Nothing is more magical than Crane Beach in the winter time! Bring the whole family out to celebrate the season at Crane Beach. Enjoy the serene winter landscape of one of New England’s most treasured coastal destinations while enjoying the band and a hot beverage around a warm glowing fire. Cap off the evening with a visit to the Beach Store for your favorite gear and a star-soaked view of Crane Beach after sunset!
For children ages 2 to 5 with their adult caregivers, Michelle Guverndiren, will provide instruction to make slime! This is a great STEM and sensory project.
While just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less explored world unto themselves. Offering one of the most accessible dune ecosystems north of Cape Cod, Castle Neck has over six miles of trails, traversing the dunes, maritime scrub forest, and beautiful beaches on both the Ipswich Bay and Essex/Castle Neck River estuary sides of the peninsula. These trails take you through Pitch Pine forests, up huge dunes offering stunning views of Choate Island, and by the varied landscapes of Castle Neck, including naturally occurring cranberry bogs.
Explore the beach and discover treasures washed up by winter waves. Piece together clues to learn what is living under the sand and below the water line. We will use field guides to identify shells, egg cases, seaweed and more to tell the story of what creatures are using the winter beach. After a beach walk, we will bring some treasures back to The Casino at Castle Hill to learn more about our beach finds over hot chocolate.
Join us for a fun-filled evening of creativity and laughter! Our Wreath Decorating Parties take place in our heated greenhouse. Included in the ticket price is a 12" wreath, fresh greens, berries, ribbon, wire, and various decorative items to adorn your wreath. Sizes of wreaths may be upgraded upon ticket purchase for an additional cost.
As part of COASTSWEEP Beach Cleanup, volunteers are encouraged to come to Crane Wildlife Refuge on the Crane Estate to help in the statewide effort to keep our coastline clean along the shore in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Trash collected will be measured and analyzed, and the data will be sent to Washington DC to aid the government in creating legislation to minimize trash in our oceans!
Vehicle Day and Hot Dog Picnic will be on July 29 from 10 a.m. to noon. Police cars, fire trucks, construction vehicles and much more, in the parking lot of the Ascension Memorial Church. The Hot Dog Picnic is on the front lawn of the library. The Boston Bruins have teamed up with libraries across the Commonwealth to encourage kids and teens to keep reading over the summer. Bruins mascot Blades will visit Vehicle Day.
Join us for a cruise in Essex Bay aboard our pontoon boat the Osprey! We’ll view the seldom seen backside of the Crane Wildlife Refuge and take a turn around Choate Island to view the open fields, wooded hillside and historic structures from the water while hearing stories and learning fun facts about the area from our veteran riverboat captains.
Join Appleton Farms for their Summer Concert Series at Appleton Farms! Join us on Saturdays this July and August for live music from local artists and bands during our Farmhouse picnics. Grab some food made fresh in the farmhouse kitchen and a spot on the lawn while enjoying the some free tunes.
The Notch Traveling Biergarten is stopping by Castle Hill. Enjoy a tasty session beer while taking in the magnificent views from the Grand Allee. Bring a picnic lunch or grab a bite from onsite vendor Empanada Dada. A limited number of picnic tables will be available. Picnic blankets and lawn chairs are welcome. Interested? Simply make advance Castle Hill general admission reservations. No separate ticketing required.
