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)
I’m a bit late about getting around to this, but I like to share the options each summer for residents to splash/swim for free/cheap.
Southborough doesn’t have any public swim or splash options. Luckily, there are several in surrounding towns we can take advantage of. Here are this summer’s details.
An easy option for young kids to cool off and play on most days is a splash pad. 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 five days per week. (until Labor Day – Open Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 10:00 am – 4:00 pm)
- Marlborough’s splash pad is at Ghiloni Park daily. (Open daily 10:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Marlborough also has two shallow wading pools to splash in- at Sawin Street and Ward Park (through August 26th, 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.
Marlborough and Hudson allow out-of-towners to visit these two lakeside beaches at these non-resident rates:
Memorial Beach in Marlborough – $10 per car (through Aug 30 open daily 11:00 am-6:45 pm; Aug 31 – Sept 2 open 11:45 am-5:45 pm. Note: No lifeguards will be on duty the week of August 26 – 30)- Centennial Beach in Hudson – $10 per day pass (only available on non-holiday weekdays) or $40 per season pass (through Aug 12 open weekdays 9:00 am – 7:00 pm and weekends/holidays 11:00 am to 7:00 pm; August 13 – August 19 daily 11:00 am – 7:00 pm)
Westborough’s lake has more limited access to “outsiders”:
- Lake Chauncy beach is generally limited to Westborough and Northborough residents. But Southborough Recreation does offer a season pass for $90 per family. (Availability may be limited.) You can check on that by calling 508-229-4452. (The beach is open 11:00 am – 6:00 pm daily, tentatively through August 12th.)
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.
