Lincoln, Massachusetts
Drumlin Farm
Photo: Swampyank, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A working farm with pigs, sheep, goats and cows, owls and a red fox that can't go back to the wild, and an easy climb to the top of the drumlin.
Written for ages 3–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
This is a real farm. The pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and cows live here because that is what a farm is for, and in the afternoons you might see the farmers feeding them and cleaning out their stalls. The owls, the hawks and the fox are different. They were hurt, or grew up too close to people, and could not survive in the wild on their own anymore. So they live here for good, and people look after them. Say hello quietly.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about 2 hours at the park.
- Parking
- 208 South Great Road (Route 117). GPS may take you to Mass Audubon's offices across the street; look for the Drumlin Farm sign on the south side. $9 adults, $6 seniors and children 2 to 12; members free. 9 to 5, closed Mondays except holidays. No dogs.
- Underfoot
- Four miles of trails across field, forest and wetland. The half-mile Farmyard Loop is paved or hard-packed and wheelchair accessible, but it slopes, with benches at the steepest parts.
- Stroller
- A stroller works on some of it.
- Bathrooms
- There are bathrooms.
- Food
- No café. Bring lunch: there are picnic tables.
22 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
4 things to spot, 3 photographs to take and 3 things to work out.
Every game includes this one
The Farmyard
Get to the farmyard and say hello to every animal you can find.
A few of the others
The Ones Who Stay
Find the wild animals who live here for good — an owl, a hawk or a fox. Say hello quietly.
Us And Them
One photo of everybody, with a farm animal somewhere behind you.
All Our Boots
Everybody stand in a circle with your toes almost touching. One photo looking straight down at all your boots.
Their Turn
Hand the phone to the youngest. They take one picture of whatever they want.
What Does It Eat?
Pick one animal here. Work out what it eats, and whether any of it grows on this farm.
Four Miles Of Trail
There are four miles of trail here. Work out roughly how long it would take your family to walk all of it.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Also around Lincoln
The Battle Road
Lincoln
Five miles of the 1775 Battle Road, Meriam's Corner to Lexington, past stone walls and the tavern the British marched by twice in one day.
deCordova Sculpture Park
Lincoln
New England's largest sculpture park: 30 acres of lawns, woods and gardens beside Flint's Pond, with more than 50 sculptures out in the open.
Play this at Drumlin Farm
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.