Cochituate State Park

July 31, 2020 Sunny

Lake Cochituate in Natick is visible from the Mass Pike and Route 9, and close to the malls. The busy Route 30 actually divides the lake into two sections. Since it is located in such a dense area, Cochituate State Park is usually very busy on summer weekends. Many days we drove past the gate and saw long lines of cars waiting to get in. This time we went on a sunny Friday afternoon and got in right away.

There is a large barbeque and picnic area beyond the parking lot. It was packed with families enjoying themselves. There’s loud music everywhere. Kids were running around and playing ball, adults were drinking. It was definitely not peace and quiet like some lakes.

Beyond the picnic area is the beach, which is actually quite large and wide considering it’s only a lake. The sand is fine, almost like clay. There was no lifeguard on duty that day, so we saw people swimming outside the boundaries and everywhere.

The water was surprisingly warm. It was not super clear, and there were some pond weeds. Overall it was clean enough, and best of all, the bottom is sandy. The swimming area is large and it drops off gradually, so even outside the boundaries it is shallow enough that the kids can still stand.

The kids had a blast there. They were doing flips, diving, throwing each other into the water, daring each other to swim farther out, all kinds of tricks. After they’ve had enough swimming, they came back on the beach and started digging a tunnel filled with water.

The view is natural, even though the lake is close to the highways and road noise can be heard, along with the loud music from the picnic area. People brought all kinds of floats and tubes to the swimming area, and Cochituate also has boat rentals. We saw paddle boats, kayaks, canoes. They even hold sailing lessons there.

After we dried off, we checked out the boat rentals. We would return one day to do boating.

The beach and picnic areas are large. There are pond weeds in the water. Road noise can be heard. Overall a fun place to hang out.
The beach is sandy. The music is loud. I slap my palm sideways. I wet the whole crowd.
It was kind of busy but there was clay which was cool.
There was a bunch of clay and there was a bunch of floaties and it was really busy but it was fun.