy shows and other live performances, as well as a host of private events like weddings, parties and fundraisers.

There were at least four shows a week when we wrote this article, while the bar area is open most nights.

5. ArtSpace

Source: guruXOX / shutterstock

Since 2001 the former Fowler Middle School Building has been repurposed as one of the largest and most vibrant art centers in New England.

ArtSpace has no fewer than 45 studios, supporting around 85 artists and encouraging collaboration.

Part of the complex is the Acme Theater, with a 70-seater auditorium staging professional-quality productions.

Outside, the Pollinator Meadow is a registered Monarch Waystation, while the first port of call for visitors will be the West Gallery, with exhibitions run by a committee of ArtSpace’s tenants.

There’s always something exciting happening at the center, from seasonal shops to exhibitions, receptions and theater shows.

6. Assabet River Rail Trail

Source: Swampyank / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

The Marlborough Branch of the Fitchburg Railroad came through Maynard in the late 1840s, connecting Action station to Marlborough by 1855.

A century later the branch had been abandoned, and long-term plans to pave a trail along the railbed have been partially realized over the last few years.

Maynard is on a 3.5-mile unbroken stretch that runs from South Acton Station to the Maynard-Stown line. Here the trail bends through the very heart of downtown Maynard and leads you to the wide-open nature of the Assabet River Wildlife Refuge.

There are signs and places to take a break along the route, while the Trail of Flowers project has furnished the corridor with thousands of trees, shrubs and flowers.

7. Presidential Village

Source: Swampyank / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

An easy stroll from downtown Maynard, there’s a model village constructed at the turn of the 20th century by the American Woolen Company for its workers.

Located across the Assabet River from downtown, Presidential Village is made up of around 250 single-family houses, designed in 13 different styles.

Each one came with running water, pine flooring, a toilet in the cellar, but with no central heat. The Town of Maynard Historical Commission has published a self-guided walking tour of the village.

One of many interesting details is that almost every street is named after a post-Civil War U.S. President, from Ulysses S. Grant to Theodore Roosevelt.

8. Art Signals Studio

Source: SpeedKingz / shutterstock

At this studio in downtown Maynard you can paint your own unique piece of pottery. Open to walk-in customers, Art Signals Studio has a large selection of bowls, cups, plates, vases, figurines, as well as children’s pottery.

These can be a blank canvas for your work of art, and the studio will provide all of the tools and materials you need, such as stencils and stamps.

After that your piece will be glazed and fired, and ready to pick up in a couple of weeks. Art Signals Studio also runs a number of classes, for skills like wheel throwing, centering, pulling up walls, glazing and firing, and there are fun workshops for kids during the school summer break.

9. Amory’s Tomb Brewing

Source: Amory’s Tomb Brewing Co. / Facebook

Established in 2015, there’s a small-batch craft brewery and taproom in downtown Maynard. Amory’s Tomb Brewing is run by a pair of brothers-in-law, contributing towards Maynard’s cultural development and close-knit sense of community.

The brewery, specializing in malty ales, is also regionally focussed, sourcing almost all of its grain from farms and malthouses in the Northeast.

There were eight beers on tap when we compiled this list, including a Honey and Lemon Saison (Farm Road), a Belgian Golden Ale (The Advancement of Interests), a Wheat Lager (Broken Latch), a Belgian Pale Ale (Kettle Hole), and an Imperial Brown Ale (Northern Rabbit).

10. Maynard Outdoor Store

Source: Wangkun Jia / shutterstock

A reassuring long-term presence downtown, the family owned and operated Maynard Outdoor Store has been around since 1950.

In the early days this was a war surplus store, but has evolved into an outfitter for active and casual clothing and footwear.

For an idea of what’s in store you’ve got hiking shoes, backpacks, sleeping bags, work boots, cleats, sneakers, along with a wealth of sportswear, including official Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics apparel.

The building dates back to the 1890s, and was constructed for W.B. Case & Sons, dry goods, which first opened in Maynard in the 1870s and survived until the Great Depression.

11. Jam Time Maynard

Source: Zurijeta / shutterstock

Part of a small, local chain of indoor play centers, Jam Time Maynard creates a fun, enriching environment for younger children.

Inside you’ll find a world of high-quality and safe equipment, from climbing structures to play tables, playhouses, bounce houses, and kiddie gyms, as well as soft play toys for infants and toddlers.

You can rent the facility for birthday parties, bring little ones to specialized classes and activities, or simply drop by during public play hours, published on Jam Time’s website.

12. Glenwood Cemetery

Source: Swampyank / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

You can also download a self-guided walking tour for the town’s only municipal cemetery. On 23 picturesque acres, Glenwood Cemetery predates Maynard, with roots that go back to 1820.

This original 8-acre portion was purchased by the town in 1871, and expanded into a rural cemetery, with trees, a network of paths, and a pond on the south side.

The most conspicuous monument of all is the Maynard family crypt, set on the north side, with a granite portal fronting a large earth-covered mound. This is the burial place of the town’s namesake Amory Maynard, his wife Mary, and 20 descendants.

13. Maynard Public Library

Source: Swampyank / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

The town has had a public library since 1881, and until the 2000s this was located next to the town hall.

A need for a larger building was met by the former Former Roosevelt Elementary (1918), and the multimillion-dollar renovation and relocation was completed in 2006.

Maynard Public Library is a pillar of life in the town, with collections augmented by the 41-strong Minuteman Library Network.

There are services and programs for all ages, including a slew of classes and workshops for residents to make the most of. The children’s department is a godsend for parents, and even features a dedicated storytime room.

14. Discovery Museum

Source: Erin Ash Sullivan / Wikimedia | Attribution

Recently given an $8.8m expansion, this regional, hands-on children’s museum is just a few minutes away in Acton.

