Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell Heritage State Park
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Two miles of Merrimack riverfront with a paved bike path, a boat ramp and picnic area, plus exhibits on the canals and mills that built Lowell.
Written for ages 4–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
Everything in Lowell was built to use one thing: water going downhill. The Merrimack River drops here, and people figured out that if they dug canals to carry that falling water past a row of buildings, the water could turn wheels inside them, the wheels could run machines, and the machines could make cloth. The whole city is a machine for catching a river.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about an hour and a half at the park.
- Parking
- Free parking in the lots by the Rynne Bathhouse and Market Mills, and no fee for the boat ramp. The park is at 160 Pawtucket Boulevard. Open sunrise to sunset. Dogs are allowed.
- Underfoot
- Two miles of waterfront with a paved bike path.
- Stroller
- A stroller is fine here.
- Bathrooms
- There are bathrooms.
- Food
- There is a picnic area. Bring your own food.
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
Get To The River
Find the Merrimack and stand where you can watch it going past.
A few of the others
Find A Canal
Find water that is going somewhere in a straight line. Somebody dug that.
The River Behind Us
One photo of everybody with the river behind you.
Against The Brick
Find the biggest brick wall here and photograph everybody standing against it.
Their Turn
Hand the phone to the youngest. They take one picture of whatever they want.
Why Build It Here?
This whole city was built where the river drops. Work out what falling water was for.
Two Miles Of Waterfront
This stretch runs two miles. Work out how long it would take your family to walk it and back.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Also around Lowell
Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest
Lowell
Over 1,000 acres of woods, ponds and swamps where Lowell meets Dracut and Tyngsborough, with miles of trails to hike, bike or ski. Free parking.
Lowell National Historical Park
Lowell
Nearly six miles of canals, locks and gatehouses through a mill city, and a working 1920s weave room at the Boott Cotton Mills. No entrance fee.
Play this at Lowell Heritage State Park
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.