Great Falls Discovery Center

The Great Falls Discovery Center is a nicely kept little nature center, near the fish ladder and Unity Park, a decent playground with the only real see saw I've seen recently. I parked on the street, for free, right outside the Center. There is a cute little garden outside and well maintained yards, but this isn't really outdoor space for the kids to play.
The interior boasts many dioramas of local animal life, including several interactive features (buttons to push, a computer program to play with). However, for my 5 year old, the displays were quickly digested (especially because he has seen quite a lot of these kinds of exhibits). The most engaging area for the kids was a small table set up near the gift shop that held tadpole-to-frog models and books on the same subject. There are quite a few activities held there for the preschool set, though I haven't attended any yet.
The whole museum was clean, including the restrooms.
After exploring the Discovery Center we made our way to Unity Park, down the street. What appeared at first glance to be dilapidated turned out to be a pretty nice park! The equipment was a good mix of new and old, a pavilion provided shade for our snack, and the sport fields were in use, creating a nice community feel.

Laurel Loop Trail at the Notch, Amherst, MA

This is one of my very favorite hikes with the kids because it's super short (.75 miles), it's a loop, so there is no whining about turning around, the trail is well kept, it's right near the Eric Carle Museum and Atkins, and if you worry about being isolated, you don't have to worry much here.


If you are hiking with a small toddler who is barely able to walk the full length, I recommend heading to the right hand side (when the Visitor Center is at your back) to start (going counter clockwise). This is the steepest part of the trail, so if you end up going clockwise you will face a steep hill when the children are the most tired.

After a rain, you'll find every color of fungus on this trail. It is lovely in all seasons, and buggy in most seasons - you really need some serious bug spray here, the poisonous stuff. I have found that the bug repellent wipes are really handy, especially for little ones who can't hold their breath and shut their eyes while you are spraying them.

D.A.R. State Park, Goshen, MA

Our initial experience at the DAR was disappointing. It was our first camping trip with kids (24 months and 6 months old). We thought that the drive-in aspect would be a boon, but it turned out to be a pain. Our fantasy of letting the toddler run free in the woods was quickly dispelled as we realized that our backyard would have afforded us more privacy, more room, and to some extent more nature, than we found here. The campsites are packed together tightly, though they are well maintained. We could see and hear all of our neighbors, and spent most of the weekend explaining to a two year old how an outdoor space needed to be treated like a room with walls. The rest of the weekend involved keeping him out of the road. Though drivers were mainly respectful and drove slowly, it doesn't really matter how slow a car is going when it hits my kid, you know? The lessons from this trip were not really what we were hoping to communicate to our youngsters about nature.

Well, we found an awesome place to camp the next year, Tully Lake. That's another post altogether.

My recent visit to the DAR was a day trip to visit my brother. We used the camper's beach and had a wonderful time. I swam on this lake during the summers when I attended Camp Howe, the 4H camp in Goshen. It's still gorgeous!

The photos above were all taken at the camper's beach - take a look at their website to find out about the day use/camper use restrictions.

Northfield Mountain Visitor Center, Northfield, MA

I have only visited this attraction in the winter, so my experience is certainly incomplete. Parking is plentiful.
The exhibits at this visitor center are interesting. The whole mountain is "sponsored" by a utility company. Thus the exhibits are focussed on the economy of the Connecticut River - ice harvesting, logging, transporting good by waterways, etc. There's a real icebox that is ok to touch, and an example of an old logging tool, which, again you can touch.
A set of stairs lead down to a ski shop/vending area/restrooms (clean, nice). You may want to pause (endlessly, if you are my child) in front of a bank of birdfeeders in the bushes outside the window on the landing.
The yurt outside is awesome and had a fire going when we were there. It was toasty and cute in there.
In the winter the trails are groomed for skiing thus you cannot hike. The scenery is beautiful.

Northfield Mountain

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island, MA

Since we discovered this beach, we haven't been to a different one. From our home in the Pioneer Valley it takes about 2 hrs, 15 min. to get there. Many of the beaches on the refuge are closed early in the season, as this land is primarily dedicated to wildlife, not recreation. Later in the summer, once the nesting season is over, all the beaches open. On your drive down to the beach of your choice, you will almost certainly see some gorgeous birds feeding and flying in the saltwater marshes that make up the island.

For $5, you can park at any one of 7 beaches that are part of the Reserve. For FREE you can drive down past beach 7 and park at Sandy Point Beach.

