LocationsWachusett
3 parks · 64 challenges · Massachusetts
Outdoor things to do with kids in Wachusett
In Westminster and Princeton.
A mountain you can drive up, an old farm below it, and a forest across the way with a ninety-five-mile trail through the edge.
Finish all 3
Play every park here and your family are Explorers of Wachusett.
Where to go, and what to expect
Leominster State Forest
Westminster, Massachusetts · 22 challenges
Fire roads, single track and bare rock, with a pond to swim in and a ninety-five-mile trail clipping the western edge on its way across the state.
About 2 hours
Underfoot. Everything from fire roads to narrow single track, plus rock the climbers use. Crow Hill Pond is in the middle of it.
Parking. The forest office is at 1 Fitchburg Road. Parking is $8 with Massachusetts plates and $30 without, from late May to early September; free the rest of the year. Lots are open sunrise to sunset, and the beach picnic area 9am to 6pm in summer.
Wachusett Meadow
Princeton, Massachusetts · 22 challenges
Twelve hundred acres of old farmstead below the mountain — barns still in use, sheep still grazing the pastures, and twelve miles of trail running out through woodland, wetland and meadow.
About 2 hoursStroller in placesBathrooms
Underfoot. Twelve miles of trail across woodland, wetland and meadow, with about 1,200 feet of climb in them altogether. Resident sheep graze the pastures.
Parking. The sanctuary is at 113 Goodnow Road. $4 for adults and $3 for seniors and children aged 2 to 12; Mass Audubon members go free. Trails are open daily, dawn to dusk.
Wachusett Mountain State Reservation
Princeton, Massachusetts · 20 challenges
A 2,006-foot peak you can drive to the top of, with a view the whole way round and seventeen miles of trails through forest and meadow below it.
About 2 hoursBathrooms
Underfoot. Seventeen miles of trails through forest, meadow and pond. The summit road runs 9am to sunset from Memorial Day weekend to the end of October.
Parking. Visitor center at 345 Mountain Road, and only 28 spaces — be ready to be sent on to another trailhead. $5 with Massachusetts plates and $20 without, from late May to late October, summit parkway included. The perimeter lots on the roads just outside the park are free.
Play all 3 around Wachusett
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.