Mountain biking on reservation lands

Dust off those wheels and tune 'er up! When trails dry out sufficiently, usually by mid-May, Leominster State Forest offers some of the best mountain biking around, within an easy day trip of Metro Boston. Click here to see a trail map. For general information on trails on central/western Massachusetts accessible lands, plus conditions and opening dates and ways to volunteer and contribute, contact The Trustees of Reservations, Doyle Community Park Center, 464 Abbott Ave., Leominster, MA 01453; phone: 978-840-4446.

Other Trustees of Reservations properties that allow mountain biking include Brooks Woodland, with 693 acres and 13.5 miles of trails at East St. and Quaker Dr, Petersham; North Common Meadow, with 25 acres and a half-mile trail at 22 North main St & 27 East St, Petersham; and Tully River Campground with 31 acres and 22 miles of trails at 25 Doane Hill Rd, Royalston, 978-840-4446. You can also bike some of the trails at Willard Brook State Forest. Rt 119. Townsend, MA. 978-597-8802; and Pearl Hill State Park, New Fitchburg Rd. West Townsend, MA. 978-597-8802.

When you're on the trail, Tweet your photos and reports to @DayTripperDiva to win biking gear! The Johnny Appleseed Visitors' Center would also like to see your photos and videos of biking in North Central Mass; post on Facebook page or upload to their website.

Adaptive skating - it's the coolest!

The DCR's Universal Access program is the coolest! Use your wheelchair, an ice sled, or conventional skates on the ice! There's no describing the feeling as you spin, slide, race, slalom, socialize and play gently competitive games with others! Ice sleds and conventional skates available. For more information or to register, call 617-626-1294 to register or email Gigi Ranno. To volunteer, contact Marcy Marcello.

Cronin Skating Rink
850 Revere Parkway
Revere, MA (781) 284-9491

Tuesdays: 11:30am - 1:30pm
Dec. 11, Feb. 19, March 12, April 12
Fitzpatrick Skating Rink, 
575 Maple Street
Holyoke, MA (413) 532-2929

Sundays: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Dec. 2, Jan. 20, Feb. 10, March 10
Thursday, Feb. 21 2:30pm - 4:30pm

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Get the Dispatches or Buy the Book!

Not too early to think skiing!

AMC guide points out animal tracks on a cross-country ski
expedition at Great Glen, near Wildcat Mountain in NH.

If the flakes last week got you in the skiing mood, the Massachusetts DCR (617-626-1250) offers a great site for places near and far to cross-country ski, and also offers resources for adjacent downhill ski areas.

Another great central site to search for ski opportunities is the Appalachian Mountain Club. Join the AMC for discounts on their White Mountain Lodges like Joe Dodge, near Great Glen (and Wildcat for the alpine skiers among us).

If you're not into skiing but your kids are, sign them up with the venerable (since 1969) Massachusetts Ski & Snowboard Club, which will bus them every weekend to a different ski area in New England, for quite affordable rates.

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Paddle One, Paddle All!

The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Universal Access program announced the summer 2008 schedule for the DCR's adaptive paddling program for individuals with disabilities and their family members and friends. The program is carried out in conjunction with Outdoor Recreation of Hopkinton, Spot Pond Boating, and Eastern Mountain Sports.

Hopkinton State Park (Hopkinton, MA) Thursdays 10 AM- 4 PM: July 10, 17, 24, 31, August 7, 14, 21 (Rain date August 28).

Spot Pond (Stoneham, MA) Fridays 10 AM - 4 PM: July 11, 18, 25, August 1, 8, 15, 22. (Rain date August 29).

(Note: The Hopkinton sessions can get a bit crowded, but the Spot Pond programs usually have plenty of room.)

Each session will consist of 20 to 30-minute guided kayak tours. A certified adaptive paddling instructor and lifeguard will join the participants on the water.

Fee is $5 per participant and free for one guest. There will be an $8 fee for each additional guest that wants to participate. This program is subsidized by DCR, EMS and ORH. Please call the EMS Kayak School at 401-762-8585 to make a reservation.

For other accessible DCR summer activities & events, click here.

Map Your Workout

Decrease the time you spend waiting on your bike at lights, or vary your workout by mapping your bike route or your walking/running route. One DayTripper Diva tells us: "I figure my mileage as I am training for the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure, which is 60 miles over three days in October. Am I ready....no way! (grin). But the MapMyWalk site helps."