Now with twice the exhibit space, the Discovery Museum presents a range of open-ended, STEAM-focussed exhibits, designed by professional educators.

These involve topics like light and color, tinkering, air, water, sound, math, and design and engineering.

Outside, kids can play and explore in the Discovery Woods, with a 550-square foot accessible treehouse, surrounded by a nature playscape that is open every season of the year.

15. Maynard Fest

Source: AN NGUYEN / shutterstock

A wonderful time to find yourself in downtown Maynard is on the first Saturday in October, when the streets around Veterans Memorial Park spring to life for a colorful community event.

Maynard Fest brings more than 100 vendors, as well as a stage with a schedule of live music in the park, and performances at Sanctuary.

All day long there’s a mouthwater choice of food, from fried dough to tacos, samosas, spring rolls and papas bravas.

You’ll find free and inexpensive things to do throughout the day, while kids will be entertained with puppies and friendly alpacas in the park.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Maynard (MA) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

Acushnet also has maritime heritage thanks to its proximity to Buzzards Bay and New Bedford. In the 19th-century the town was home to several whaling captains, while Moby-Dick author Herman Melville (1819-1891) sailed aboard a whaler called Acushnet before he wrote his famous novel.

1. The Sawmill

Source: Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection / Flickr | CC BY

In the 2010s the Buzzards Bay Coalition stepped in to restore this 20-acre site on the Acushnet River, previously occupied by the Acushnet Saw Mills Company.

The result is a stunning public park, with trails allowing you to discover a tapestry of habitats and take in fabulous views of the river and the millpond upstream.

There are meadows, woods, and a parcel of red maple swamp that you can traverse along a boardwalk. You’ll have lots of opportunities to view wildlife, including the waterfowl that flock to the pond and its shores.

2. White’s Factory

Source: Joann Connolly / Facebook

From the 18th century the Acushnet River was a source of power for industry in the town. Not far north of the Sawmill you can explore what’s left of a cotton-spinning mill, with only shards of the outer walls remaining.

The river was first dammed to power a mill here in 1746, while the stone structure dates back to 1799.

That mill was badly damaged in a fire in 1830, and was soon reconstructed before succumbing to another fire in 1854.

To go with those mysterious ruins, White’s Factory is a lovely place to explore the banks of the Acushnet River.

On the opposite bank is Hamlin Crossing, with a trail leading into woods and across a meadow speckled with wildflowers in spring and summer.

3. Long Plain School (Long Plain Museum)

Source: User:Magicpiano / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 4.0

One of Acushnet’s most unique historic buildings is the Long Plain School at 1203 Main Street, constructed in 1875 in the Italianate style.

Among the interesting details are the grand, pedimented gable with an oculus, as well as the Gothic Revival turret.

Originally four bays wide, the building was expanded to six bays in the 1920s, and was used as a school up to the 1950s.

Today Long Plain School belongs to the Acushnet Historical Society, which runs a museum here.

You can visit on Sundays, May through September to dip into Acushnet’s whaling history, see what the school would have looked like in the 1870s, and get a sense of domestic life in the town in the 19th century.

Long Plain School’s grounds also host the Apple-Peach Festival in September.

4. Stone Bridge Farm

Source: Jana Shea / shutterstock

Acushnet is in Massachusetts’ cranberry country and has dozens of bogs, some active and some no longer farmed.

These enhance the landscapes, with pink flowers in spring and bright red berries in fall that complement the foliage.

Using sustainable methods, Stone Bridge Farm is a thriving commercial farm with three acres of bogs, and opens its doors to the public during the harvest season in fall.

At this time you can book a guided tour to find out all you could want to know about cranberries and what it takes to plant, grow and harvest them. During a visit you will even put on a pair of waders and stride out into the bog like a true farmer.

5. Acushnet River Valley Golf Course

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

With a four-star rating from Golf Digest, Acushnet River Valley Golf Course is held as one of the best publicly accessible courses in the region. As well as the high level of maintenance, the layout is a big part of the course’s success.

The front nine cuts through dense, mature pine woodlands, while the back nine suddenly opens up, and six of the holes (12-17) have a Scottish links-style design, with rolling greens and rippling fairways.

Perhaps the trickiest element at Acushnet River Valley are the hazards surrounding the greens, with sharp elevation changes and bunkers punishing wayward approach shots.

6. The Silverbrook Farm

Source: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism / Flickr | CC BY-ND

Out in Acushnet’s pastoral countryside, this family farm opens to the public for a variety of seasonal events in the summer and fall.

In its 20 or so years of operation Silverbrook Farm has earned a reputation for its delectable homemade pies, sold at the store in a beautiful old barn.

As well as growing an assortment of fresh produce, the farm also has a herd of Chianina cattle, for high-quality grass-fed beef.

Things ramp up in the fall, when you can visit to pick your own pumpkin, navigate the corn maze, and go for hayrides, while kids can meet friendly barnyard animals

7. Acushnet Creamery

Source: THP Creative / shutterstock

Opened in 2003, Acushnet Creamery is a town favorite, making all of its ice cream, frozen yogurts, and sherbets by hand on the premises.

The ice cream menu has steadily grown over the years, and now has more than 50 flavors. Some big-hitters are lemon custard, maple walnut, coffee, Cranberry Harvest, vanilla, and the Acushnet-appropriate apple-peach.

Whatever flavor you choose, you have to get it in a freshly made waffle cone, and you’ll catch the irresistible scent of these being baked long before you get to the window.

Away from the road, you can enjoy your frozen treat at one of the picnic tables, with a little grassy area and a stone wall.

8. Country Whip

Source: Brannon_Naito / shutterstock

Surrounded by pick-your-own orchards along Route 105, there’s a treasured seasonal ice cream parlor/restaurant, open March through October.

