15 Best Things to Do in Weston (MA)
Weston is a western residential suburb of Boston, known for its rural character, with more than 2,000 acres set aside as conservation land and public parks.
The city's urban center developed in the 18th century on the Boston Post Road, where businesses served travelers.
One of them, the Golden Ball Tavern, has been preserved as a museum, while the Josiah Smith Tavern is being converted into a restaurant at the time of writing.
Weston is on both the Bay Circuit Trail, which circles Boston's outer suburbs, and part of the Mass Central Rail Trail, which runs adjacent to Wayland.
In the Weston countryside, you can go cross-country skiing on the Weston Ski Trail, visit an educational farm, climb the scenic slopes of a former ski resort, and hike the pristine beaches of Weston Reservoir.
1. Golden Ball Tavern Museum
Located on Boston Post Road, near Weston's town centre, this Georgian hotel was built in 1768 and remained under the same family for the next two centuries.
The Golden Ball Tavern's most compelling period was its first decade, as hotel keeper Captain Isaac Jones was a loyalist, before finally supporting the revolutionary cause when war broke out.
By then, the hotel had been opened to British soldiers spying around Weston, and as a result the hotel was raided by local patriots after the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
The building was restored in the 1970s and contains several collections, most of which belong to the Jones family. You can go on the free Second Sunday Open House tours to see the preserved interiors and learn more about the hotel's 18th-century history.
2. Spellman Museum
Weston is home to Regis College, a private Catholic university founded in 1927 that had an enrollment of 2,000 when we wrote this article.
In the late 1950s, the Archbishop of New York, Francis Spelman (1889-1967), donated his extraordinary collection of stamps and other photographic objects to the museum, and the Spellman Museum opened to the public in 1960.
The museum's extensive collection has expanded since then, including collections for figures such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Matthew Ridgway, and composer Jascha Heifetz.
The museum's display cabinets are filled with stamps from around the world, dating back to the 19th century, with exhibits documenting mail as a means of communication and communication.
3. Cat Rock Park
This city-owned landmark is 130 acres of woods, fields and wetlands, one of the highest elevations in the city.
Cat Rock Hill was the site of a ski area from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is believed to have been named after bobcats, which were once abundant in the area.
The summit is located in the southwest corner of the park, while to the north is an 80-acre field, formerly farmland that became a deer and quail hunting site in the 1950s.
It is adjacent to the beautiful Hobbs Pond, which was also closed in the 1950s for trout fishing. With 8.8 miles of trails, Cat Rock Park is a popular spot for dog walkers.
4. Town Green District
The oval green space at the intersection of Boston Post Road, School Street and Church Street has been the civic and religious center of Weston for more than 300 years. Postcard locations of the city can also be seen from here.
The largest is the distinctive First Parish, built of fieldstone in the Gothic Revival style in 1888, but dating from the late 17th century.
Nearby, next to the beautiful old Public Library building (1899), is Josiah Smith's gabled-roofed tavern, an important stagecoach stop on the Boston Post Road for nearly a century after its construction in 1757.
5. Rose Art Museum
Brandeis University's campus is located just across I-95 from Weston, and is worth a visit above all for its impressive art museum.
Founded in 1961, the Rose Art Museum maintains one of the region's largest collections of contemporary and modern art at more than 9,000 objects.
It includes works by Picasso, Warhol, Mona Hatoum, Yayoi Kisama, Gauguin, Matisse, and Roy Lichtenstein.
The museum is also known for its large temporary exhibitions, and when we compiled this list there were shows by Peter Sachs and Frida Kahlo, as well as permanent installations by Chris Burden (outside) and Mark Dion.
6. Mass Central Rail Trail
A massive trail project is being built between Northampton and Boston, converting old tracks of the Massachusetts Central Railroad into a multi-use trail extending more than 100 miles.
As we went to the press, the central railway was a set of intermittent sections, one of which crossed the whole of Weston and was paved.
It is roughly parallel to the Boston Post Road, running north through Weston Town Green, and will soon form part of a continuous 25-mile stretch from Berlin to Waltham.
To access the trail, you have parking areas on Church Street, Townhouse Road, and Concord Road, and you can travel west to Wayland Center, or bike through the stunning Jericho City Forest in Weston.
7. Bay Circuit Trail
Weston is located on a 230-mile trail that passes through the greater Boston area and uses a mix of preserved lands, parks, and quiet country roads.
The town is also at an interesting part of the route where it briefly splits into two arms, Sudbury to the west and Weston to the east.
