willard brook state park

It's a great park in general for hiking for all skill levels, river swimming, grills (bring your own charcoal), plenty of picnic tables, very picturesque. $5 parking, may be fee for grilling.The big but . . . .Damon Pond area is littered with unsavory adult&teen persons, including gang members from Fitchburg area. Very large presence on weekends. Loud profanity sexually explicit laced music, calling each other racial slurs including n-word, drink&drug, complete disrespect for rules of the park. They generally hang out on street side of the pond but will invade shallow beach where little kids are (under 10). Didn't seem intentional but have to question their need to rough-housing in this area. Splashing, knocking over kids, kicking sand over sleeping kids, knocking over coolers, chairs. Yeah it's that bad. Rangers are very vocal but are disrespected until they have to resort to calling police-then culprits they retreat into woods. personally if pd have to be called they should be kicked out to send the right message the behavior will not be tolerated, make them think twice before coming back. We might try during weekday - if same results won't be back. I'm raising them to have respect for self, others and environment. Exposing them to this behavior is not conducive to that.

Willard Brook is a beautiful State Park located in north central Massachusetts. Visitors can spend the day swimming in the man made pond, camping, pic- nicing, and going for a pleasant walk, along a babbling stream. The number of visitors to the park seems to have increased significantly since I first starting coming here as a ten year old little girl. One can try to avoid the big crowds of the summer months and may find that fall, spring and winter are the best times for seeking the serenity the woods have to offer. Even in summer if you are willing to hike some of the trails within the park you can still find places to soak in the beauty without having to deal with the masses. Avoid the swimming hole on weekends and and really hot summer days if you are looking for peace and quiet. The "beach" area and surrounding grassy areas will be full of people trying to escape the blistering heat of summer. Trap falls is a lovely spot to walk to in winter. Interesting ice formations can be observed. Best time to visist is off season.