Dispatches Photo Contest

Here are some of our favorite photos from recent day trips. If it doesn't have a caption, identify the photo location in a comment and win a free PDF of the Day Tripper! Click the speech bubble for captions, and click on the photo to see a larger version on Picasa.

Cross-Country Skiing for Kids

Get your kids involved with a fun, healthy, inexpensive, safe and relatively cheap lifetime winter sport! There is an excellent cross-country instructional league based at the Weston Ski Track, called the Bill Koch League. They encourage parents to get in on the act, too! They welcome all abilities and will teach kids 7+ how to ski and even do a bit of fun racing. There are over 80 kids in the local program. The season has a wonderful grand finale ski festival in Gunstock, NH. In December, practices will start again at our usual home-base at the Weston Ski Track on Saturdays at 9:30. In years past, our first on-snow practice is generally in mid-Dec., due to excellent snow-making equipment at Weston. For more details, email Lauren Hefferon of the Arlington Outings Club.

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See the Compleat Day Tripper for Weston and other family-tested cross-country ski destinations!

Near & Far - Our Gather Dispatches

Bike the Boston Area with Ciclismo Classico Short, local bike tours around Greater Boston, emphasis on open spaces, wildlife, farms, & natural settings.

Follow-up On The Number 7 Engine
by Webduck
September 20, 2007 02:40 PM EDT

	Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone - A Photoessay
	by Jennifer F. September 20, 2007 02:10 AM

	Tower Falls and Roosevelt District, Yellowstone
	by Jennifer F. September 18, 2007 02:49 AM EDT

	Route 66 Rendezvous, San Bernardino
	by Jennifer F. September 16, 2007 01:39 AM EDT

Bike 'N Play

We found a great playground just past Lexington Center on the Minuteman Bikeway. Called Parker Field Playground, this bike 'n play destination has playing fields of all sorts and a beautiful, large, new playground that's ideal for toddlers as well as older kids. If you remember the multi-tiered wooden climbing apparatus that used to be at Parker, there's a shiny new structure there now. There are the typical climbing contraptions and slides, plus a really neat artificial rock to climb, which was a big attraction for our 3 1/2-year-old. There were probably a dozen or more parents there with bikes and kids, and we even met another family from Arlington Heights, so it seems to be a popular destination for Minuteman Trail users. Highly recommended! - Thanks to Dispatches reader and "Velo Fellow" Andrew Conway for this destination review! Click map image to enlarge it, or click here to download a PDF map of the Minuteman Bikeway.

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Read about 350 other family-tested destinations in
The Compleat Day Tripper: Metro Boston Edition!

Skating Photos from Frog Pond, Boston

We can't believe that this was a first for the Day Tripper Divas. What a fabulous time we had, despite the 20-minute wait in line to get in to the skating rink at Frog Pond at Boston Common. Crowded, yes - but manageable with kids ages 6, 7, 11, and 12. We even survived a hot chocolate spill (bring extra clothes, especially in cold weather). Enjoy!

Accessible Winter Sports for Everyone

If you're looking for recreation opportunities for yourself or friends & family with disabilities this winter, the DCR's Universal Access Program is the place where you can do it all: kicksledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and ice skating. They even have equipment you can use! New this year, an outdoor skating rink near the headquarters building with a warming room and accessible bathroom, is sure to be a hit. Sled hockey anyone? Check out the DCR's Universal Access Winter Calendar and be amazed! For information on booking an outing and reserving equipment, call Gigi Ranno at 617-626-1294 or email.

It's Not Your Grandma's Trampoline!

Bread and circuses, American-style? Maybe, but who knew furniture shopping could be so thrilling!? Just inside the massive Jordan's Furniture building in Reading is the Trapeze School of NY - Beantown. This is a real, live double trapeze that has enough show lighting, music, and action to take you over the big top and beyond, to the ice cream stand, restaurants, Duck Tour arcade games, IMAX theater, and many more activities in this amazing indoor complex. Classes can be pricey, but there are party discounts and individual swing packages range from $10-$25. Ages 6 and up. To reach TSNY, take exit 39 off 128, just north of I-93, Tel. 781-942-7800; or email.

Let 'Em Loose at Perpetual Motion!

