Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell National Historical Park
Photo: National Park Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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.
Written for ages 4–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
Nearly two hundred years ago, workers dug almost six miles of canals through this city to take the power out of the river and use it to run the mills. Many of the diggers were Irish, and it was hard, backbreaking work. Almost all of those canals are still here and still working. Today some of the water spins generators that make electricity instead of turning looms.
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
- No entrance fee. The closest parking is the paid Joseph Downes garage, 75 John Street, a block from the Boott Cotton Mills Museum. The Hamilton Canal garage, 350 Dutton Street, is free if you pick up a voucher at the Boott museum while it is open; otherwise you pay. It is a 0.6-mile walk. Both garages have a 6'8" height limit. The Boott Mills lots signed "Resident Parking" are not for visitors.
- Underfoot
- City sidewalks and canal walkways, much of it brick, with curb cuts but some uneven ground. The Northern Canal Walkway along the Great River Wall is open only May 15 to October 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and only when the river is low.
- Stroller
- A stroller is fine here.
- Bathrooms
- There are bathrooms.
- Food
- No picnic facilities listed, but downtown Lowell around the park has restaurants of every kind, from Greek to Vietnamese to Cambodian.
25 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
6 things to spot, 4 things to work out and 4 places to get to.
Every game includes this one
Swamp Locks
Make it to Swamp Locks and cross the walkway over the water.
A few of the others
Somebody Worked Here
Find a window somebody once worked behind, and say what you think they could see.
The Most Worn-Out Brick
Find the most worn-out brick you can, with its corners rubbed smooth.
Which Way Is It Flowing?
Work out which way the canal water is going, and how you can tell.
The Merrimack
Find the Merrimack River — the river all this waterpower came from.
The Great River Wall
Find the Northern Canal and the tall granite Great River Wall between it and the river. If the walkway is open, walk out on top.
Count The Windows
Pick one of the giant old mills and count how many rows of windows it has.
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 Heritage State Park
Lowell
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.
Play this at Lowell National Historical Park
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.