15 Best Things to Do in Kingston (MA)

Located at the mouth of the Jones River and directly adjacent to Plymouth, Kingston is a port city historically known for its shipbuilding industry.

These shipyards were located along the river banks and flourished from the late 18th to mid-19th centuries, building ships for the ancient Chinese trade and also for the whaling industry.

You can now access much of the riverfront on beautiful city-owned conservation land, traversed by the Bay Circuit Trail near the South Trail in Duxbury.

In many of them you'll see cranberry bogs, another distinctive feature of rural southeastern Massachusetts.

1. Gray's Beach Park

The only public beach in Kingston is a small sandy cove with a large grassy area sloping gently into the bay.

The site has a lot of history, and may have been the site of a Wampanoag camp long before the days of the Plymouth Colony.

Later, at the turn of the 19th century, this is where Kingston's newly built ships were outfitted before they became seaworthy.

The city purchased the park land in the 1930s, and it is a favorite summer retreat in the city and requires a parking sticker from April through October.

For amenities, you have a short boardwalk, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a stage on the large lawn that hosts a summer concert series on Tuesday nights from mid-May through August.

2. Bay Circuit Trail

Kingston has been blessed with many preserved lands purchased by the city since the mid-20th century.

Most are located along the Jones River or in its watershed, which is also the route of the 230-mile Bay Circuit Trail that passes through Kingston.

From Duxbury in the south to Newburyport in the north, the Bay Circuit Trail passes through Boston's outer suburbs in a large semicircle, mostly using trails in parks and protected areas.

This Kingston trail will take you through Bay Farm Conservation Area, Sampson Forest and Memorial Park, Hathaway Reserve, Cranberry Watershed Reserve, and Silver Lake Sanctuary, many of which will appear later on this list.

3. Major John Bradford Homestead

Located at 50 Landing Road, overlooking the Jones River, this magnificent old house is owned by the Jones River Village Historical Society and is open to the public during the summer months.

Bradford House was built around 1714 by Major John Bradford (1652-1736), whose grandfather, William Bradford (1590-1657), was a passenger on the Mayflower and served as governor of the Plymouth Colony.

Inside you can see a collection of historical antiques from the 17th and 18th centuries, including pottery, furniture, tools and textiles on display in the house.

In the property's newly renovated barn you can also watch an animated film documenting three generations of the Bradford family.

4. Plymouth

The 'Birthplace of America' is located less than ten minutes up the coast from Kingston, and if you're in the area you're sure to make your plans.

This is where the Mayflower landed in 1620, marking the birth of the second successful English colony in the United States.

It is the oldest municipality in New England, and one of the oldest in the country. There is much to see, including historic settlement elements such as Burial Hill, where the meeting house and fort once stood.

You can view artifacts from the crossing at the Pilgrim Hall Museum, tour a reconstruction of 17th-century Pymouth at the Plimouth Patuxet Museums, ride a Mayflower II replica into the harbor, and visit the famous small landing site at Plymouth Rock.

5. Cretinon’s Farm Stand

On Loring Street, near the trailhead to the Bay Circuit Trail, there is a charming country farmhouse that has been open since 1959.

Krishnan Farm Pavilion is usually open from March to mid-October. The season begins with annuals, perennials and vegetable plants.

As summer progresses, you can get delicious fresh produce, starting with asparagus and violas.

Depending on when you visit, you'll find lettuce, strawberries, peaches, raspberries, corn, beets, peas, tomatoes, squash and more. The farm stand also sells fresh chicken and duck eggs, as well as homemade jams and preserves.

6. Cranberry Watershed Preserve

An array of town-owned conservation lands awaits you within Kingston, some of which are located on the Bay Circuit Trail.

Such is the case with the Cranberry Watershed Preserve, which covers 240 acres on the Jones River watershed, amid a landscape of wetlands, ponds and former cranberry bogs.

Retired Swamps, featuring wide, sandy swamp roads and wagon trails, are reminiscent of the Cape Cod countryside, and with more than five miles of trails, you'll have plenty of time to explore the landscape.

7. Silver Lake Sanctuary

This 100-acre conservation property is located adjacent to the Cranberry Watershed Preserve, on the eastern shore of Silver Lake. Silver Lake was a major source of bog iron in the 18th century.

In fact, about 3,000 tons of ore were extracted from these waters, and later, in the 19th century, the lake got its present name as an ice-harvesting enterprise.

The city purchased much of the land in the mid-1990s and features a maze of trails through pine and hardwood forests.

