Above: If the kids are begging to swim or splash, head to Memorial Beach or Celucci Park to cool off. (image left posted to flickr by Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism and right posted to Hudson Rec’s Facebook page)
Yesterday was the first official day of summer. School kids start their summer break this afternoon. (And many families with preschoolers started theirs already.) So, it’s time to start looking again at places to have some summer fun.
Today, I’ll share some local options for free or cheap water play.
My kids love to get wet, but we don’t have a pool. Making do with the sprinkler gets old rather quickly. Luckily, there are some better options nearby.
An easy option for younger ones is local splash areas. All of these are free and now open for the season or will be this weekend:
Hudson has a splash pad at Celucci Park (Now open daily through around until Labor Day – 9:00 am – 7:00 pm)- Northborough has a free splash pad at Assabet Park. (until Labor Day – Open Mon, Wed, Fri – noon – 6:00 pm; Sat & Sun 10:00 am – 4:00 pm)
- Marlborough has two public wading pools – at Sawin Street and Ward Park (Saturday, June 24 through August 28th – Open daily noon – 5:45 pm with gates locked at 6:00 pm)
(Warning: make a decision up front about whether or not to bring money for the ice cream truck. There’s a good chance one will come by while you’re there!)
If you’re family is too old for that option (or your kids are demanding real swimming) then you may want to find a beach. No need to drive for hours in traffic. Take advantage of area lakes.
You can borrow the Mass State Park pass for free parking from the Library or Southborough Rec. The state’s local swimming holes include:
Hopkinton State Park*- Ashland State Park
- Cochituate State Park (in Natick)
If the pass isn’t available that day, for state residents it’s only $8 per car (or $60 for season pass). But if you are going to pay, there are other local options. A couple of area towns are also also selling access to non-residents.
Out-of-towners can pay to visit these two lakeside beaches:
Memorial Beach in Marlborough – $10 per car (through Sept 1st open daily 11:00 am-6:45 pm; Sept 2-4th open 11:45 am-5:45 pm. Note: No lifeguards will be on duty the week of
August 28th-September 1st)- Centennial Beach in Hudson – $10 per day pass or $40 per season pass (Saturday, June 18 through August 14th open weekdays 9:00 am – 7:00 pm and weekends/holidays 11:00 am to 7:00 pm; August 15th to August 20th daily 11:00 am – 7:00pm)
Do you have a favorite water play spot not listed above? (Or have a tip about one of these to share?)
Shout out in the comments.
And for more tips on what to do with your kids this summer, you can pull down stories from the Features menu.
*Both Hopkinton and Cochituate websites warn that parking may be closed when they reach full capacity. I’ve never experienced that at Hopkinton and I’ve been there on very busy days. I couldn’t tell you how commonly that occurs at Cochituate.