Country Whip is in a charming cottage with a porch, and has been on the map in Acushnet for more than 60 years.

As the name tells you, the specialty here is the homemade soft serve ice cream, which comes in a few flavors (or twists), with black raspberry one of the stars. As well as a wide choice of Richardson’s Ice Cream, there’s a big menu of savory items.

You’ve got local, New England-style seafood including the popular lobster rolls, clam cakes and chowder, as well as hot dogs, burgers, subs, wraps, and a lot more.

9. 9/11 Memorial

Source: Kevin Gallagher / Facebook

There’s a touching tribute in Acushnet to those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks, and to all those involved in the rescue, recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The Acushnet 9/11 Memorial stands in front of the Fire Department on Main Street, and came about after the department was awarded a 2,700-pound steel beam from Ground Zero by the Port Authority of New York.

This artifact was brought to the town in 2011 and mounted at an angle on a granite base, to be unveiled for the 10th anniversary of the outrage. The monument sits in a little plaza, ringed by flowerbeds and accompanied by a glass plaque.

10. Keith’s Farm

Source: AstroStar / shutterstock

Just off Main Street and backing onto the New Bedford reservoir, this farm offers something different with each season.

Summer and fall is when Keith’s Farm is in its prime, opening to the public for PYO strawberries in June, blueberries in July, raspberries in August, and then in fall for apple and pumpkin picking.

The farm stand is loaded with other fresh produce, from tomatoes to corn, as well as goodies like apple cider donuts and homemade preserves. Things kick back into gear again in the holiday season when there’s a tree farm here, open for three weekends after Thanksgiving.

11. Flying Cloud Orchards

Source: Flying Cloud Orchards / Facebook

This 40-acre farm is in a bucolic spot bordered to the west by the Acushnet River. Flying Cloud Orchards runs a farm stand at 540 Main Street, which is an essential stop during the growing and harvest season, until as late as Thanksgiving.

There’s a wealth of fresh produce all summer and fall, but it’s the homemade specialties that draw the crowds.

You’ve got fresh breads, peach pies, apple pies, honey, caramel apples, cookies, apple cider, and an assortment of homemade jams. At the time of writing, Flying Cloud Orchards was run by a couple who purchased this land in 1977.

12. New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park

Source: Wangkun Jia / shutterstock

You can follow in Melville’s footsteps by visiting the old heart of what was once the world’s foremost whaling port.

Managed by the National Park Service, this tight grid of cobblestone streets has shipowners’ mansions, and a handful of sights relevant to Melville and Moby-Dick.

One is the Seamen’s Bethel (1832), preserving the pew that Melville sat in when he visited in 1840.

The star attraction is the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which is the definitive institution for the history of whaling. In its immense collections, the museum has five intact whale skeletons, 2,500 logbooks from whaling expeditions, and 3,500 pieces of scrimshaw.

13. Tripps Mill

Source: Tim Blauss / Facebook

Just beyond Acushnet’s southeastern corner there’s a growing system of more than 200 acres of conservation properties along the Mattapoisett River.

A good place to begin is Tripps Mill, where you’ll discover the vestiges of a sawmill along Tripps Brook, where it drains Tinkham Pond.

From here you can hike for more than four miles through the woods and past former cranberry bogs and wetlands along the Mattapoisett River.

Tinkham Pond is also a good spot to do some fishing, with chain pickerel, yellow perch and sunfish regularly caught here.

14. Nestles Lane Conservation Area

Source: Song_about_summer / shutterstock

There’s an inviting pocket of nature in Acushnet just east of Route 18. This piece of town-owned conservation land is streaked with little streams that flow eastwards, eventually feeding the New Bedford Reservoir.

The property, made up of tall pines and a network of old stone walls, can be accessed from the north and south, along Nestles Lane.

Trails take on a brief but enjoyable walk, through the aromatic pine forest on relatively flat terrain that becomes a bit hillier the further east you go.

15. Acushnet Apple-Peach Festival

Source: mRGB / shutterstock

Held on the first weekend after Labor Day, this popular event is deep into its 5th decade now.

The Acushnet Apple-Peach Festival is on the idyllic grounds of the Long Plain School, celebrating the harvest season with a feast of live entertainment, crafts, great food, and tons of family fun.

From morning until evening there’s a big lineup of live music, and you could easily spend a couple of hours browsing the vendors, selling everything from candles to handmade soaps, jewelry, pottery, paintings, and much more.

Whatever you do, you have to try the cobbler (peach, apple and apple-peach), made in the school’s kitchen by the Acushnet Historical Society.

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Added to that is the majesty of the Brewster Flats, thought to be the widest sweep of tidal flats in America, with views that will take your breath away. The flats are also educational for kids, as you can walk out for up to two miles at low tide, exploring tidal pools rich with crabs, oysters, mussels, scallops and other sea life.

1. Crosby Landing Beach

Source: Rhona Wise / shutterstock

All of Brewster’s public beaches are worth visiting, but Crosby Landing Beach stands out for its size, and the amount of spaces at the parking lot in the dunes behind. At high tide, this is somewhere to lounge on the sand and take a swim in the gentle surf.

If you haven’t visited before, you may not be prepared for how spectacular the view is at low tide. When the tide withdraws there’s nothing but sand laced with tide pools as far as you can see.

The scenery is all the more dramatic on a semi-cloudy day, when shafts of sunlight illuminate the pools, or at sunset which may be one of the most romantic things you’ve ever laid eyes on.

2. Nickerson State Park

Source: Tyreese Ferguson / shutterstock

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ first state park was established in Brewster in 1934.

This 1,900-acre landscape of kettle ponds and scrub pine was donated by the widow of Samuel Mayo Nickerson (1830-1914), one of the founders of the First National Bank of Chicago.