You can hike to a high peak with a beautiful view of the water, and walk through ponds and wetlands along the coast.

8. Kingston Farmers’ Market

In the summer, the grassy area of Gray Beach Park hosts the town's farmers market, held once a month. It is held on the first Sunday of the month and is always very popular.

About seasonal fruits and vegetables, artisanal cheeses, honey, freshly roasted coffee, farm-raised meats, salsas, seafood straight from the Atlantic, homemade desserts, breads, oils, vinegars, baked goods, kombucha, and more.

The Kingston Farmers Market also features craft vendors selling ceramics, organic soaps, facial creams, pet accessories, and soy candles.

9. Jones River Trading Post

One of the most beautiful sites in Kingston is the 1890s mill building on the Jones River, which is rented out for special events such as weddings.

The Jones River Trading Post is located next to a former dam site, now replaced with a fish ladder used by herring during their spring migration.

Here it is worth getting out of the car to take some pictures of the river bank, the fish ladder, and the water management building on the other bank.

A little further along Elm Street, you can reach Sampson Forest and Memorial Park, with more than a mile of forest trails and some stunning views of the Jones River.

10. Duxbury

With a port and a reputation as a shipbuilding center in the 19th century, Kingston's neighbor to the north is also worth a closer look.

Duxbury is just ten minutes away, and has a wonderful stretch of beach (Duxbury Beach Park) on the barrier island that protects the harbour.

Historically, Washington Street was where the city's shipbuilders and merchants made their homes. The historic district here preserves more than 140 buildings, most of which were constructed in the first two decades of the 19th century in the Federal style.

Near Duxbury, the 116-foot-tall Miles Standish Monument stands near where Miles Standish (1586-1656), military commander of the Plymouth Colony, lived.

11. Alley Kat Lane

This popular bowling alley has been a fixture in Kingston for nearly 40 years. Alley Kat Lane includes 26 Kendall Penn bowling lanes.

If you're new to this variation, which was invented in Worcester in the 1880s, pins are long and narrow, and you can use a ball that fits in the palm of your hand.

Everything is a little more challenging, and hitting is almost unheard of, but that's all part of the fun of the game.

There's a snack bar and a 45-game arcade, while Alley Kat Lane, located in a complex featuring Kingston Ten Pin, offers 16 lanes of ten-pin bowling if you prefer something more familiar.

12. Island Creek Oysters

One of the only oyster hatcheries in the entire Northeast is located just a few miles away in Duxbury Bay, and is open to the public for tours.

In the 1990s, founder Skip Bennett figured that the cold, salty, brackish waters of Duxbury Bay could produce world-class oysters.

What started as a one-man operation is now a giant, distributed to nearly 700 chefs across the country.

Guided tours take place in the summer and take you from hatchery to nursery and back to the farm on a 27-foot Carolina skiff. Of course, oyster tasting is an integral part of this experience, and you will also learn how to taste oysters yourself.

13. The Bog Ice Arena

If you're ready for some ice skating, this Kingston rink has at least two public sessions each week.

The Bog Ice Arena first opened in 2006 as a single NHL-sized rink, and in 2012 added another full-size rink and a mini rink. Amenities include a snack bar at the Red Line Café and a full-service pro shop.

Among other things, the facility is the home ice of the Bay State Breakers Hockey Club, and hosts youth hockey games in the Bay State Hockey League (BSHL).

If you or your family want to learn to skate, develop freestyle skills, or learn to play hockey, this rink has a program to fit your needs.

14. Regal Independence Mall & RPX

When we put this list together, the former Independence Center, now the Kingston Collection, had lost all national retailers except Macy's and Target.

But there are still a few reasons to visit, and one of them is this 14-screen multiplex, which opened next to the mall in 1990 as Hoyt Cinema.

When you arrive, try watching a movie on the new RPX (Regal Premium Experience) screen, which features the latest in projectors and sound quality, perfect for movies with big visual effects.

Crown Club members are entitled to a range of special offers, including half-price popcorn and discounted tickets on Tuesdays.

15. Sky Zone Trampoline Park

Kingston Collection Mall is a branch of this national chain of indoor trampoline parks. SkyZone is designed for parents for kids' birthday parties or drop-off parties.

The park is packed with fun, not to mention grueling attractions, including a freestyle zone with a trampoline on each level, a dodgeball court, a foam pit, a wild wall, a battle beam, Ninja Warrior-style, and of course, a zipline. And a Grand Slam tournament basketball court.

In the evening, you can also 'glow', when the entire place turns into a family-friendly club with black lights, lasers and music.