LocationsLowell
3 parks · 69 challenges · Massachusetts
Outdoor things to do with kids in Lowell
All of it in Lowell.
Canals and mills, two miles of riverfront, and a thousand acres of woods on top of the same city.
Finish all 3
Play every park here and your family are Explorers of Lowell.
Where to go, and what to expect
Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest
Lowell, Massachusetts · 22 challenges
Over a thousand acres of woods at the top of a mill city, with six miles of trails and enough ponds, swamps and wetlands to lose an afternoon in.
About 2 hours
Underfoot. Six miles of trails through mostly woods, with ponds, swamps and wetlands along them. The forest runs on into Dracut and Tyngsborough.
Parking. Free, with free parking at the gate on Trotting Park Road. Sunrise to sunset. Dogs are allowed.
Lowell Heritage State Park
Lowell, Massachusetts · 22 challenges
Two miles of riverfront along the Merrimack, with exhibits about the canals and mills that were dug and built here to turn a river into a city.
About an hour and a halfStroller fine
Underfoot. A flat two-mile stretch of waterfront.
Parking. Free. Free parking in the lots by the Rynne Bathhouse and Market Mills. Sunrise to sunset. Dogs are allowed.
Lowell National Historical Park
Lowell, Massachusetts · 25 challenges
Nearly six miles of hand-dug canals, locks and gatehouses threaded through a mill city — proof the game works as well on a sidewalk as it does in the woods.
About 2 hoursStroller fine
Underfoot. City sidewalks and canal walkways the whole way — flat, paved, and the reason this pack exists.
Parking. No entrance fee, but parking is paid: the closest is the Joseph Downes garage at 75 John Street, a block from the Boott Cotton Mills. The Hamilton Canal garage is the only free option and is a 0.6 mile walk. The lots signed "Resident Parking" at the Boott Mills are not for visitors.
Play all 3 around Lowell
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.