Mass Audubon's Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary — Attraction in Natick

Beautiful oasis of accessible nature close to the city. Just about 7 minutes down the road from Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley, and 5 past Natick Falls which is also nice enough to say it is a must stop to get out and see, walk, or picnic. A bit of live music may be playing on the library hill and Charles River Coffee is a great place for refreshment or the adjacent hot dog and ice cream stand (that operates on a unique schedule that is unclear)

There's other lical stops in areas including a ridiculously expensive apple orchard /restaraunt but to the point - Broadmoor!

I'd say this is more geared towards a leisurely stroll with plenty of terrain changes from wooden walkways and bridges over water, rocky areas, clear forest surface areas where you aren't pushing fallen trees and branches aside, though there's plenty of areas where you can in you like!

Little streams and of course the start of the Charles and feeding Natick Falls. Nice benches to sit at along the way. Surprisingly few bugs, likely due to the absurd abundance of wildlife competing for full bellies. Turtles everywhere, frogs, birds one doesn't typically see, unique plants one seldom or has never seen. Tracks galore. Quiet, no cars humming by. You can walk for miles and connect with other trails past an apple orchard off property or go in a loop. There's a few waterfalls and bodies or water. One us amidst the remains of an old mill building and other foundations and evidence of man's use of the natural resources here, both pre- and post-Columbian exist if you look and know what to look for - or just use your imagination.

Your personal space is never imposed upon, plenty of room here. Great low price for a date, picnic, stroll with kids and they can run around, free parking and I thing I'd you have an EBT card there's a program that allows you to go for free (I'd call first). Between this and the aforementioned places just get on rte 16 and go west and these delightful places will make for a lovely full-day flowering spring-day, shaded summer cooldown, and/or a blow-your-mind enchanting and romantic fall adventure. As always, Rock On!

My scale: *Suuuuuuuuckkkssss **Place cannot even meet reasonable expectations *Was what it was expected, nothing worth writing home about either way **Consistently Pleasantly surprised and would recommend *Exceeds my, and any reasonable persons expectations. Walk away feeling awesome.

(Lots of wonderful places only get 4 stars from me, they may be 5 stars by most, but I don't just throw 5 stars around as a standard if a place was good - if I give you 5 it's...

This is a beautiful nature bird sanctuary near the Charles River in Natick, Massachusetts. It's a great place to bring young children for a morning walk. The trails are extensive but all gentle and easily handled by young legs (although I do have to carry from time to time).

Wildlife sighting will vary by time off year and time of day. We usually go mid-morning and will always see turtles and ducks. On good days we've seen a blue heron, lots of swallows, numerous songbirds, swans, and a red-tailed hawk. We've also seen snakes, deer, and what I think was an otter.

The visitor center has a small gift shop and restrooms, but not much else. There's a small room which sometimes has pictures or other artwork, but I think it's used more extensively for programs put on by the Mass. Audobon Society.

We are members, so entry is free (or more precisely, already paid for). It's $5 for adults, $4 for kids. A family of four would only need to go three times to make membership...

We took someone frail with mobility issues to this site. Although there is a handicapped parking spot, getting from the parking lot to the admission building required walking a sloped gravel path, which was a challenge for this person. However, we were able to borrow a wheelchair equipped with rugged wheels (like for a mountain bike) and take this person on the short accessible path through the woods and along the lily pond. Someone more hardy could go further, if they don't mind bumps as they go over tree roots.

We came back and walked several paths, through woods, to the Charles River, and by fields. We saw plenty of wildlife: a turtle, a frog, a deer, wild turkeys, other birds, squirrels,...