Museums
Davis Museum and Cultural Center
No admission feeFree art museum on the Wellesley College campus with rotating exhibitions and public tours.
Photo: Sculptor Martin Milmore (1844-1883); photograph by Daderot., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sports & OutdoorsLocal GemDate Night
The Garden at Elm Bank
Stroll the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's display gardens on a former Charles River estate, with seasonal plantings and a botanical art exhibit.
900 Washington Street (Route 16), Wellesley, MA 02482 · Wellesley, MA
About The Garden at Elm Bank
The Garden at Elm Bank is the home of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which leases 36 acres of the 175-acre Elm Bank Reservation on the Charles River. The land was a private estate whose gardens the Olmsted Brothers firm helped plan in the early 1900s. Today paved and crushed-stone paths lead past seasonal display gardens, and exhibits such as botanical art fill the Education Building. Pay at the gatehouse when you arrive. There is no cafe, but small picnics are welcome, while dogs and bikes are not allowed.
- #botanical garden
- #gardens
- #picnic
- #historic estate
- #charles river
What's around here?
The closest stops to The Garden at Elm Bank, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- AttractionsDate Night
Level99
$25–$50Adults-only arcade of 50+ life-sized physical and mental challenge games, plus a full bar and restaurant.
Transit: reachable by public transit
2.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
- ShoppingRainy-Day Pick
Natick Mall
No admission feeShop Nordstrom and Macy's, then try Level99 or Dave & Buster's at a two-level mall in the Golden Triangle west of Boston.
4.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
- Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure
Cutler Park Reservation
No admission feeWalk the 1.5-mile Kendrick Pond loop and boardwalks through the biggest freshwater marsh on the middle Charles River, watching for herons.
5.0 mi awayMore like this
- Sports & OutdoorsLocal Gem
Hammond Pond Reservation
No admission feeHike wooded trails around a pond just west of Boston and try climbing on the reservation's puddingstone rock outcrops.
7.3 mi awayMore like this
- Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor Adventure
Garden in the Woods
Under $25Walk winding paths past more than 1,000 kinds of New England wildflowers, ferns and shrubs in a glacier-carved woodland garden west of Boston.
7.8 mi awayMore like this
