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.
It’s apple season in New England and we’re honoring this favorite crop in our farm kitchen! We’ll prepare a complete menu including both sweet & savory dishes using apples sourced from local orchards, with recipes such as Apple, Onion, & Cheddar Tart, Brick Chicken with Roasted Apples, Sage, & Cider Pan Gravy, Sweet & Sour Braised Red Cabbage with Apples, Caramel Apple Bread Pudding.
Run, swim and bike a YMCA sponsored triathlon at Crane Beach in Ipswich Massachusetts! The course is a ½ mile ocean swim followed by a 2 mile beach run consisting of varied terrrain (sand, rocks, grass, pavement, and trails) and a 9 mile bike ride finishing back at Crane Beach.
For the first time, the The Trustees of Reservations will open the Great House at Castle Hill for tours on Patriots Day. Grab the family and take the Guest of the Cranes tour on the hour and our roof tour, Cupola with a View, at 11:30 AM and 1:30PM. Unique gifts are available at our gift shop with 10% off for Trustees members. Last tour of the day is at 3PM.
Children ages 4-kindergarten are invited to join story time to listen to age-appropriate stories, participate in creative activities, and crafts. Children attend independently. No registration is required.
Join this book club for second graders if you love to read and talk about stories! Based on the Great Books format, but geared explicitly for young readers, group members will read a story in advance of each month's meeting and participate in a group discussion of the story.
