15 Best Things to Do in Sudbury (MA)
With a sparse population and rich colonial history, Sudbury is an affluent city located in the western metro area of Greater Boston.
The oldest continuously operating inn in the United States awaits you in Sudbury, dating back to the 1920s and the centerpiece of a proposed living history museum for automobile manufacturer Henry Ford (1863-1947).
His plans never came to fruition, but there are two interesting stands at the Wayside Inn in Marlboro, and along Boston Post Road (Route 20).
In keeping with its rural character, Sudbury has two national wildlife reserves within its borders, as well as a delightful historic center where Minutemen rallied before fighting in the Battles of Lexington and Concord at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.
1. Wayside Inn Historic District
Built in 1686 and in operation since 1716, the Wayside Inn is the oldest continuously operating inn in the country.
In 1923, the site captured the imagination of Henry Ford, who sought to create a living historical landmark on the property as a precursor to his hometown of Greenfield.
Among the buildings developed were a grist mill, the non-denominational Martha Mary Church, and the historically significant Redstone Schoolhouse, which was moved from Sterling, Massachusetts.
Within the inn are several museum rooms containing colonial-era artifacts, while the featured space is the Longfellow Parlor, which houses Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's (1807-1882) collection of poems, Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863).
2. Wayside Inn Grist Mill
One of the must-see attractions on the grounds of the Wayside Inn is the water-powered grist mill, built by Henry Ford in the late 1920s.
The mill pond that powered the water wheel dates back to the early 18th century, and the current mill has been built near the site of the original Howe family mill since that time.
Open to the public, the mill represents a quintessential slice of rural New England and once produced flour for Pepperidge Farms, later inspiring the logo for its baked goods.
You can buy bags of flour from the hostel's shop, and watch milling demonstrations on weekends during busy periods.
3. Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge
This 2,300-acre national wildlife refuge occupies much of western Sudbury, on land used by the U.S. Army from 1942 until it was turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000.
Along 15 miles of trails, you'll encounter strange relics of this past life, in the form of World War II-era ammunition caches hidden in the woods.
From Sudbury's main parking lot, you can access a large trail network that leads through woods and open fields to the vernal pools and expansive beaches of Puffer Pond.
There is also a visitor center within Sudbury's boundaries, in a 5,000-square-foot eco-friendly building featuring exhibits on the region's ecology, prehistory, and pioneering environmentalists dating back to the 19th century.
4. Sudbury Center Historic District
Sudbury's historic center is like an open-air museum, surrounded by centuries-old architecture and picturesque residences in every direction.
Militia and Minutemen gathered at this location on the morning of April 19, 1775, to fight in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
The first parish church (1797) lies directly on the green, and is significant as the focus of the case Sudbury Citizens v. Thomas Stearns (1838), which decided that the parish, not the city, controlled church records.
To the east are the Greek Revival City Hall (1846, rebuilt 1932), the Loring Parsonage (ca. 1730), now home to the local historical society museum, and to the south is the Federal-style Hosmer House (1793). . There is a lovely little garden with a playground and a swimming pool.
5. Sudbury History Center and Museum
In 2021, the Sudbury Historical Society opened a new headquarters and museum in a historic site in central Sudbury.
This is the Loring Parsonage, built around 1730 as the home of the city's first minister, and then serving as the residence of a long line of descendants of the Wheeler and Hayes families.
The interior exhibition space is the Jonathan Bagot Gallery, which charts Sudbury's history in detail from the earliest settlements to the modern era.
Additional Exhibits Rev. It delves into information about Israel Loring and his family, and showcases selected artifacts from the Society's extensive archives. The gift shop also deserves your attention, as it is full of locally produced handicrafts, clothing and accessories.
6. Tippling Rock
Emerging south of Sudbury is a prominent promontory accessible through protected land acquired by the city in the late 1990s.
Tippling Rock, part of Nobscot Hill, rises more than 600 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in the city with far-reaching views of Boston.
According to tradition, the rocky outcrop sloped back and forth (hence the name), and Native Americans used it for communication.
From above you can survey the western suburbs, seeing landmarks like Great Blue Hill, John Hancock Tower, Prudential Building, and Four Seasons Boston.
7. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Sudbury is headquartered on the Sudbury River in a unit of freshwater wildlife-rich wetlands.
Known for its bird watching opportunities, it is one of two units adding more than 3,800 acres of important wildlife habitat to Sudbury and Concord.
The Sudbury section includes the Weir Hill Trail, which includes woodland, moorland, a riverbank, a creek and a walking pond.
The Little Red Maple Trail has an observation deck where you can see marsh wrens, muskrats, and painted turtles in the riparian area. On the water, you can take a canoe or kayak to the refuge to paddle the 1.5-mile Sudbury River Paddle Trail.
