AN ABSOLUTELY MUST DO! 5 STARS! How would you like to picnic on the grounds of a Castle for FREE!…read moreThis is one of the Secret Hidden Gems of America that most people have never heard of or been to before. It's Time to jump into The TimeMobile & scour the Earth & take you to places from a different time that you won't believe still exist. We have set the dial to 1880's in the town of Wellesley MA. We have landed at this beautiful Castle that is in the middle of the center of Wellesley's business district. Well it looks like a castle but it's really Wellesley City Hall. I don't know about you but my city hall looks nothing like a Castle. LOL! Wellesley is a very affluent town & their city hall is a Castle. You can visit the park here for FREE & THE Parking is FREE as well. If they run out of spots there's metered parking on the perimeter & adjacent streets too. Near the front entrance there is a War Memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Armed Services. The grounds of Hunnewell Park are filled with green grass, trees, a stream, a bridge & a pond. There's wildlife that resides here including white swans & geese. There are benches & picnic tables scattered throughout the property. What a picturesque & relaxing setting to Picnic or kick back & read. It feels like you are at a nature retreat rather than a park. It's great to take a photo here with the Castle & send it to your family & friends & say " Sorry I can't talk to you peasants now, I'm picnicking at a Castle". LOL! They will hate you forever until you tell them it's Free & you'll take them with you next time. The stone government building is a prime example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture along with a bit of French Chateau. It was built between 1881 & 1886 & designed by Shaw & Hunnewell. It was funded by & built on donated land by H. H. Hunnewell. The building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There's also something special here for the medical community that they will really like. There are 2 Doctor memorial plaques placed on large stones. The first one is for DR W*T G MORTON who lived here. He gave the world Ether for Surgery. The second plaque is for DR. JOSEPH E. MURRAY who in 1954 performed the first successful Human Organ Transplant. He was also a 1990 Nobel Prize Winner & resided in the town. Since you are in the area be sure to check out the Babson Globe another Freebie. It's the 2nd largest rotating globe in the world. And you can get something great to eat right across the street @ Tutto Italiano. They serve great Meatball Subs & get a side of their Delicious Homemade red roasted peppers too. They also have authentic Italian red sauce to go. It used to be, you had to have Mega Bucks & be really Rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!

I spend a lot of time at Hunnewell Park. It is close to my home and although it used to offer a…read morelot more natural settings it has unfortunately become one giant athletic complex. Lights and sounds can be experienced almost every night now. We used to see and hear many more wild animals and experience it as a natural corridor. Alas, now it is only filled up with athletic equipment, stray plastic water bottles and other human trash.

Fantastic park for dogs. My dog had a blast running around off-leash and playing with other dogs…read more All the owners were so kind and friendly. The paths are well traversed and packed down even in the snowy winter season. There are about 2 spots by the road and about 10-12 in the lot down the driveway. It was full on a Saturday morning in February.

I have no idea how I missed reviewing this great park, but it is a terrific park hiding in…read moreWellesley next to Mass Bay CC, and since the Beloved Goldendoodle passed away last year I have been bringing a friend's dog here so I can still have my "dog time". Most of the people are friendly, there are nice dogs of all sizes to greet and there is a mix of flat and hilly areas depending on your dog's energy level (and yours). Tip: avoid the pond area, it is pretty swampy!

We went here for the Christmas festival of trees event. My family had a blast and it was the…read moreperfect Christmas activity! We especially loved the model Christmas villages room and the room of unique Christmas trees. The mini Christmas villages were so intricate and detailed and it was a massive collection. The artistic Christmas trees were creative and unique - I especially loved the national parks Christmas tree! Next to the last activity which is the Christmas trees collection, there is a fire pit in which you are given sticks and a s'mores kit. A perfect way to end the day! Highly recommend coming here for the Christmas event and will be sure to come back and see the gardens when it's back in season (no snow). My only critique is that for the last day it closed at 4pm which didn't give us time to see the lights at night decorations.

The Garden at Elm Bank is awesome -- especially this time of year!…read more Between the lights, to the model train city, to the Food Trucks, to the S'more "kits" and fire pits, this place is AWESOME this time of year.

I'm reluctant to review because it might bring attention to this diamond in the rough…read more One of the major reasons I moved to Wellesley was Lake Waban; I'd drive from the city every weekend to walk the lake with my dog. As luck would have it, and I didn't know until moving into my home, Morse's Pond is a 7 minute walk and changes the entire dynamic of the community I live it - it's as if I live in Maine. My family spends almost every weekend here and enjoy biking on the vast trails and swimming in the gorgeous pond. A true gem!

I'm almost afraid to post this review because I want this place to stay a hidden gem, but…read moreanyway...if you are looking for a clean place to sun and swim, look no further. There's a decent beach and the water isn't too cold. It's mostly families, so I won't say it's peaceful, but it hits the mark on a hot day. $10 for non-Wellesley residents. $70 for a season pass.