Mayo died not long after his grand mansion, Fieldstone Hall, burned down. The park’s pine-ringed ponds make this a prime location for water activities, from swimming to kayaking.

Near the visitor center at the north end, the property is traversed by the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and there’s a bike rental and repair station on the path here.

There’s a total of 16 miles of trails in the park, along with more than 400 campsites, spread across numerous small-scale campgrounds, mostly on the shores of the ponds.

3. Brewster Old King’s Highway Historic District

Source: ezjay / shutterstock

The Old King’s Highway (Massachusetts Route 6A) is a famous, not to mention beautiful drive along Cape Cod, bending around Cape Cod Bay.

There’s volumes of history along this road, which links a succession of quaint town centers. The route started out as a Native American trail before becoming a cart path for 17th-century colonists, and a desirable residential street for sea captains in the 19th century.

Almost all of the Old King’s Highway in Brewster is preserved as an historic district, and at the intersection with Harwich Road you can visit the spot where the town first developed in the late 17th century.

Around here you can check out the elegant Brewster Ladies’ Library, built in the Stick style in 1868 and still active.

The road is lined with many of the attractions in this article, as well as a classy roster of antique stores, galleries, hobby shops, home design boutiques, and stately captains’ houses from the 18th and 19th centuries.

4. Cape Cod Rail Trail

Source: clembore / Flickr | CC BY-SA

This famous, 25.5-mile, rail trail passes through Brewster along the paved railbed of the Old Colony Railroad, which was originally the Cape Cod Central Railroad in the 1860s.

Among the first projects of its kind in America, the Cape Cod Rail Trail came about in the 1970s after the Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased the right-of-way.

In Brewster it’s a fantastic way to get around by bike or on foot. In the south it runs through a typical Cape Cod landscape of cranberry bogs and ponds.

One of these is Long Pond, the largest freshwater pond on Cape Cod, and the location for Brewster’s public freshwater swimming beach.

The trail runs parallel to the Old King’s Highway for a mile or two before entering Nickerson State Park in the northeast corner.

5. Stony Brook Grist Mill and Museum

Source: Dee Browning / shutterstock

There might not be a more idyllic sight on Cape Cod than this historic water-powered grist mill, tucked into a little valley along Stony Brook.

This watercourse was Brewster’s early lifeblood, driving the country’s first ever grist and woolen mill in the late 17th century.

The structure you see at 830 Stony Brook Rd is the last remnant from Factory Village, a commercial community that sprang up at the turn of the 19th century.

The waterwheel and millworks are actually contemporary, and were added in a restoration completed in 2009.

You can come on Saturdays in summer to see the milling process and purchase freshly ground cornmeal.

In spring alewife herring migrate upstream to the millpond to spawn, and this natural event can be witnessed by fish ladders across the road from the mill.

6. Breakwater Beach

Source: Katherine Kidd / shutterstock

The closest public beach to the historic center of town is just a couple of minutes from the Brewster Store and Brewster Ladies’ Library.

Served by two parking lots, Brewster Beach is an enticing stretch of sandy shoreline, walled by low dunes and protected by the namesake breakwaters.

At high tide the beach is rather small and drops quite sharply into the water, which is surprisingly warm at the height of summer.

When the tide retreats, this is another place where you can head out onto Brewster Flats, exploring tide pools or gazing awestruck at the low sun if it’s early or late in the day.

7. Cape Cod Museum of Natural History

Source: clembore / Flickr | CC BY-SA

If you’re wondering about the Cape’s wildlife, natural history and archeology there’s a family-friendly museum in Brewster next to Stony Brook.

The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History shines a light on a range of topics, from the 10,000 years of human habitation along Stony Brook to the Wampanoag Native Americans, Colonization and early industry.

There’s an aquarium here with more than 80 native species, as well as beehives, a butterfly house and a collection of local bird specimens.

Something else to love about the museum is its outdoor space. There are more than 80 acres on the grounds, but the trails lead into another 320 acres of conservation lands, along the lower reaches of Stony Brook and onto Cape Cod Bay.

There’s a wonderful assortment of habitats to discover including salt marsh, pitch pine woods, beech woods, a barrier beach, and the banks of Stony Brook where you can watch the herring migration in spring.

8. Paine’s Creek Beach

Source: Marc Sitkin / shutterstock

At the mouth of Stony Creek there’s a gorgeous, rock-lined inlet, which is a treat to explore, especially in the summer.

Paine’s Creek Beach is a fun and safe swimming spot when the tide is in, and the ideal place to launch a kayak or stand-up paddleboard.

At these times you can let yourself float from the freshwater creek into the saltwater. At low tide this is another great place to begin an adventure on the Brewster Flats, or simply walk out until you get to some clear water for a swim.

9. Brewster Whitecaps

Source: David Lee / shutterstock

Cape Cod is famous in the baseball world for the ten-team Cape Cod Baseball League, where future stars of MLB play collegiate summer baseball.

Organized baseball was played on Cape Cod pretty much before anywhere else, and there has been a team in Brewster since the 1880s.

Still, the Brewster Whitecaps are a relatively new creation, entering the league as an expansion team in 1988. A few nascent stars to have turned out for the Whitecaps include Aaron Judge, Jeff McNeil and Kyle Hendricks.

The Whitecaps’ home is the 4,000-capacity Stony Brook Field, opened in 2006 and traced by the Cape Cod Rail Trail. The season lasts from mid-June to mid-August, and Brewster have claimed three championships, in 2000, 2017 and 2021.

10. Drummer Boy Park

Source: pdmacca / shutterstock

A good partner for a trip to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History is this public park just next door.

