Enjoy 4 Seasons of Fun Activities in Worcester, MA
From disc golf and ice skating to boating and golf, you have plenty of outstanding options for year-round fun.
The fun activities in Worcester, MA, run hot and cold. As in, there are plenty of things to do when it’s hot and just as many fun activities when it’s cold.
Worcester begins each year with brisk average January temperatures in the 20s and 30s, ideal weather for a trip to nearby skiing and tubing attractions like Wachusett Mountain or Ski Ward Ski Area. By July the average temp rises into the balmy 70s and low 80s, providing perfect conditions for a day at the lake or beach (yes, Worcester has beaches).
And at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, the seasons can mix with indoor public ice skating and hockey opportunities offered no matter how warm it gets outside.
“There certainly is a lot to do in the Worcester area all year round in terms of sports and recreation.”
Derek Alfama, CEO at EDGE Sports Group
“There certainly is a lot to do in the Worcester area all year round in terms of sports and recreation,” says Derek Alfama, CEO at EDGE Sports Group, which manages the daily operations of the Worcester Ice Center.
In fact, Alfama points out that a favorite activity from both seasons can be experienced within a short distance of each other in downtown Worcester.
“In the summer you can go skating at the Ice Center, and then walk about two blocks and go see a baseball game at Polar Park (home of the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox),” Alfama says. “It’s great for people to have options like that.”
Sizzling Summer
One of the best ways to enjoy the outdoors in the Worcester region is on and along the water. In addition to providing opportunities for boating and fishing, Indian Lake, Coes Pond, and the 4-mile-long Lake Quinsigamond all have beaches that are much closer than anything found at Cape Cod or along the Atlantic Ocean.
Approximately 20 miles south of Worcester, boat dealer Lakeview Marine along Webster Lake offers kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals, as well as children’s events and fishing demonstrations.
“We started the rental program to give more people access to the lake,” says Susan York-Duquette, Lakeview Marine president. “Being out on the water gives you a different perspective of what the lake is like, and we want to open up that opportunity to even more people. We also try to do different things to encourage kids to be outdoors and active.”
Back on land, rock climbers can tackle Lookout Rock in Northbridge, while golfers can take a swing at Green Hill Golf Course (operated by the City of Worcester) as well as more than a dozen other courses and country clubs throughout the region. In addition, Maple Hill Disc Golf Course in Leicester is consistently rated as a top 10 course in the world by DGcoursereview.com.
And when the weather gets a bit too cold to hit the links? No problem, thanks to X-Golf Worcester, an indoor golf simulator that provides a chance to virtually play more than 50 of the most famous courses in the world.
Wonderful Winter
Plenty of fun activities in Worcester can be found during the colder months. A flurry of flakes can lead to a flurry of activity at Wachusett Mountain and Ski Ward, located easy commutes away from downtown Worcester.
With origins that date to 1939, Ski Ward is one of the oldest continuously operating ski/snowboard areas in the country. Ski Ward offers a 220-foot vertical drop and 45 acres of skiing and snowboarding terrain. Four lifts lead to nine trails and eight tubing lanes. There also is an on-site ski/snowboard school that provides both group and private instruction.
Ski Ward remains active during the summer with a tubing park (12 lanes approximately 800 feet long with a 75-foot vertical drop) and three pro-style volleyball courts, making it a popular place for field trips and birthday parties. The same goes for Wachusett Mountain, which offers eight ski lifts in the cold weather months and a roster of community events all year-round.
Likewise, the Worcester Ice Center easily slides from cold weather to warm for year-round skating opportunities. The 110,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 2017, features two NHL-regulation-sized rinks that are used by both professional and amateur hockey teams as well as for public skating events and programs.
The center also includes restaurants and retail, along with physical therapy and strength training. “We’re more than just a hockey rink,” Alfama says. “We provide a lot to the community outside of just skating. Not every city has that type of recreation and activities for people like Worcester has.”
Get to Know Worcester
Want to learn more about living and working in Worcester, MA? Check out the latest edition of Livability Worcester, Massachusetts.