While hiking in Weston, you'll pass through the beautiful Jericho City Forest, which consists of 550 acres of woods, open fields, and wetlands.
To the north lies the Ogilvie City Forest, where wetlands and vernal pools intertwine with dramatic rock ledges. From there you'll enter Mass Audubon's Drumlin Ranch, one of the highest points in Greater Boston.
8. Weston Friendly Society of the Performing Arts
Weston claims to be the second oldest community theater in the country, having been founded in 1885.
It began as a forum for members of the First Parish Unitarian Church to hold group readings of poetry, classic books, and Bible passages.
The society has evolved into a theater company open to all, presenting a season of cabaret-style shows. It takes place in the magnificent old hall of Weston Town Hall, built in 1917 in the Georgian Revival style.
Final season selections include A Chorus Line, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Beauty and the Beast, Annie, and Sweet Charity.
9. Weston Reservoir
One of the best places for a quiet hike in Weston is on the shores of this reservoir, which was built in the late 1900s as part of Boston's evolving water supply system.
Weston Reservoir has served as a reserve distribution reservoir since the 1960s, and is still managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
As it is MWRA land there are restrictions on what you can do, but on the western side at Ash St. This is a beautiful place to take a walk in the surrounding coniferous forests.
Along the south shore runs the Weston Canal Route, which follows a grass-covered aquifer that has connected the reservoir to Framingham's Sudbury Reservoir since 1903.
10. Weston Ski Track
Established in 1974, just southeast of the city, this cross-country area is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
The Weston Ski Track has snowmaking facilities with a 2.5 km groomed ski area, as well as a further 13 km of groomed runs that rely on natural snowfall.
Group and private rentals and lessons are available throughout the season, which runs from mid-December to mid-March. In the warmer months, Weston Ski Track becomes the Leo J. Martin Public Golf Course, one of two public courses in Massachusetts.
11. Land’s Sake Farm
The Case family first moved to Weston in 1863 and established a large estate near the center.
Beginning with the Marion case in the early 1900s, the land has a history of experimental agriculture, and from the 1940s until recently was the site of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum Nursery.
Meanwhile, the Case family mansion became the offices of the local public school district. In 1985, the city purchased 40 acres of land from Harvard University to create a working city farm to provide educational programs for children and adults.
Regular visitors can wander the farm stands, where they sell organic fruits and vegetables harvested from the farm, as well as local goods, from honey and maple syrup to handicrafts.
12. Norumbega Tower
Harvard scholar Eben Norton Horsford (1818-1893), best known for developing double-acting baking powder, was also fascinated by the concept of Viking settlements in New England despite the lack of archaeological evidence.
The Eastern Algonquian word, Norambega - generally believed to mean the New England coastal region - was thought to come from norveja, meaning Norway.
In 1889, on what is believed to be the site of a Scandinavian castle and town, he built a 38-foot stone tower, topped by a spiral staircase.
The view of the Charles River to the east is best in winter when the creeping trees are bare.
13. Weston Art & Innovation Center
Also on the city green is the building that formerly served as the city's public library. Built in 1899, this Romanesque Renaissance building was home to the library until 1996 when it moved to a modern building.
The old library has since been used for temporary city offices, recreation offices, and entertainment programs before reopening in 2021 as the Weston Arts and Innovation Center.
The center, a branch of the public library, serves as a studio and space for makers, while hosting a variety of cultural events, showcasing everything from fine arts to floral design, culinary arts, pottery and textiles. It offers lessons in a wide range of skills.
14. Weston Public Library (WPL)
Founded in 1857, the city's public library was located in a room in Weston's old city hall before moving to the old library building.
WPL deserves special mention because it has the highest circulation rate per capita of any library in the state today, with approximately 6,700 items checked out each week.
Thanks to the work of the Friends of the Westin Public Library, among other causes, this library has become a vibrant community resource.
The organization helps fund the library's history room, but also presents exhibitions by local artists, and organizes regular live performances in the community room.
15. Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary.
Near Lincoln, Massachusetts is the headquarters of the Audubon Society. A retreat since the 1950s, Drumlin Farm combines a working farm with extensive woodland, crossed by the Bay Circuit Trail.
Kids will have a great time seeing the farm animals, including goats, cows, chickens, sheep and pigs, but you'll also learn about sustainable farming practices and pick up seasonal produce from the farm stand.
There are four miles of trails, extending through the wilderness portions of the refuge, to the summit of Snowy Drumlin, one of the highest points in Greater Boston.