Drummer Boy Park comprises an open field with paved trails, benches and mature trees. At the west end stands the Old Higgins Farm Windmill, a smock windmill dating back to 1795 and relocated to its current spot in the 1970s.

Alongside it is The Harris-Black House, from around the same time and thought to be the last surviving primitive one-room house on the Cape.

At the opposite end of the park is a gazebo, serving as the anchor for a series of Sunday concerts and other public outdoor events in the summer.

11. Cape Rep Theatre

Source: Matusciac Alexandru / shutterstock

This artist-driven theater company in Brewster is based on seven acres of picturesque land at Nickerson State Park.

The Cape Rep Theatre has a quaint indoor space, seating 125 and dating back to 1959 when it was built for a summer camp.

There’s also a lovely outdoor theater for audiences of up to 200 in summer, and this is the only one of its kind on the Cape.

The main season is May through December, during which there’s a wonderful range of productions, from classic Broadway musicals to brand new shows by emerging creative talent.

In the summer there are child-friendly performances during the day, followed by more grown-up fare after sunset.

12. JT’s Seafood Restaurant

Source: JT's Seafood Restaurant / Facebook

Cape Cod has long been known for its clam shacks, which are unfussy window-serve establishments serving New England seafood favorites and other delicious comfort food.

There’s a prime example on the Old King’s Highway in Brewster, at JT’s Seafood Restaurant. Shining lights on the menu are the hot and cold lobster rolls, clam chowder, clam strips, fish & chips, and the lobster bisque.

If you can’t decide, you could always go for a Fisherman’s Platter, with a bit of almost everything. JT’s is also one of a few local spots to pick up some great ice cream, with 20 flavors available, along with fro-yo, soft serve, and sorbet.

13. Crosby Mansion

Source: Martha Miller Welch / Facebook

On the road to Crosby Landing stands a lavish mansion built in 1888 for the entrepreneur Albert Crosby (1823-1906).

After moving to Chicago he made his fortune producing distilled alcohol, which was in high demand during the Civil War. His magnificent 35-room home in Brewster was inspired by the ostentatious residences on Chicago’s Gold Coast.

It was named “Tawasentha” by Albert and his wife Matilda, after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem. “Song of Hiawatha”.

The construction was on such a large scale that there was even a spur for the property on the Old Colony Railroad during its construction.

Details included a 60-foot viewing tower, extensive hand-carved mahogany fittings, a two-story billiard room, a grand parlor, and a two-story art gallery that had works by the likes of Childe Hassam and El Creco.

The Crosby Mansion still resonates with the opulence of those times, and is open for tours on Sundays in July and August.

14. Harbor Lights Mini Golf

Source: Andrey Armyagov / shutterstock

If you’re traveling with kids who want an alternative to Brewster’s history and culture, there’s a classic seaside mini golf course just off the Old King’s Highway.

With its winding paths and abundant grasses, shrubs, flowers and water, Harbor Lights Mini Golf could be mistaken for a garden attraction.

Little boulders are littered across the course, and the main feature is an outcropping with a cave and waterfall.

Skill is rewarded more than luck on these 18 rolling holes. As an extra treat, the course serves Gifford’s Ice Cream, as well as floats, sundaes and shakes.

15. Brewster General Store

Source: Arthur Villator / shutterstock

A part of local life for more than 150 years, the Brewster General Store is a beloved throwback, selling a bit of everything, and serving as an informal community space with a convivial set of benches in front.

The building is remarkable too, starting out as a church in 1852 before being converted in 1866 when the Cape Cod Central Railroad came through.

The long windows on the side of the building recall the building’s previous role. The likes of Horatio Alger and Helen Keller are known to have visited the store, which owes some of its fame to several generations of vacationers who have called in.

Wares include penny candy, greeting cards, local jams, toys, puzzles, board games, linens, homewares, beach items, books, and tons more.

People stop by early in the day for fresh coffee and pastries, while The Brewster Scoop ice cream stand in the parking lot is another summer essential.

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Groton was first settled by Europeans in 1655, not long after a trading post had been set up by one John Tinker doing business with Nashaway Native Americans along the Nashua River.

The town has a handsome old center, preserving 18th-century residences and public buildings, along with the home of the prominent politician, George Boutwell (1818-1905), which has belonged to the local historical society since the 1930s.

Groton is also on the map thanks to two prestigious prep schools, Groton School, founded in 1884, and the Lawrence Academy at Groton, which goes all the way back to 1792.

1. Groton Center Historic District

Source: Jay Yuan / shutterstock

At the junction of state routes 119 and 40, the old center of Groton is preserved as an historic district, with aspects of its layout reaching back to the 17th century.

The First Parish Church for instance was constructed in 1755 when it became the town’s fourth meetinghouse on the same site. In 1775 Groton’s minutemen assembled on the common in front before fighting in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Paul Revere, famed for his Midnight Ride before the battles, had a connection to Groton.

He was Grand Master at the Masonic Lodge at the neighboring Groton Inn—destroyed by fire in 2011 and rebuilt as a boutique hotel—while in 1819 his foundry cast the bell that is still installed in the tower of the First Parish Church.

2. Groton History Center

Source: Daderot / Wikimedia | CC0

Opposite the Town Hall, a magnificent residence in Groton Center is Boutwell House, built in 1851 for the 20th Governor of Massachusetts, George Boutwell.

A staunch Abolitionist, he later became the first Commissioner of Internal Revenue under Abraham Lincoln, and was a leader in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

Boutwell and his family were the only residents at this house before it was left to the Groton Historical Society by his daughter Georgianna.

The society maintains the Boutwell House as the Groton History Center. Inside, you can visit the room where Ulysses S. Grant stayed in 1869, see Boutwell’s personal desk and book collection, view historical maps of Groton, and admire the period implements and fittings in the kitchen.

