Stroll meandering pathways and cross artisan-built stone bridges at this family-friendly park of open fields, groves of trees, and frog ponds.

What makes Francis William Bird Park a special place?
We think it's the way the park continues to fulfill the role it's played since its creation in 1925: to provide an idyllic outdoor amenity for the public that both offers respite from busy daily life and promotes healthy recreational activity. The rolling fields lined by tree groves, a trio of ponds, and gurgling brooks comprise a lovely natural tableau.

The park's carefully maintained lawns and water elements are especially attractive to visitors, but the communities of trees that accent so much of this landscape, are lovely as well – and provide welcome shade and shelter for picnickers or for those who simply desire a little isolation. Red maple dominate, but there are plenty of other familiar species standing proudly here, including white pine, white and northern red oak, yellow birch, and hemlock. These latter continue to suffer from infestations of wooly adelgid, a tiny insect that feeds on hemlocks, but Bird Park still supports some handsome examples, especially those which form the Allée near Polley Lane.

The park was designed for active play – bike racks, a "tot" lot, tennis courts, and basketball net, and a bathing-pool-turned-pond are testaments to park designer John Nolan's belief that play should be an active part of the park experience.

Trails
More than 3 miles of walking paths (easy walking) crisscross the park; a portion of the walkways is surfaced.

When to Visit
Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of 1 hour.

Facilities
Bike racks, benches, trash receptacles, public restroom (open seasonally). Park includes a "tot lot" with children's play equipment, four tennis courts, a basketball backboard, and outdoor stage.

Regulations & Advisories

• Dogs must be kept on a leash at all times.

Directions

Washington Street
Walpole, MA
Telephone: 781.784.0567
E-mail: seregion@ttor.org

Get directions on Google Maps.

From the I-95/Rt. 128 split in Canton, take I-95 South toward Providence, RI. Take Exit 10 and turn right onto Coney St. heading toward Walpole. Follow for 0.8 mi. (crossing over Rt. 1 at traffic light) and proceed to one of three parking areas: Polley Lane (60 cars), Pleasant St. (10 cars), or Rhoades Ave. (25 cars).

Admission

When to Visit
Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset. Allow a minimum of 1 hour.

Admission
FREE to all

Property History

The reservation was created and endowed in 1925 as a public park by local industrialist Charles Sumner Bird, Sr. and his wife, Anna, in memory of their oldest son, Francis William Bird (1888-1918), who succumbed at age 37 to the influenza epidemic of 1918.

The Bird Family hired John Nolen to design the park. Nolen was a contemporary of The Trustees founder Charles Eliot and a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape visionaries who were pioneers in creating parklands accessible to all.

This was a philosophy shared by Nolen, who also believed landscape design could be a tool for societal improvement; Bird Park's network of pathways and attractive water courses were designed to offer the public an easy introduction to their natural surroundings.

In his original proposal for this property, Nolen envisioned "a sequestered breathing place–a combination of broad, sun-swept meadow lands, speckled with shadowed glades, higher tree-screened knolls for the lover of shade, the whole set to the music of a babbling stream."

Property Acquisition History
Gift, with endowment, of the Francis William Park Trust in 2003.

Programs

Over the Bridge and Through the Years Quest
Use rhyming clues and a map to find a hidden treasure and story at Bird Park. Along the way, you'll have fun and learn to see (and read) clues about how this place has been used over time. At the end of the Quest, you'll find a hidden treasure box where you can sign your name and collect a copy of our Quest's stamp before leaving the box for the next visit. Download the Quest.

Memorial and Honorary Gift Program at Bird Park
You can honor a loved one and supporting this beautiful park through our memorial bench program. Learn More (pdf).

Volunteer Opportunities

Work Parties

Maps and Resources

Trail maps are available from the bulletin board near the park entrance. Occasionally, we do run out of maps, so we recommend that you download a trail map before you visit.

Planning Your Visit

Before You Go
We encourage you to visit as many Trustees properties as you can.

Wherever your travels take you, please observe all posted regulations, follow special instructions from property staff, and keep in mind the Stewardship Code:

• Protect wildlife and plants.
• Guard against all risk of fire.
• Help keep air and water clean.
• Carry out what you carry in.
• Use marked footpaths and bridle paths.
• Leave livestock, crops, and machinery alone.
• Respect the privacy of neighboring land.
• Enjoy and share the landscape with others.

Click on links below for further visitor information:

Before Setting Out

Enjoying Trustees Reservations

Safety

About Hunting on Trustees of Reservations Land

Tell Us What You Think

We’d love to hear about your visit. Click here to take our visitor survey. If you have a question for us about this reservation, you can use this form to send it to us, too.

Share your experiences with other visitors! Simply fill out the form below and we’ll post your comment here on this page.

Submitted by Mags on: August 11, 2010

Hi. I went over to the playground at Bird Park a few weeks ago, only to find that the entire structure is down. Does anyone know what happened to it? And is there a timeline for getting a new playground put in place? I was quite shocked to find it gone, and hearing nothing about it in town.

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