Cochituate State Park — Attraction in Natick

Why the town pays someone over 100k a year to order people to allow bittersweet to destroy public property and hence spread and destroy peoples properties with no trees degrades the value of houses and property there so while the home owners forced to pay taxes to a woman in charge of conservation department to destroy the beauty of giant old trees is simply stupid. Even as u enter wayland town offices she's got a big giant bunch of bittersweet growing right there destroying natural habitat and making wayland look stupid in regards to bittersweet which hello people is quickly destroying some of the value of your property...but they still want your money.pathetic. she the person in charge of town actually state conservation land claims her and staff are underpaid and overworked...I was removing bittersweet for free as just volunteer without any thanks instead a nasty comment to me about how I was not allowed to remove any bittersweet and save helpless trees been growing 80 years destroyed in 3 years if u dont do anything...this is fine with her and she said or her kid lying worker says to me one reason they dont care about bittersweet is cause it hides the public gardens from being seen by road but bittersweet needs trees to climb and kill so in just a short while that theory no good as the bittersweet will continue to destroy all trees shrubs. To point where if she has her stupid way....the trees and everything will be gone then the bittersweet which climbs and hides garden....will no longer work as all trees shrubs gone will just be a big wad of bittersweet unable to climb and hide garden....she speaks contradictions and her and her staff underpaid and overworked but a volunteer trying to feel good about something cause it's a cancer moving fast and the conservation director is asleep at wheel and has no conservation of woods serious professional to have being paid so much to wreck the value of your own propert... look at small spruce in front of old swimming pool right out in front next to entrance to gigjschool....across street some unknowing homeowner has it almost killed by now a great big tree on their property...either tree will need to be cut or bittersweet will kill it then the tree falls into somebody driving down road....open your eyes...

This park is under-sized. It needs to be expanded. Especially in the warm summer days. The weekends this park will be full to capacity at 10 o'clock. They'll be signs Turning Away people. Sadly some people will wait outside the park all day long. Just standing by the car waiting tell open it up again about 3:30. It'll be full about 4. Don't let some of them back in by 5 and then will be closed at 7. That's on the boat ramp side where I am now. The other side's free and you can imagine how well that packs. It's a very popular place people love to come here. I been coming to this place my whole life. I used to live there the Dairy Queen in Natick. On the pump house side. Be wary they're all pylons you know like telephone poles. Sticking just under the water around the pump house back in the eighteen-hundreds that used to be a dock there. So be really careful if you jump in by the arborvitaes on the side of the pump house. Don't jump too far out or it's going to hurt like hell pulling those old splinters out of your ass. Don't eat the fish here. Manufacturing such as Roxbury. Carpet Factory, Natick Army labs, Harwood baseball company. And about 40 other businesses have contributed to this toxic cesspool. It's heavily and aggressively fished. So the water taste like motor oil. Because of all the bass boats in here for the tournament's. Catch and release. But it's unsafe to eat the fish or to...

Used to go here often as a kid & always loved it. Started coming back recently with my 9 year old son & its his new favorite place to go! We live about 25 mins away in dedham but he asks to go to the lake everyday now. Its the closest, nicest, warmest body of water to do just about any water activity your heart desires. Only $8 to park for the whole day but you can swim, boat, kayak, paddleboard, grill, large fields for playing any game with friends, tons of tables for having a party there, and most of all TONS of space for people. Most public/town beaches are small, and especially during covid, are only allowing residents of their own town to go to them (this sucks because we have NO town beaches in dedham). Nevertheless, Lake Cochituate is the best option for almost anyone within a 45 minute drive since you can easily spend quite a few hours just chilling & grilling here. PRO TIP: If you plan to visit on the weekend (sat or sun) get there as soon as the gates open at 8:30a if possible since the parking lot fills up fast so you don't want to be stuck with a car full of family/stuff & nothing to do. We prefer to go during the week anyway, no issues getting in at just about...