Beaches 6, 7, and Sandy Point are our favorites. The water deepens so gradually that even when your child has become a speck against the horizon, he is only up to his knees. The sand is light and fine.

The nearby (as in, 5 minutes down the road) Newburyport is a great little town for pedestrian sightseeing. A large waterfront walkway lets you see boats of all kinds, and the people who hang out on them! Fisherman are happy to have an audience. Street musicians are happened upon. The downtown is filled with expensive shops and art galleries - we've mainly avoided those! It is also home to a little playground in the middle of a pedestrian mall, adjacent to an ice cream shop (even the small was $3.70 but you get as many mix-ins as you want for free). On more than one occasion, including last Sunday, there was a festival going on downtown with music and street vending. We've always been able to find free parking in town, and have enjoyed the bookstore and toystore (and restrooms!!) in the Tannery building.

Both the Parker River Refuge and Joppa Sanctuary have visitor centers, though we haven't been yet.
Parker River Refuge

Sandy Point Beach

Groff Park, Amherst MA

Located just off Rt. 116 in Amherst, Groff Park is a great destination in good weather. A large parking lot is mostly sunny, but if you don't mind crossing the lot, there are shady spots near the baseball field. The park boasts many tall beautiful trees, picnic areas with seating, including a pavillion. At the top of the hill, a decent playground and nice set of swings are near the restrooms, newly constructed a couple of years ago. They are not disgusting, though I've rarely seen toilet paper there. A wading pool with fountain is fenced in. The pool is open for a short season - essentially July and August. The pool might be closed on any given day due to lightening, bacteria levels in the water, lack of lackadaisical teenage lifeguard, or some such. You should not psych your kids up for it unless you call to confirm that it's open. A sandbox and small climbing area at the bottom of the hill are very inviting. A shallow river (Fort River) flows by the park and is followed by a sandy path, so a nature walk is included along with the rest of the features here.

Amherst Wading Pool Schedule
A Review of the Trail at Groff Park

Boston Museum of Science, Boston MA

We've visited this museum several times, and keep discovering pockets that we missed before. This is a large museum with exhibits that will fascinate kids from 1 on up. The youngest visitors will probably spend lots of time in the Discovery Center. Though only a corner of this enormous building, it has two floors of preschool age activities: a vacuum tube, various building materials, a strong blower, a water table, a bee hive, animal costumes, live woodland animals and insects, animal bones, hiding spots... those are the elements I can reel off without even thinking about it. Not comprehensive - so you can get an idea of how much the Discovery Center offers. The exhibits in the rest of the museum are too numerous to count. An electricity show is free with admission and is exciting. I still remember the climax of the show from my childhood, when lightening is created right in front of your eyes. The last time I took my children there, my oldest, at 4, did not have the attention span for the show so we'll try again next time.

Parking is extremely convenient and usually costs us $11. The garage is attached to the museum itself so even in winter weather it works out great. There is a large cafe with tons of food choices and copious seating. We choose to bring our lunch and then supplement with buying a treat there. It's really expensive. The other huge advantage is that by bringing your own food you are skipping the whole line experience. There are often large school groups, and it is always crowded. Once the kids' tummies are full they are ready to go.

If you are a member of the Springfield Science Museum/Springfield Quadrangle, your admission is FREE. And you don't wait in line, just continue on to the turnstiles, show your membership card and you are in the museum. That's it. Through the Association of Science and Technical Museums, the Springfield membership will privilege you to free admission at the Boston Children's Museum, the Ecotarium, the Boston Science Museum, and many more museums in other states. We have been members for several years now- our annual fee would be paid for in visits to the Quadrangle alone, never mind the aforementioned additional places.

Museum of Science

Peaked Mountain, Monson, MA

What a wonderful hike! There are two parking areas, one at the Miller Forest Tract and one at the Peaked Mountain Tract. The second was our choice for our walk. We picked up a map, unusual for us but serendipitous as there are a lot of well networked trails. They are blazed but also numbered at key intersections, which was great. We first headed to the "Valley View" area, and after taking in a snack and a lovely vista, headed to the "Peaked Mountain" area and climbed around quite a bit taking in the view from many directions. A marker indicated the mountain's highest point, and a mailbox jutted out of the side of a pine tree. A journal inside contained memories left by hikers past. A new volume is needed, so if you take this hike you could bring a notebook with you to leave there.