3. Nashoba Paddler

Source: Nashoba Paddler, LLC / Facebook

The beautiful Nashua River, with its gentle currents and unspoiled banks, could have been made for paddling.

Where Main Street crosses the river in Groton there’s a rental business. At Nashoba Paddler you can rent a wide range of canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards and launch them right here for a voyage upriver or downriver.

One picture-perfect spot a short way upriver is an oxbow at Groton Town Forest, known as the Dead River. The company also arranges a number of tours from spring to fall.

You can check out specific wildlife like beavers, turtles, birds and wildflowers, marvel at the foliage in fall, or paddle after nightfall in summer in the light of the full moon.

4. Groton Town Forest

Source: Ramon Espelt Photography / shutterstock

On the Nashua River, Groton has a generous expanse of woodland with 14 miles of trails. Established in 1922 to honor Groton residents who gave their lives in WWI, Groton Town Forest was just the second property of its kind to be designated in Massachusetts.

This space has grown from an initial 180 acres to more than 500 acres, with three marked loops for hiking, running, mountain biking, as well as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in winter.

The terrain on these old cart roads tends to be light, but if you want something more strenuous you can head off onto the side trails, which are a dream for mountain bikers on the hunt for challenging singletrack.

The 6.4-mile Town Forest Loop trail shows off the diversity of the landscape, passing several glacial kettle holes and kettle ponds.

5. Gibbet Hill

Source: Monika Salvan / shutterstock

Rising sharply over the east side of Groton Center are the pastoral slopes of Gibbet Hill. It’s easy to see why the hill, with its cinematic views of the Merrimack Valley and Nashua River Valley, is a popular filming location for period dramas.

One recent movie shot here was Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (2018), during an important scene between Jo and Laurie.

You can hike to the top, where the scenery is breathtaking at sunset and there’s a ruined castle-like house, which we’ll talk about later.

On the slopes is Gibbet Hill Farm, raising award-winning Black Angus cattle for more than 60 years. The farm-to-table Gibbet Hill Grill restaurant is on this property, and the barn, dating back to 1906, serves as a venue for private events.

6. Autumn Hills Orchard

Source: lakelou / Flickr | CC BY

This fruit farm in Groton is perched on a chain of three undulating drumlins, with distant views from the ridge towards mountains like Wachusett in the west and Monadnock to the north.

Autumn Hills Orchard has a busy pick-your-own schedule, beginning in July with raspberries and blueberries.

As the season progresses you can visit for peaches, nectarines, pears and grapes. Apples are the main crop here, with more than 30 varieties, and the harvest begins in August and continues deep into October.

If you visit in fall you’ll also be wowed by the foliage, visible for miles from the ridge.

7. Bancroft’s Castle

Source: Daniel K Taylor / shutterstock

Atop Gibbet Hill you’ll find the spectral ruins of a house constructed by the politician William Bancroft (1855-1922) as a gift for his wife, Mary.

With fieldstone cladding and an imposing tower, this was designed like a fairytale castle, and was supposed to be one element of a much larger house, until William ran out of funding.

Later the building served as a sanitarium and then a lodge for the Groton Hunt Club before burning down in 1932 during July 4 fireworks, leaving only the outer walls.

Today Bancroft’s Castle adds a touch of mystery and drama to go with the majestic panoramas from the summit of Gibbet’s Hill.

8. Nashua River Rail Trail

Source: Mavo Media 360 / shutterstock

This 12.5-mile multi-use trail passes unbroken through Groton on its route from Ayer in the south to Nashua, NH, in the north.

Groton is an important stop on the trail, as it passes close by Main Street and Groton Center for walkers or cyclists who want to stop for something to eat or drink.

Not far south, the trail runs along the eastern side of the grounds of Groton School, where you can pause for an exquisite view over the pond.

The Nashua River Rail Trail is on the abandoned railbed of the Hollis Branch of the Boston and Maine Road. This was laid down in 1848, but long before that time the route had been a trail for the Nashaway Native Americans.

9. J. Harry Rich State Forest

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In the north of Groton, the J. Harry Rich State Forest protects about 500 acres of woodland on a meandering stretch of the Nashua River. One way to get there is via the Nashua River Rail Trail which runs along the eastern side of the property.

From here you can get onto trails that follow the meandering course of the river and the wetlands on the banks, or cut through the woods.

You’ll see plenty of waterfowl by the river in the summer, and because the terrain is mostly flat this is a good place to come with kids.

10. Groton Farmers’ Market

Source: Matej Kastelic / shutterstock

It’s hard to think of a more delightful venue for a farmers’ market than this bucolic old farm with a barn that was raised in 1840.

The Groton Farmers’ Market takes place at the Williams Barn on Friday mornings July through October, with an additional Thanksgiving Market in November.

This is an opportunity to support a roster of small businesses from Groton and neighboring communities.

Think seasonal fresh produce, honey, eggs, jam, sauces, syrups, meal kits, and baked goods, as well as handcrafted beauty products, candles, pottery, jewelry and more. There’s often a petting zoo at the market for little ones, as well as weekly live music.

11. Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Source: Josh Conover / shutterstock

These 441 acres in the southeast of Groton are in the care of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and set in a state-designated Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

The Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary is on a rough-hewn landscape of tall granite ledges and boulders, cloaked in vast woods.

Part of the sanctuary’s ecological importance comes from its vernal pools, which teem with life in springtime. Exploring the trails, one of the highlights is a rocky outcropping with a clear view of a beaver pond and the treetop Great Blue Heron nests.

12. Luina Greine Farm

Source: Luina Greine Farm / Facebook

In the rolling countryside close to Groton Center, Luina Greine Farm specializes in alpaca wool. The farm opens up to the public on fall weekends when you’ll be given a free tour.

