What is MORE PICNICS? It’s easy. One day a week (ideally), lunch outside. That’s actually simpler than it is. Sometimes one of us is in charge of the basket and the other surprises with the venue, but easiest is to alternate where one person chooses the picnic spot and the other coordinates the food. To be honest, I like things to be ‘just right’, so in the past, I’ve always arranged both the food and the venue. I’m up for a challenge–and at the end of this summer, I’ll report back on MORE PICNICS/LESS CONTROL FREAK. *Shown above is the picnic basket I bought 25+ years ago at a Longaberger Basket party, and to this day everyone knows when they see it coming, that we don’t carry it by the handles when the basket is full. Except Jay, he doesn’t like to be told what to do. So, one day, it will just be a decorative basket with no handles.
When Covid hit, I made a random resolution for that summer, which was MORE PICNICS. Because of this, Summer 2020 rocked for picnics, and Jay and I looked forward to these very manageable escapes from the messed up world we were living in. In 2021/2022 when the world undulated between ‘totally screwed up’ and ‘get back to normal’, we forgot about the picnics. I decided to bring it back this summer.
A few favorite picnic locations:
*Do you research at the links below so you know in advance whether these are free locations, or require paid admission.
Wachusett Mountain State Reservation — Princeton
Picnic areas throughout, plus reflecting pool views and Balance Rock trail nearby.
Leominster State Forest — Princeton/Westminster/Fitchburg
Crow Hill Pond swimming beach has two picnic areas with tables and grills.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden — Boylston
Formal gardens and orchard views; picnicking allowed in designated areas.
Fruitlands Museum — Harvard
Hilltop grounds with sweeping Nashoba Valley views, tied to the old Alcott/Transcendentalist history.
Rutland State Park — Rutland
Quiet, less crowded, picnic tables near Whitehall Reservoir.
Barre Falls Dam — Barre/Hubbardston/Rutland (Army Corps site)
Open fields and picnic tables with a dam/overlook backdrop.
Mohawk Trail State Forest
If you’re going to the Bridge of Flowers, we found a remote and fascinating Mohawk Trail State Forest, with great picnic spots, old growth and even swimming.
Lake Dennison Recreation Area / Otter River State Forest — Winchendon/Baldwinville (Templeton)
Beach and picnic areas
Hopkinton State Park — Hopkinton
A dozen shaded picnic areas around the reservoir, first-come-first-served.
*Send me your favorite picnic spots!
