Hopkinton Reservoir (Hopkinton S.P.) in Massachusetts

Trip Overview

We arrived around 10:00 am. Hopkinton State Park has a lot of parking and a very convenient row of concrete boat launching ramps for all non-motorized watercraft -this is in between a parking lot and a small boat rental shop -which also has public bathrooms.

The water is very calm and easy to paddle in. It looked to be very deep in places. There are a few small islands out in the middle of the water -it didn't look like you could stop on any of the islands though. We did see some wild life -birds, turtles and fish. And, we got some pretty good pictures.

The lake itself isn't huge -it didn't take us more than a few hours to go around the whole thing. But, it was a nice place to go for a few hours. After 12:00 pm we noticed that the water began to get a little crowded with kayaks and other small boats -this is mostly due to the crowds that the beaches attract and the boat rental place. We could also easily hear children screaming and yelling while they played in the water at the beaches -this did take away from the peaceful feeling that we felt when we first arrived. If you want peace and quiet get here early in the morning and plan on packing it in by lunch time.

In addition to the beaches and the boat rental place there are also picnic areas w/approximately 300 picnic tables spread around the park and 165 charcoal grills -bring your own supplies, and, if you feel like walking after you eat and paddle there are 10 miles of marked trails available to hike on.

It's a very nice park to visit and spend the day.

Accommodations:

Bathrooms, Beaches, Picnic Areas, Parking, Boat Rental and we did see an ice cream truck come thru the parking lot near the beaches a few times.

Fees:

$5 - altho we were not charged anything.

Directions:

Rte. 85, Hopkinton