The fact that this park is borded by a wildlife sanctuary (and endless miles of woods) showed itself in the forms of many frogs, croaking away and leaping among the reeds of a small pond we encountered. A larger pond was visible from the top of the mountain, located in the Miller Forest Tract of land. A magical encounter with a fawn was the highlight of our day. For several minutes my family clustered at the edge of a trail, whispering with excitement and peering into the eyes of this graceful and solemn little guy. None of my photos came out, naturally.

This summit was a long hike for our boys, who are quite hardy. I wouldn't choose it for kids who are starting to get used to hiking. But it wasn't too long- we'll do it again in a minute!

Peaked Mountain

Quabbin Hike, Belchertown, MA

After checking to see whether the viewing tower had reopened (it has not), we headed down one of the trails that snakes down the hillside.

In the aftermath of severe weather, we found massive trees downed, jagged trunks and limbs, dripping sap from a severed pine, and twig litter all over the path.

The trail had no spectacular view, save for the top of the hill. It wound through beautiful old forest, was lined with soft mosses, and offered glimpses of that gorgeous pink Quabbin rock. We ended up at a road and decided to turn around, as two juice boxes would barely get us through the climb back up.

Quabbin Reservoir (DCR site)

Quabbin Fishing Area (my post)

Quabbin Viewing Tower (my post)

Winsor Dam (my post)

Purgatory Chasm, Sutton, MA

Our first visit here was a great success. We hiked the short but challenging chasm, then circled back on a one mile loop. The trails were well-blazed. The "hike" through the chasm involves mostly climbing, some precarious. The kids needed help in one or two places. The only injury to our party, a severely skinned knee, happened on the sidewalk my oldest was hurtling down, so eager to show me that he had just safely descended a slab of rock two stories high. The second part of our walk was a more traditional hike through woodland with really cool, huge rocks scattered about.

The parking area was clean and new, as was the pavillion where we ate our sandwiches. The trails were very well blazed. The visitor center looked very kid friendly and hosts a lot of programs.

If the natural wonder of the place were not enough, they've built a fantastic playground in a clearing surrounded by incredibly tall pine trees. Swingset, climbing structure, climbing rocks, even a spinning, climbing thingy. The playground was so well situated it seemed to have grown there.

Picnic spots dot the playground area and the areas near the parking lots. The spots have barbecues and picnic tables. The restrooms were clean.

We'll definitely go back to explore some of the overlooks and special features.

There is an ice cream place down the road, if you're into that sort of thing!

Purgatory Chasm

Natural Treasure Hunt

My sons needed some encouragement to get outside yesterday morning as the day was gray. My oldest is obsessed with TV, so I told him to collect these items before he could watch any. During the process he forgot about watching TV and became totally engaged in the activity. While I started the list, he soon asked to make the pictures himself (none of my kids read yet). I was impressed at the textures that he put into the bark, and at his suggestion to add mushrooms to the collection items. I liked that this activity incorporates number recognition, following a list, using pictorial "reading" skills, and of course, nature.

The boys found their magnifying glasses and spied all around the yard. They found quite a few items not on the list, most of them alive. I had a long conversation with one about where to find twigs (underneath the pine trees), the difference between evergreen trees and deciduous trees; he ran to every tree in the yard and asked about it - we talked about broad flat leaves vs. small fine needles in clusters. After the collection period, they enjoyed taking everything out of the wagon and comparing the list to the items. As it turns out they had forgotten a few of them and eagerly searched out those last couple of objects.

I have used this activity in the past as a way to get the kids out in the wintertime, when it's really cold and they need something short - in those cases you can just pick 3 or 4 things to get such as a dried up leaf, 2 pine cones, and 3 snowballs, and maybe one of those mittens that you left outside yesterday! In the autumn I've asked them how many different colors of leaves they can find. This has been an interesting excercise in the spectrum (one brother calls it yellow, another insists that it is brown - discuss!).

Usually my children need no incentive to go hiking, but if they were reluctant, introducing a list like this might sweeten the deal.

Lake Wyola State Park, Shutesbury, MA

This is a small recreation area with nice amenities. The restrooms were spotless - though I was there on the off season, on a rainy day. Perhaps the restrooms don't sparkle quite as much when the park is being used heavily.

Parking is $5, but that of course includes swimming. Two lifeguard chairs were being installed on the beach during our visit. The beach is quite small, but the sand is nice. Restrooms are adjacent. There is a floating fishing dock. My boys enjoyed the rocking feeling you could get when you tried moving the dock.

Several trails lead from the parking area side of the road. We hiked a small loop that was very pretty. Markers along the way indicated various species of trees on the trail.

Lake Wyola