Trails fire, great for biking the blue heron trail BUT ONE RAMP THE LITTLE RED ONE will make you…read morefront flip off your bike, speaking from past experiences.

I have come here and taken our dog for a walk. Now its nice to be back and take our daughter for a…read morestroll. And she loved the swing!

It is a very beautiful, well-maintained park I only walked a mile so far, on a pleasant summer…read moreday, but will go back.

Noanet Woodlands is another favorite woodsy area to add to my list (another recent favorite is…read moreanother Trustees property in Andover, the Ward Reservation). The two are somewhat similar with different color coded trails and a trail to reach a summit for the skyline of Boston (I didn't check that out here at Noanet Woodlands for this trip). I enjoyed coming here on the weekend: it was moderately trafficked (which I like so it's not *too* isolated), and easy/moderate trails (I prefer long, ambling hikes). The only thing is that the orange trail I took was a bit confusing/not super clear. The overall system does a good job, but I would be sure to download a map/have AllTrails active to ensure you don't end up in the wrong spot. I fortunately ran into some folks who helped me get back on track, but a heads up that it could get confusing as it did for me. Otherwise, a wonderful shady (important to know on hotter days) set of trails that I would recommend!

I stopped by to see what this air was all about and it looks like it's a very beautiful trail walk…read morewe could see a lot of wildlife and I ended up seeing a lot of turtles. There is a membership in general admission. Since we were just being nosy, we took a brief walk on the boardwalk to see what it was all about. It is very family oriented and if you love the outdoors, you will love this place.

One of Mass Audubon's best for kids, in my humble opinion. (we are members)…read more The staff present in the building were very helpful, kind, and informed (in that kind of nature nerd, yet cool kind of way) There are clean bathrooms (they are porter potty toilets, yes. But still clean on the exterior). The pathways have a significant amount of boardwalk all across the sanctuary, which helps with keeping my hyper child away from poison ivy and ticks to some degree. There is a seated area for picnicking. (though no recycle bins. odd..) And best of all.. Lots of crawly, jumpy, flappy, slimy things to distract and de plug your pandemic technology-plugged child for a few hours. To enjoy fresh air. Take in nature's beauty. To learn to sit in the discomfort of possibly being bored when not overstimulated every second. My inattentive child's highlights were: - learning about the semi-toxic slime of a slug - listening to the bullfrogs in rhythm - chasing his buddy down the boardwalk in the last stretch - drinking sweet lemonade and picnicking as reward for all that walking

Beautiful park to walk around, bike with the dogs and family! What gorgeous place to spend the…read moreafternoon. Located by the hospital and different buildings. You can kayak and canoe on the river too! Stunning and lovely place!

Love that it's right off the highway and an agreeable halfway point for meeting some folks who…read morearen't too far down on the South Shore! It's got a lovely pond further from the highway down the path and my dog doesn't love water but she loved dipping herself in there to cool off. As others have said the trails are a nice nature getaway from the city along with behind right behind the office parks. There's a convenient parking lot that can get quite busy. There aren't any convenient trash cans or water fountains, other amenities on other walking trails. So if your dog goes you will need to be prepared to carry it. We did walk all the way back to an office park area and found one of those large business dumpsters that are quite a distance away so not the most convenient. That's unfortunate if a few more waste cans could reduce the amount of dog waste. Otherwise this is a lovely place to check out!

We were touring through the area and had time to kill before dinner at a relatives so we decided to…read moresee what Babson's campus looked like. Overall a decent campus but nothing that interesting until we came across this super cool globe. Wow! I had no idea that this existed and was here - OK I am a bit of a fan of globes. Nerd! And it rotated too. Interesting history is explained on some nearby plaques. A great roadside America type stop. Worth a detour.

I was nearby buying new skates, it was a nice day I didn't want to go to the school when it's in…read moresession so I stopped by for a quick walk. Beautiful campus ground . Not much to say but I always check Yelp to see what is around to do and where to eat.

Upping my review to 3 stars…read more They rebuilt the dock area so it is a nice place to sit, drink a coffee, eat lunch, etc. in the spring and fall, many of the assisted living facilities bring van loads of residents to visit. I try to visit on those days with my dogs - it helps bring joy to the residents.

This is the second time I've been to Cochituate State Park and I came in around noon and I didn't…read morego to the conventional way to the beach, but this was a side trail, which was much nicer and was able to just swim. It was so pretty. It was really nice with bathwater temperature considering it's been 88° out. I really enjoyed myself. This is a very popular beach for the local people and visitors alike. There are lots of children and lifeguards at the small beach, but it is a huge state park where you can do a lot of running around and picnicking. If you are not an advanced swimmer, I do not recommend coming here with children to be safe . But if you can tread water and you know how to swim well and basically live in the water, it's fine.