8. Redstone Schoolhouse
Another old building that makes up the Wayside Inn Historic District is the one-room schoolhouse, located within walking distance of Martha Mary Church.
The late 18th century Redstone Schoolhouse was originally located on Redstone Hill in Sterling, Massachusetts, and was moved to the Wayside Inn by Ford in 1927.
According to popular belief in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this is the school where Sarah Josepha Hale's (1788-1879) nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was composed.
It was all based on the memory of Mary Tyler (1806-1889), a 70-year-old resident of Stirling, who claimed it was Mary who brought her pet sheep to school one day when she was a child.
9. New England Garden Company
In Sudbury you can find a stunning outdoor display garden and indoor showroom for this company that specializes in decorative garden items.
The New England Garden Company, the largest company of its kind in the Northeast, produces an exceptional collection of antique decor, furniture, art, reconstructed architectural items, and more from throughout the United States and many countries in Europe.
In this 6,000-square-foot space, you can lose track of time while looking at centuries-old finial reliefs, stone basins, sundials, millstones, sculptures, fountains, cisterns, and Victorian ironwork.
10. Wayside Country Store
Head a little east along Route 20, and you'll be greeted in Marlborough by a historic building that held pride of place in downtown Sudbury until the late 1920s.
This is the Wayside Country Store, a sprawling, old-fashioned candy store, part of Ford's grand plans for the Wayside Inn.
The Federal-style building known as the Parmenter-Garfield General Store was built in 1790 and served several different roles, including a post office and a school where future 20th President James A. Garfield (1831-1881) attended and served as a teacher. For some time.
Ford purchased the building in 1928 and sawed it in half before moving it to the north shore of Hagar Pond on Route 20.
The second floor has a selection of board games and jigsaw puzzles, while the complex also has a European-style bakery and a full-service restaurant.
11. Haskell Field
Haskell Field is a local venue for active recreation and features several sports facilities used by local programs such as Sudbury Youth Soccer.
This open green space includes six soccer fields, three soccer fields, lacrosse fields, and a 90-foot baseball field.
But the highlight for parents has to be the adorable, fenced-in playground with climbing equipment, swings, slides and shaded picnic tables for kids ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12 to keep them active. There is plenty of space for children
Here you'll find restrooms, as well as a concession stand for cold drinks and snacks.
12. Bruce Freeman Rail Trail
By the time you read this article, Sudbury may be a dream destination for hikers and cyclists, at the intersection of two long-distance railway trails.
The first is the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, which will eventually be 25 miles long, and was under construction in Sudbury when we wrote this list.
It would run 5.9 miles north to south through the city on the right-of-way of the old Framingham and Lowell line (1871) of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
This trail will connect to the Mass Central Rail Trail, which is located on the defunct Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority right-of-way and is already a popular but unpaved hiking trail in the city.
When completed, the Mass Central Rail Trail will be a 104-mile east-west route between Boston and Northampton.
13. Duck soup
This little shop is among a long list of worthwhile stops along Route 20, with a variety of fine dining, upscale kitchenware, handcrafted ceramics, and locally produced spirits.
Supporting local and regional producers, Duck Soup Company has been open for more than 50 years, making headlines in 2018 when it acquired the rights to develop the beloved Sky Bar, a candy bar first introduced in 1938 in Revere. By the now defunct Necco company. It is made and sold in a separate storefront right next to the hotel.
At the flagship store, you can find specialty products made in New England, from rum to maple syrup, as well as an endless array of candy and snacks imported from as far away as Britain, South Africa and the Netherlands.
14. Garden in the Woods
Across the line in Framingham is an exciting botanic garden, hidden in a mature oak woodland and serving as the headquarters of the local Botanical Trust.
Open from mid-April to mid-October, the Garden in the Woods is dedicated to species native to New England and is the largest collection of wildflowers in the region, with nearly 1,700 plants of 1,000 species, many of which are rare or endangered.
For more than 30 years, the garden was a pet project of landscape designer Will C. Curtis (1883-1969) and was turned over to the New England Wildflower Society upon his death. It is also home to the largest retail native plant nursery in New England.
15. Boston Paintball Maynard
There is an outdoor paintball facility on the Sudbury/Maynard line that is open seasonally from April to November.
With a mix of wooded and open surroundings, these three courses are located on the grounds of the Maynard Rod and Gun Club.
The most memorable is Maynard Outpost, an exciting building-by-building arena, with interesting obstacles such as several inter-dimensional structures and destroyed tanks.
Woods' ball field, known as Bunker Hill, contains numerous huts, towers and an abandoned helicopter, at the bottom of a towering hill that offers a major strategic advantage. Walk-on-Play is available on weekends, and reservations are required on weekdays.
