Visiting Blackstone Valley and Canal Heritage State Park, Uxbridge, MA

Visiting Blackstone Valley and Canal Heritage State Park in Uxbridge, MA had never crossed our minds. Twice a month we passed through this quiet town in central Massachusetts and by the turnoff from Massachusetts Rte 16 onto Oak St. that would have landed us at the gateway to the park. Finally, on a day perfect for a picnic we did some investigating only to discover how close to our path this park actually was and made the turn that led us to a wonderful park experience.

The entrance to the park is marked by a scenic barn part of the River Bend Farm that serves as a Visitors Center . If the day is warm and sunny you may want to get right at the business of experiencing the park and return to the visitors center later. Either way you will eventually learn that the Blackstone Valley and Canal Heritage State Park is actually part the larger Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, a national park that covers land from Worcester to Providence that was central to the history of the Industrial Revolution. You'll find that the Blackstone Valley and Canal Heritage State Park is quite enough to fill your day.

You can begin your visit to the Blackstone Valley and Canal Heritage State Park in Uxbridge with a walk along some of the scenic paths that follow along the canal. On one side of the canal the path is above the canal and provides a great view of the trees, fauna and flowing water. The other side of the canal places you closer to the actual water and you can get an up close look at some of the fish who call the canal home. It is interesting to imagine the role that this canal had in connecting central Massachusetts to the ocean via Providence more than 150 years ago.

The two paths along the canal are connected by a wooden bridge that allows you to look one way up the canal and in the other direction at the widened area of the Blackstone River called the Rice City Pond . We saw young people fishing off the bridge and learned that this could also be an excellent spot to try out a canoe. Fish and release is practiced here and we had a first hand look at both ends of the program, as well as the pleased look on the faith of the young fisherman.

After a walk you may want to give yourself a break and settle in for some lunch or a snack. At Blackstone Valley and Canal Heritage State Park you will find picnic tables and grills placed perfectly above the canal in such a way as to provide for an excellent view of the passing water while you relax and enjoy lunch. For the truly organized there are also grills for a more elaborate cooked meal. Once you have regrouped you can follow extended paths to Goat Hill Lock or along lands named for local sachem, King Philip . You may prefer to spend time visiting the Visitor's Center which is a nice combination of modern facilities and quaint barn structure.

Especially fun is a trip to the second floor of the barn where there are some unique exhibits, children's play corner and huge barn windows that give you a panoramic view of the surroundings. The park attendant/ranger was full of good spirit and as much information as you could ask for.When we signed the guest book we saw that the folks who had signed in just above us in the book listed their home as Kalamazoo, Michigan. If folks all the way from Kalamazoo can seek out this spot, we were glad we had finally found it too.

Sources: www.mass.info
www.mass.gov/dcr/parks