Discover 10 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Canton (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Blue Hills Ski Area, Canton Viaduct, and Blue Hills Reservation. Also, be sure to include Signal Hill in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Canton (Massachusetts).
Table of Contents
Blue Hills Ski Area
Ski area in Canton, Massachusetts. Blue Hills Ski Area is located on the western face of Great Blue Hill in Canton, Massachusetts. This land is part of the Blue Hills Reservation, a state park managed by the DCR.
Blue Hills has eight trails covering a vertical drop of 309 feet (94 m). The summit is served by a double chairlift, while the beginner area has three magic carpet lifts. There is a lodge with food service, restrooms, ski patrol and a small equipment shop. A separate building serves as a rental outlet with locker storage. The hill is popular with high school ski teams, and often hosts races on Big Blue.
The ski area was founded in 1949 after the Metropolitan District Commission received $65,000 for developing a ski area on Great Blue Hill. The area officially opened in 1950 with various additions and improvements throughout the subsequent decades.
While the land and many of the improvements are owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the management of the area has historically been leased out to a variety of operators. The 2006–2007 season is the 6th year of a 6-year "lease" to the people (Mr. Al Endriunas) who own and operate Ragged Mountain Resort in New Hampshire. In 2007, the management of Campgaw Mountain, located in Northern, New Jersey started a 5-year lease.
While the lift line ("Beer's Bluff" named for two brothers, Stuart and Stanley Beers, who managed the ski area from the late '60s through the mid '80s) is listed on the trail map, it is currently not maintained for skiing. There has been talk that the trail would be cut for the 2008–2009 season, but the trail remains untouched. This reduces the total skiable trails to 7.
In the early 1960s the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC, now the DCR) operated the ski area. There were only two lifts, both rope tows, one on the main slope and one on the "bunny" slope. During that time the lift ticket cost $0.50 a day. In approximately 1965 the area was leased to an outside company called Larchmont Engineering who constructed a chair lift and installed snow-making on the main slope and the bunny slope. Larchmont was an early innovator in the snow-making business and experimented with various hose and gun/nozzle designs on the mountain.
In February 1969 the area was hit with three 2+ ft snow storms, each a week apart. The snow was so deep that skiing down the "face" of Big Blue (the side facing Route 128) was possible.
Trails:
Beginner: 1
Intermediate: 2
Expert: 5[1]
Address: 4001 Washington St, 02021-1041 Canton (Milton)
Canton Viaduct
Viaduct in Canton, Massachusetts. Canton Viaduct is a blind arcade cavity wall railroad viaduct in Canton, Massachusetts, built in 1834–35 for the Boston and Providence Railroad.
At its completion, it was the longest (615 ft) and tallest (70 ft) railroad viaduct in the world; today, it is the last surviving viaduct of its kind. It has been in continuous service for 186 years; it now carries high-speed passenger and freight rail service.
The Canton Viaduct's walls are similar to the ancient curtain wall of Rhodes (built about 400 BCE) with rusticated stone. It supports a train deck about 60 feet (18 m) above the Canton River, the east branch (tributary) of the Neponset River. The stream pool passes through six semi-circular portals in the viaduct, flowing to a waterfall about 50 feet (15 m) downstream.
The viaduct was the final link built for the B&P's then 41-mile (66 km) mainline between Boston, Massachusetts; and Providence, Rhode Island. Today, the viaduct serves Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, as well as Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Providence/Stoughton Line commuter trains. It sits 0.3 miles (0.5 km) south of Canton Junction, at milepost 213.74, reckoned from Pennsylvania Station in New York City, and at the MBTA's milepost 15.35, reckoned from South Station in Boston.[2]
Blue Hills Reservation
State park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Blue Hills Reservation is a 7,000-acre state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it covers parts of Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedham. Located approximately ten miles south of downtown Boston, the reservation is one of the largest parcels of undeveloped conservation land within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The park's varied terrain and scenic views make it a popular destination for hikers from the Boston area.[3]
Address: 4001 Washington St, Canton (Milton)
Signal Hill
Signal Hill is a 150-acre open space preserve located in Canton, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts; it is centered on a 188-foot rocky knoll by the same name. The property, acquired in 2005 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, offers frontage on the Neponset River and views of Great Blue Hill and Downtown Boston from open ledges. The Signal Hill preserve also includes wetlands, open fields, and a car-top boating access point.
Signal Hill was once a seasonal camp for paleo-Americans who settled the Neponset River Valley after the last glacial retreat. It is currently abutted by Interstate 95 as well as industrial and suburban land to the east, and river floodplain to the west. The preserve is open to non-motorized carry-in boating, hiking, picnicking, fishing, and similar pursuits. A trailhead for the 1.3 mile trail system is located on University Road in Canton.[4]
Address: University drive, Canton (Norwood)
Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
The Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate is a nonprofit country house and garden ground museum in Canton, Massachusetts. It is operated by The Trustees of Reservations. The grounds are open every day, sunrise to sunset, without charge.[5]
Address: 2468 Washington St, 02021-1124 Canton (Canton)
Irish Cultural Center
Library
Address: 200 New Boston Dr, Canton (Canton)
Cobb's Tavern
Building in Sharon, Massachusetts. Cobb's Tavern is a historic colonial tavern building in Sharon, Massachusetts. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame building, with brick end walls, a central chimney, and a pair of chimneys near the left wall. A single-story porch extends across the building's rightmost five bays. The original part of the house was built c. 1740, and is known to have served as a tavern for most of the 19th century. It also housed the East Sharon Post Office between 1817 and 1895. It is now a private residence.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[6]
Brookwood Farm
Building. Brookwood Farm is a historic farm on Blue Hill River Road in Canton, Massachusetts. Some of its fields, but none of the buildings, are in Milton. It is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.[7]
Redman Farm House
Building in Canton, Massachusetts. The Redman Farm House is a historic house in Canton, Massachusetts. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, five bays wide, with a side-gable roof, end chimneys, and clapboard siding. The house was built in 1795, and is one Canton's few surviving 18th-century houses. It stands on land that was deeded to Robert Redman in 1722 by the local Native Americans.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, where it is incorrectly listed as being at the corner of Washington St. and Homans Lane.[8]
Canton Public Library MA
Library
Address: 786 Washington Street, Canton (Canton)