Princeton, Massachusetts
Wachusett Meadow
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An old farm turned wildlife sanctuary: sheep in the pastures, barns still in use, beaver ponds, an enormous glacial boulder and a nature play area.
Written for ages 3–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
Somebody farmed here for a very long time. The barns are still standing and still in use, and sheep still graze the pastures. But trees have grown back over some of the old sheep fields, and beavers have moved into a pond that people dug. Look for old stone walls running through the woods: they once marked the edge of the land. You are walking around an old farm and a wildlife sanctuary at the same time, and they are the same place.
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
- Parking lot at 113 Goodnow Road, Princeton. Admission $4 adults, $3 seniors and children 2-12; Mass Audubon members free. Trails open dawn to dusk. No dogs.
- Underfoot
- Twelve miles of trail through woodland, wetland and meadow, many rocky or steep. The All Persons Trail is 0.4 miles with no stairs, and has a boardwalk over a beaver wetland. Sheep graze the pastures.
- Stroller
- A stroller works on some of it.
- Bathrooms
- There are bathrooms.
- Food
- Picnic tables, plus a covered picnic pavilion right behind the visitor center.
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 Old Barns
Find the barns. They are still being used — work out what for.
A few of the others
Find The Sheep
Sheep still graze the fields here. Find them and count them.
Out In The Meadow
One photo of everybody standing out in the open field.
Against The Barn
One photo of everybody with a barn behind them.
Their Turn
Hand the phone to the youngest. They take one picture of whatever they want.
A Farm And Not A Farm
Some of the old sheep pastures here have grown back into forest. Find a place where you can see field and woods at the same time.
Twelve Miles Of Trail
There are twelve miles of trail here. Work out how much of it you are going to do today.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Also around Wachusett
Leominster State Forest
Westminster
Swim at Crow Hill Pond, see the ledges rock climbers use, and find the Midstate Trail, which runs from Rhode Island to New Hampshire, on the western edge.
Wachusett Mountain State Reservation
Princeton
Drive or hike to the 2,006-foot summit for a 360-degree view, then explore 17 miles of trails through forest and meadow and past ponds below.
Play this at Wachusett Meadow
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.