The best part for adults and children alike is the chance to spend time with the farm’s cute animals, including the friendly alpacas, goats, sheep, ponies and donkeys.

Housed in an adorable shed, the farm store is open during these days, selling alpaca fiber scarves, socks, hats, and coats, as well as plush toys.

13. Groton Country Club

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Despite the name, this municipal facility is open to the public regardless of where you live. The centerpiece at Groton Country Club is a 9-hole golf course with a links-style layout and a choice of tees to suit players of all levels.

If you’re playing from the tips this is a testing par 35, with some splendid scenery from the tees.

The complex is also home to Groton’s public outdoor pool, which has lanes for competitive swimming and exercise, and adjoining shallow areas for younger children to paddle in.

Then there are tennis and pickleball courts, and a welcoming bar and eatery at the Groton Publick House.

14. Kalliroscope Gallery

Source: Irving Sandoval / shutterstock

Groton is home to Paul Matisse (b. 1933), who is the grandson of Henri Matisse and a respected artist in his own right, known for his kinetic and interactive installations.

In 1982 he purchased the Old Baptist Church in Groton as a studio and living space, with a gallery in the sanctuary. Many of Matisse’s works are sound-oriented and the church’s superb acoustics attracted him to the building.

Over the years this has also been the venue for a chamber concert series for Groton Hill Music (previously Indian Hill Music), featuring artists and performers of national and international renown.

The series has since moved to the Groton Hill Music Center, but when we wrote this article the Kalliroscope Gallery was expected to continue to host shows and performances after temporarily closing during the pandemic.

15. Grotonfest

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Groton’s biggest annual event takes place on the last Saturday in September, when scores of booths spring up on Legion Common by Groton Center.

At Grotonfest you can discover the full breadth of local businesses, services, clubs and other organizations in and around this town.

As well as a slew of artisans selling their wares, there’s a large contingent of food trucks, for anything from tacos to cannoli.

All day long, Gronfest has a packed schedule of performances and demonstrations, with Irish dancing, a community theater show, a karate exhibition, and a lot of live music.

The post 15 Best Things to Do in Groton (MA) appeared first on The Crazy Tourist.

That watercourse is considered one of the most beautiful in the region, recognized as a National Natural Landmark, and a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Scenic River.

In the 18th century the riverbanks in Norwell were a center for Colonial shipbuilding, although you would never know it today.

Now there’s a string of remote conservation lands and reservations along the river. One of these, the Norris Reservation, can be accessed from Norwell’s endearing old town center, first laid out almost 400 years ago.

1. Wompatuck State Park

Source: Adam Gladstone / shutterstock

Across Grove Street from Hornstra Farms there’s a new entrance and parking area for the immense Wompatuck State Park, which overlaps with three different towns and has a lot of adjoining conservation land.

On its own, the park is more than 3,500 acres on what used to be the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex (1941-1962), with military activity ending here in the 1980s.

What remains are the ghostly bunkers and other buildings, gradually disappearing into the woods.

Long before the time of the base, there was some cottage industry on this land, and from the mid-19th century the Mount Blue Spring was commercially bottled here.

Today you can fill your own bottle at the spring, just over the line in Hingham. Overall, the park has 40 miles of forest trails, 12 miles of paved non-motorized roads, and a campground with more than 250 sites.

2. Norwell Center

Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia | CC BY 3.0

If you wanted to define the archetypal New England village center, it might look a lot like Norwell.

Several arteries meet at the Town Common, which has had the same basic layout since 1640. This space and the historic buildings around it are preserved by the Norwell Village Area Historic District, with development heavily restricted to maintain the quaint character.

For architecture the First Parish Church (1830) is an early example of Greek Revival, while the Cushing Memorial Town Hall (1930) is in the Colonial Revival style.

Norwell Center is couched within thousands of acres of wooded conservation land, and every other summer, the common becomes the stage for Norwell’s cherished Summer Festival, which we’ll describe in more detail below.

3. The Company Theatre

Source: Matusciac Alexandru / shutterstock

Something else that puts Norwell on the map is an award-winning non-profit theater company.

Selling 35,000 tickets each year, The Company Theatre attracts audiences from across the South Shore and Southeastern Massachusetts, with professional-quality productions at a fraction of the cost of a typical big theater show.

There are five productions each season, and some recent examples include The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden, and Misery.

Younger audiences are treated to four youth productions yearly, while the venue in Norwell hosts all kinds of other entertainment, from singalong movies to concerts, live comedy and children’s shows.

4. Norris Reservation

Source: Adam Gladstone / shutterstock

In Norwell Center you don’t even need to get in your car to visit this Trustees of Reservations property.

The Norris Reservation extends from Norwell Center to the North River, with old carriage roads curving through pine forest, past granite boulders, to the riverside.

The blue McMullan Trail is a joy, taking you to a charming boathouse by the water. To the south, the red-blazed River Loop leads to an overlook where the Second Herring Brook enters the North River.

The whole reservation teems with life, from the frogs in the wetlands to beavers building dams, wading birds in the wetlands and owls hooting in the forest.

5. Hornstra Farms

Source: Hornstra Farms / Facebook

A local fixture for generations, Hornstra Farms was founded by a couple from the Netherlands, who arrived in America in 1912.

That first dairy farm was established in Hingham in 1915, but in 2009 the whole operation was relocated to Norwell, taking over the defunct Loring Farm.

The Farm Store and season Ice Cream Dairy Bar opened in 2014, selling a wealth of fresh dairy products including milk, flavored milk, farm-churned butter, cream, eggnog, tempting baked goods, and a bounty of locally sourced goodies, from farm-raised meats to specialty cheeses.

The best time to come is April through October, when you can treat yourself to a nostalgic scoop or three of rich, farm-made ice cream.