Perpetual Motion is once again a sure cure for family cabin fever, and now it's suitable for kids of all ages. After its move from Andover to Lowell last year, this popular Day Tripper venue resumed its role as a rainy-day refuge not only for preschoolers, but also for older kids with the addition of a physical challenge course designed specifically for Perpetual Motion, including slides, climbers, a huge foam pit and a traverse climbing wall. Of course, you'll still find the fabulous indoor playground for ages 6 and under, complete with sand and swings. Perpetual Motion is now located at 345 Chelmsford Street Lowell, MA 01851; tel 978-452-0777; about 25 minutes from Routes 2 & 128 via the Lowell Connector.

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Give Holiday Cabin Fever the Boott!

If you find yourself with cabin fever over the holidays, try taking your family or out-of-town visitors out on a Perfect Day Trip* to Lowell. We did this recently, and by absolute luck, we stumbled on the historic Boott Mill Museum, where generations of men and women, including my children's great-grandmother, labored to make a better life for their families.

Friendly park rangers give you an authentic mill apron and answer questions along a trail of life-sized pictures of children through the mill. Walking through the weaving room is a step back in time - minus the dust, but including the din of the clacking looms (don't forget to take the complimentary earplugs). Upstairs, you can follow the process of turning cotton into thread, into cloth. Try out a small loom and listen to the voices of men and women who actually worked in the mills. By another stroke of luck, I later found our copy of The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully handed down by Lowell relatives, which made for great reading that night.

There are many reasons why Lowell makes a Perfect Day Trip: From the mill, you are just steps away from many other indoor and outdoor Lowell attractions, including The Revolving Museum, antique shops, (Jack) Kerouac Park, the Lowell Spinners (in season) and dinner at The Lowell Brewery. You can take a trolley tour along the Canals and check out the music festivals in the summer. The National Park Service site is a great place to preview your trip to Lowell. - by Laurie Smith

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* Downtown Lowell, Harvard Square, and Moody Street in Waltham are just a few of the dozens of "Perfect Day Trips" featured in The Compleat Day Tripper.

Public Skating in Metro NW

Public skating at town recreation centers like "The Rec" (or TRex as my son used to call it) in Arlington is well underway. Arlington's Veterans' Memorial Rink is located at 422 Summer St. and public skating hours there are on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Town rinks like the Arlington Rec often have skate rentals and sharpening services, along with a concession stand and vending machines.

Other public skating around the area can be found at the charming Frog Pond at Boston Common, Burlington Ice Palace, The Charles Hotel, Chelmsford Forum, Larz Anderson Skating Rink, Murphy Skating Rink, Puopolo Park/Mirabella Pool/Steriti Memorial Rink, Simoni Memorial Rink, and The Skating Club of Boston. (We'll be adding specific links to these places soon, but you can click here for DCR's statewide list, sorted by town).

Get $200 in Exclusive Coupons

Our $200 coupon inserts are still available for Dispatches readers to download and print - just click through to our sponsors page.

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Harvard Square makes a Perfect Day Trip almost any time, but when the fun, funky, and fabulous Oktoberfest hit the Square on Sunday October 8, the Divas were there, right next to our sponsors, Children's Technology Workshop! We wish to thank our fabulous AHS booth workers Silvain and Claire-Marie and Jule & Ben with their hobby-horse polo, and all you loyal Day Trippers who stopped by!

Oktoberfest Coupons

Harvard Square makes a Perfect Day Trip almost any time, but the weekend of October 8, 2006 was special, when the fun, funky, and fabulous Oktoberfest hit the Square. The Day Tripper Divas were there, and wish to thank all you Day Trippers who stopped by! We still have the $200 coupon inserts for Dispatches readers to download and print - just click through to our sponsors page.

Subscriber Raves

• "It was an obvious choice to contact you. We were going to put together a list of activities that we found on our own for our grant project, but you have already done it!" - Bonnie Payne & Michael Watson, Activate Arlington
• I am at the playgrounds in town a lot with young children and have mentioned your pamphlet to other parents and told them where they can buy it. I think it's terrific and saves parents/grandparents the stress of having to look everything up separately. - Chris Graves, Arlington
• ROCK ON! at Garden in the Woods is a fantastic outing with small kids! The paths are very easy for little ones and looking for the sculptures throughout make for a fun game. The interactive sculpture building area was also a lot of fun. - Amy Speare, Arlington Family Connection
• "Just wanted to say WOW! The email blast [last Dispatches] you sent out was absolutely fabulous! Thank you so much for including me in the email list." - Lisa Traxler, Arlington

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