Menotomy Rocks Park

Unilocal reviews led me astray.
Good park if you’re just looking for a picnic spot and you live 5 min away. Or if you’re in highschool and want to drink.
Bad park if you have an active and driving to the Fells takes less time. Not really dog friendly at all, even though the Unilocal reviews say so. There are big «NO SWIMMING» signs everywhere. Dogs need to be leashed in the woods. It’s REALLY small and you can hear traffic.

Great spot– small pond with pretty stone steps that go up to edge of the water, a playground, small field, and a few hilly pine needle trails in the wooded area.

This park is great. It’s got large open fields, a pretty pond, picnic tables and benches, playground area, and trails. There’s a trail that goes around the pond as well as various trails in the woods. Yes, I said woods. It’s not your typical park! The woods have wide trails tucked between very tall trees and it’s quite beautiful and scenic.
The entrance to the park is on Jason Street (you could easily miss it!), and the park is out of sight and hidden away, so when you’re there you feel like you’re no longer in a city-​ish place like Arlington.

This park makes us happy.
Great spot to bring your dog, and I’ve found most dogs are well behaved. Sooooo quiet despite being tight w/​mass ave and the deuce. BEAUTIFUL when the sun is setting… try getting some photos of reflections on the pond. There’s some nice hiking trails in the back as well amongst the rocks. My wife and I have been here 10 times now in the past 8 months and will continue to come back.

I adore this park. It’s not too big, but it’s serene and there is always someone friendly to talk to walking about. We go walking here and play with other peoples dogs occasionally. The lake in the middle is just really pretty, and the trails are easy going if you want an easy stroll.

What the babyface? This park just popped up and was all, «Hey, I’ve been waiting. What’s taken you so long?»
Big ups to the ladyfriend for pointing out this on-​leash, waterside, trail-​loaded bundle of escapist joy. Wide open parks for playing fetch (yes, most peeps think their pup is perfectly mannered, so expect off-​leash antics), picnic tables, rock faces for bouldering or Little People, Big World belay practice and a sweet lake sporting — GASP! — cattails. Cattails, people!
At five or six spots around the aquatic perimeter, stone steps take you down to the water, which is boring in the warmer months, but come (oh I don’t know) January, it’s positions you perfectly to grab a paper thin piece of slowly forming ice to chuck along a thicker patch, thus creating that tympanic theremin sound nobody can describe but everyone knows.
I love the proximity to Mass Ave and Route 2 without feeling like it’s near either. I love the broken down Vita Course stations that are now just decomposing, wooden posts and I love whizzing stale bread through cattail stalks, sending poofs of velvety fibers exploding in to the crisp air, only to send the damaged crust gliding gracefully across way-​too-​thin ice to live its bird-​attracting life at the center of the lake.
Oh Arlington, the things you do.

I almost want to give this a bad rating so that others aren’t encouraged to populate the park. This is the best kept secret in Arlington. It does take a while to find an entrance and figure out the many paths available to walk on. If you find the swing, you’re in heaven and feel like you’re far away from earthly concerns. A great weekend walking place. Enjoy.

What a great little park! I had NO idea it was here. Like my friend Emily D. said, it is literally hidden. The entrance we found was inconspicuously located in a residential neighborhood with almost no signage. You find street parking and walk on in.
We visited the park one afternoon this past summer for a picnic with friends. There are a few picnic tables near the playground. There’s also a few trails and a pond.
We did see what looked to be a rabid raccoon there wandering around the edge of the wooded area. Someone contacted animal control and when we were leaving, we passed an officer carrying a rifle! No idea what actually happened after that, but you can come up with a conclusion…
Anyhoo, I’d visit again. Good place to remember next time we want to picnic!

Top notch park in Arlington, used to go drinking here at night in high school.

What a hidden gem in Arlington. Literally. it was hidden. Took us about 10 minutes to figure out the entrance to the park when we were driving around. When we finally found it, we were so happy! The park is really clean and so many trails to walk and enjoy nature.
We came here for a picnic with friends and we got together in this big field. It had 2 picnic tables. We were lucky to get the tables because they were the only 2 there.
If you love dogs this is the place to be. I guess this a popular dog walking park and they have so much room to run and play.
It’s also great for kids. There’s a little playground next to the field. You can have a picnic and let the kids let off some energy.
We didn’t get to walk around much of the park but it looks pretty big from what we saw. Only downside is that there isn’t much parking.