6. Jacobs Pond Conservation Area

Source: Conor Noonan / shutterstock

This ecologically diverse conservation area is on the north and east shores of a manmade pond, dating back 1730.

Jacobs Pond was created when the Third Herring Brook was dammed to run grist and sawmills, while there was a brick factory here for 150 years from 1680.

There’s a diversity of habitats around the pond, with cedar swamp, stands of mountain laurel, and beech, hemlock, pine, maple and oak woodlands on higher ground.

You can visit to walk the blazed trails, do some birding, paddle in the pond, and come fishing for largemouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch and more.

Near the south side of the property stands the Jacobs Farmhouse (1726), maintained by the Norwell Historical Society and hosting events like the popular Strawberry Festival in June.

7. Stetson Meadows

Source: Song_about_summer / shutterstock

The North River twists through this secluded 184-acre conservation property, purchased by the Town of Norwell more than 50 years ago to preserve it from development.

The Colonial history of this place can be traced back to a land grant for one Robert Stetson in 1634.

Later, in the 18th century this was a center for shipbuilding, with more than 1,000 vessels launched from these banks, including Columbia Rediviva, the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe (1790).

There’s no sign of this history in the woods and wetlands today, with paths guiding you along the river, or into the white pine-oak forest on the Twin Pines Trail.

8. James Library & Center for the Arts

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Known as The James for short, this cultural center incorporates a gallery, performance space and library, right on the village green in Norwell Center.

The James, is an elegant Victorian building, raised in 1874, and serving as the meeting place for a variety of organizations since that time.

For visitors to the town, the center shines as a place to enjoy a wide array of regional art, with a new exhibition every couple of months, including juried art shows.

The concert hall, featuring a Steinway B piano, has a lively performance schedule, with an emphasis on small classical ensembles.

9. South Shore Natural Science Center

Source: South Shore Natural Science Center / Facebook

On the east side of Jacob’s Pond, the YMCA owns this 30-acre parcel of meadows and woodland, offering educational experiences for all ages.

The center is home to the EcoZone museum, with interactive exhibits and an array of native wild animals. There’s also a gift shop, a greenhouse, an outdoor amphitheater and picnic area, and six interpretive color-coded trails.

One of these is the child-friendly Discovery Trail, equipped with stations for exercise and play, including balance beams, a log path, xylophone, and pull-up bars.

Thanks to the center’s location, you’ve also got access to more than 200 acres of conservation land here.

10. North River Wildlife Sanctuary

Source: John Phelan / Wikimedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Directly upriver from Norwell there’s a Mass Audubon property in Marshfield. This land was gifted to the society in 1977 and is made up of almost 200 acres of grasslands, salt marsh, oak-pine woods and red maple swamps.

There are two miles of trails at the North River Wildlife Sanctuary, including half a mile of universally accessible trail.

The River Loop is a delight, on the grasslands in the valley, patterned with old stone walls, and with boardwalks leading to the river’s edge.

The Woodland Loop is the longest trail, taking you through oak-pine forest, while the sanctuary’s indoor Discovery Rooms offer an up-close look at the wildlife in these habitats.

11. Local Pottery Studio + Gallery

Source: Local Pottery / Facebook

At the Village Gardens shopping center in Norwell there’s an independent pottery studio and gallery, home to experienced makers who are keen to share their know-how at a variety of classes and workshops.

You can come to learn the ins and outs of wheel throwing, make festive porcelain ornaments, find out about glazing techniques, and a whole lot more.

There are also classes for kids taking place once a week, and teaching wheel throwing, surface decoration and glazing. In addition to all this, the gallery showcases the work of more than 60 ceramicists, and is a great place to discover a one-of-a-kind piece of pottery.

12. Gaffield Park

Source: sungong / shutterstock

Another public space close to Norwell Center is this swath of town-owned woodland with a playground in a glade.

As well as the ample shade in summer, one of the great things about this amenity is that there’s separate play equipment for children up to, and over, five years.

The playground is also paved with rubber, and there are benches and picnic tables all around, where parents can keep an eye on their kids.

This patch of land was donated to the town as long ago as 1896, on the proviso that it should always remain a public park.

13. Strawberry Fair Restaurant

Source: Strawberry Fair Restaurant / Facebook

A local favorite for some 50 years now, Strawberry Fair Restaurant is all about comforting breakfast/brunch food in a homey environment.

In that spirit, the building is a cozy farmhouse with a more-is-more interior. Although the business has recently changed hands, the new owner has done little to change a winning formula, except for adding some lighter options to the extensive menu.

One of the things you have to try is the homemade cornbread, which accompanies several menu items, and is also turned into French toast, buried under whipped cream and powdered sugar.

14. Norwell Summer Festival

Source: AN NGUYEN / shutterstock

On a Saturday every other June, Norwell Town Center becomes the canvas for a biennial open air festival, geared towards all ages and tastes.

The Norwell Summer Festival attracts close to 10,000 visitors each year, with a wide assortment of vendors, great local food, and live entertainment on three different stages.

Shopping is at the core of the festival experience, with a juried lineup of artisans from across the region. As is food, whether you’re in the mood for lobster rolls, tacos, Italian subs, pizza, waffles or cannoli.

15. Great River Race

Source: Daniel Bond / shutterstock

Another fine way to experience the full beauty of the North River in summer is by taking part in this event organized by the North and South Rivers Watershed Association.

Starting at Norwell’s Bridge Street Canoe Launch, the Great River Race runs upriver for 7.5 miles to Indian Head Road in Hanover.

The race is normally held on a Sunday morning in late July, and is open to any type of non-motorized vessel, including paddleboards.

Now in its 4th decade, the event is open to fierce competitors as much as people who just want to have a relaxing time, and there’s even an award for Best Decorated Boat or Boater.

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