Willard Brook State Forest – West Townsend, Massachusetts

The Willard Brook State Forest is headquartered in West Townsend, Massachusetts. The state forest comprises some 2,597 acres of woodland. Activities in the park include camping and such day use options as swimming, picnicking, fishing, hiking and cross country skiing. In addition to the two campgrounds, several trailheads and scenic pullouts there are three main day use ares of the park. Pearl Hill State Park is a heavily wooded 1000 acre tract with swimming, fishing and hiking opportunities. The willard brook is dammed creating Willard Brook Pond.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Trap Falls is a nice little cascade a short distance off the road.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Damon Pond is another reservoir with ample swimming, hiking and fishing available.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Bicentennial Chair – Gardner, Massachusetts

Gardner, Massachusetts is know locally as “chair city.” Once home to the Heywood-Wakefield Furniture Company Gardner has taken its signature industry to heart with a series of giant chairs over the years. The Bicentennial Chair was built in 1976 to take back the title of world’s largest chair from a chair in North Carolina. There have been giant chairs of one type or another in Gardner since 1905 and even though this one is no longer the world’s largest it is still a wonderful roadside attraction sitting in front of the Helen Mae Sauter Elementary School. The current chair stands over twenty feet tall.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Dunn State Park – Gardner, Massachusetts

Dunn State Park in Gardner, Massachusetts is a day use area open to swimming, fishing and boating. The park can be crowded on hot summer days but can be a nice place to take a dip. The park is administered by the Gardner Heritage State Park.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

Restaurant Review – Old Mill Restaurant & Cracker Barrel Pub (Westminster, Massachusetts)

The Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster was purchased by Ralph and Ruth Foster in 1946. The mill has been operating as a restaurant for 98 years and has been in the same family for the past 73 years. Originally a saw mill the mill has been a business for 258 years.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

The mill was converted into a tea-room in 1921. The location is idyllic with a covered pedestrian walking bridge, outdoor seating areas and ducks swimming in the pond.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

The menu has a cuisine representative to the setting with some fine dining options as well as some more casual fare.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

First Congregational Church – Gardner, Massachusetts

The First Congregational Church in Gardner, Massachusetts has an interesting square spire with a clock face near the top. The church was built in 1878, the distinctive brick Victorian gothic church and tower replaced a more traditional meeting house which had been on the site since 1787.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos