Now’s a great time to plan your summer getaway to the Birthplace of American Liberty with the finest accommodations here at the Inn at Hastings Park!
Lexington, Massachusetts in summertime is a wonderful place to be indeed, with plenty of outdoor activities at your fingertips and the ideal warm weather and sumptuously long days for checking out the area’s rich spread of historical sites—including some of the best-known in the United States. Come take advantage of our boutique-luxury hospitality while enjoying to the fullest everything the season has to offer.
Outdoor Recreation & Golf
In Lexington and its surrounds, destinations for outdoor recreation often do double-time as historical sites. Take, for example, Walden Pond State Reservation, intrinsically associated with Henry David Thoreau and his immortal tract Walden. That philosophical text sprang from Thoreau’s time residing in the woods close to the pond in question: a kettle lake, formed by the melting of buried glacial ice blocks left behind as the last Pleistocene continental ice sheet retreated from the area some 10,000 years ago. The deepest freshwater lake in the state, in fact, Walden Pond is gorgeous and serene year-round, not least with its fringing forest in full summertime verdure.
Visit the spot of Thoreau’s house site and see a replica of his cabin, visit the LEED-certified Visitor Center with its engrossing exhibits on natural history and Walden Pond’s most famous wordsmith, and wander such trails as the Woods Path, the Pond Path, the Hemlock Path, and the Emerson’s Cliff Trail.
Although it’s owned by the Town of Arlington, all the 183-odd acres of Arlington’s Great Meadows fall within Lexington’s bounds, and it’s another great place for getting some scenery-spiked exercise.
Many other municipal, county, state, and federal public lands await your exploration within easy day-tripping reach of your Inn at Hastings Park guestroom or suite, including the walking and cycling routes of Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge—a birdwatcher’s paradise—and the nearly 60 miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails weaving through the pond-studded Harold Parker State Forest.
Golfers, meanwhile, have plenty to occupy them in the vicinity, including the courses at Pine Meadows Golf Club and Stone Meadow Golf.
Historical Sites
This year is the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord that, on April 19, 1775, opened the American Revolutionary War. There’s no better excuse to take in the remarkable historical sites in and around the Birthplace of American Liberty, many of them showcased within Minute Man National Historical Park. From Lexington Battle Green and Concord’s Old North Bridge to Ye Olde Burying Ground, where the most venerable gravestones date to 1690, there’s a lot to dig into.
Along with exploring the numerous 250th-anniversary happenings we have planned, consider taking advantage of our always-available Footsteps of the Revolution Historical Tour of Lexington & Concord, which visits many of these momentous sites and elucidates their significance.
Book Your Summer Stay at the Inn at Hastings Park
From the lapping shores of Walden Pond to the Minuteman Statue at Lexington Battle Green, savor a summer getaway full of natural beauty, historical reflection, and good old-fashioned fresh air with a home base at the Inn at Hastings Park!
