Looking for a dream setting to spend a gorgeous spring day? This is it!
If you love rhodendrons, azaleas and mountain laurel, winding paths around waterfalls and old stone buildings, this is the place for you!!!
- Our Rating: 5 WAGS!!!! We hesitated only a minute to decide that we would definitely live here! In a dreamlike setting, with mill ponds, waterfalls, and amazing flowers everywhere you turn, only those who truly love city living would turn down the opportunity!
- Tucker’s Rating: 5 wags! I’ve never seen a dog so happy. He was even rolling down the grassy hills then running back up to do it again! Anywhere he can meet another corgi AND have shady places to lie down, children to pat him, and big fields to play in is a dream destination!
- Accessibility: Good. The healthy heart trail is a bit steep and root covered, but there are plenty of flat or only slightly inclining trails, nice, clean open fields and you can see the flowers from almost everywhere. The bridge across the dam near the mill house might be a concern, but seems safe enough. There are definitely parts of this park that wouldn’t be accessible, but in our opinion it is well worth the trip because this is such a huge park and there is plenty of area that IS accessible!
- Fees: FREE
- Pet-Friendly: YES (on leash)
- Activities: canoeing, fishing, hiking, x-country skiing and picnicking.
We picked this park because of the beautiful pictures they featured on the State Park website and we were not disappointed. We chose a weekend in mid-May because the website commented on flowers really being beautiful at certian times of the year. Well, we definitely hit it at that “certain time” because from the moment we arrived, we saw flowers! Every shape and size of rhododendron and azalea were there. Actually, the rhododendrons and mountain laurels weren’t yet in bloom but the azaleas were out and incredible! Pink, orange, cerise, yellow, white, spilling down hillsides, crowded around the base of trees, leaning over Eames Pond. This park is a gorgeous place to wander, photograph, paint, and picnic in. The Healthy Heart Trail runs next to an area of newly planted chestnut trees which the park has planted as part of a National Program . It's pretty much new growth at this time but seems to be doing really well. As we’ve found in pretty much all parks, maps of the trails are NOT available, so print your own here! I highly recommend printing one since on our travels, we got a bit lost wandering around. Thankfully my inner sense brought us back to the parking lot eventually, but some of the signage is hidden, and the trails in the spring can blend into the forest floor and you wouldn't want to miss any of the marked archaeological or architectural sites.
In the 1930, a family from Worcester bought the entire mill village area, which was no longer profitable as a mill, and turned it into an estate. Florence Morton, a member of this family, and one of the first female degreed landscape architects in Massachusetts, is responsible for the general layout of the park and the beginnings of what is an amazing display of rhododendrons and azaleas. Her designs and work resulted in what was known back then as Glen Morton. In 1946 the property was purchased by the Spaulding family (another wealthy Worcester family who owned department stores in the area). Mrs. Connie Spaulding renamed the estate Enchanta. She was a member of the local garden club and gave her focus to continuing the plantings of various rhododendron and azalea plants, going to great lengths to achieve specific color variations and combinations, all of which could be viewed from her home. The state purchased the property from the Spaulding family in 1965 and it has remained a park ever since. To read more about the history of this spot, check out the website of the local American Rhododendron Society.
We enjoyed the beautiful day, the gorgeous scenery and took lots of photos of flowers, and we're certain that this park will remain in our top 5 for a long time to come. It's just beautiful, with easy trails to hike, friendly people, but lots of space for solitude, a beautiful pond and opportunities for various other activities but all in your own good time. Those other activities include: canoeing in Eames Pond, fishing in Eames Pond and Turkey Hill Brook, hiking, cross-country skiing, picnicking, and PHOTOGRAPHY! Don’t miss the Artist Overlook marked on the park trail map. It’s the perfect spot for photos. The day we were there a woman was taking pictures of her little daughter dressed in her frilliest party dress. She’d been sitting there quietly posing until she saw Tucker bouncing along the trail. Suddenly she was up and exclaiming, “look at the doggy!!!!” I saw her mother's disappointed (or maybe frustrated) look and realized she'd finally gotten her daughter quieted down and sitting still! We took a few quick shots and moved on so they could get back to what looked like some really beautiful pictures. I’m sure this is a popular spot with couples for wedding shots too. If you’re in the area and want a romantic setting (especially when the flowers are blooming) this is it! Our guess is during the fall this is also a totally gorgeous park to visit.
We headed home but not before stopping for lunch! A local favorite is Hot Dog Annie’s in Leicester, MA. Local hot dogs, local potato chips (Wachusett brand) and even their own soda! While some people may not think this is a GREAT hot dog place, it is definitely local, with clean picnic tables, quick service and lots of choices if you’re looking for hot dogs. We thought they were pretty darned good for hot dogs, and the price was right, so stop by if you've got a hankering.
We considered this a very successful and memorable park trip and would recommend it highly to anyone, families, children, pets, individuals, and groups. We were thrilled with the scenery, found the trails easy to walk, Tucker enjoyed every minute of the day, and while there were people wandering the trails, you never really felt like the place was crowded. Heading out Worcester way? GO TO THIS PARK!!! Got it?
Posts