A nice place for a walk or a picnic. A quiet tranquil escape if you live nearby. I have had many picnics in the evening, cup of coffee in the afternoon and the occasional muffin and coffee breakfast here. We came here with the kids from kindergarten up through 12^th grade, now that the kids are gone we still come here. The trail is short so I can get in a quick walk at lunch.
For me of the reasons the park is so pleasant, is that there is a lot to see and do at the park, rocks, birds, turtles, and water.
The parents seem to be a nice group who keep their kids involved in the park so there is very little screaming, fighting, or temper tantrums.
A 4 not a 5 because you need to be prepared to let dogs jump on you or get lectured for being psychotic for not wanting a strange dog jumping and sniffing. But it’s usually OK because most of the dog walkers keep their dogs leashed. It’s an awfully small park to let dogs run loose in.
I guess one of the reasons I like Menotomy is that most of the people, include the dog walkers (who can be problematical if you don’t won a dog) are pleasant and considerate.

Beautiful little park in the middle of Arlington! Would never have known it was there were it not for Unilocal.Lovely pond that had a pair of swans in it the first time I visited it. The path around the pond is a perfect little walk for a little dog, and there are other dogs who seem to love it as well. Definitely a hidden gem.

It used to be a 5 but that’s before Arlington started getting the yuppie overflow from Cambridge. I grew up skating on the pond, and hiking on the hills. As I got older I joined in the time honored tradition of drinking in the park on the weekends.
I had a totally psychotic fox terrier and the only way to calm her down was to let her run wild on the trails.
Now you go there and some yuppie with Birkenstocks and a walking stick comes up and starts berating me @ my 19 lb. dog running loose. Of course I pick up the poop, but at that moment I was contemplating feeding it to my new neighbor.
I’ll still go there, as it is beautiful and if the dog officer approaches, my name is Madonna Ciccone.

This has become my new park to go to when I want to get out with the husband/​baby/​dog. It’s so peaceful here and the people are always friendly.
There’s a small pond in the middle that’s perfect for dogs swimming or people fishing. There’s a couple open fields for a game of frisbee or fetch.
In the back corner you can find a small playground that’s often in the shade from all the surrounding trees. Picnic tables are around it, perfect for a lunchtime escape.
Behind it all are paths for a leisurely walk or hike. Just typing this review makes me wish I were there instead of home on my couch, but with the rain coming the visit will just have to wait until tomorrow!

Marc H. was right. There are some silly owners who choose not to leash their dogs, so they end up jumping on you and messing with your puppy if you have one who is acting all obedient on a leash and is getting assaulted.
The trails are not so clear, but anyone can make take a few turns and find their way back to the lake. It is rather pretty set against the green openness. Can’t wait to visit more often during the summer!

Menotomy Rocks is my new favorite park in Arlington, nay, in the Boston area! Echos of laughter from happy kiddos bounce from the walls of the nice little valley Menotomy Rocks Park is settled in. Trees line the borders, and giant boulders dot the park. There’s a flat walking path that leads you around the lake then off into the woods, where it becomes a little less flat, but still easy to stroll on.
It also doubles as a dog park, and all of the poochies we saw were having a blast cavorting in the soft, muddy field. The playground is located all the way to the far left of the park, and parking is on the street. When the leaves bud out, I have a feeling this will be an awesome shady place to hang out during hot summer months.

A peaceful oasis in the heart of residential Arlington. The park is about 40 acres in size so it’s not huge, but it is big enough to feel like you’re really away from it all (especially in the woods on the far side from Jason Street). The pond is very scenic and there are enough hills to make the terrain interesting. I dock Menotomy one star mainly because there are too many chuckleheads who think they are above the law when it comes to leash laws, and assume that others won’t have a problem with having their dog jump on them after swimming in the water. The dogs definitely aren’t the problem – it’s their dimwitted owners – but granted it has gotten a little better of late, especially after a number of complaints. So maybe I can kick this back up to five stars at some point…

Menotomy Rocks is truly a hidden gem in Boston! Close to the city via Route 2…/128. it is in Arlington. Its in a nice neighborhood of old homes and victorian style architecture. Its a hilly area of the town. and quiet neigbborhoods, not far from downtown Arlington. It doesn’t look like much from the entrance but if you explore a little you will find a nice place to walk your dog and a large park/​pond and walking trails.
lots of dog walkers here for dog lovers. This park is also great for bird watchers. — Enjoy Nature here at Menotomy Rocks Park, the Park that truly ROCKS!

I used to live down the street from this place on Bartlett Avenue. The bass fishing is great in the pond. Also, let your dogs run free here and they will have a ball up in the hills. If you can get away with it its also a nice place to drink or do other things at night.

I drove by this park every day for over a year without ever knowing it was there. From the street, it looks like a lone field big enough to play frisbee. When you walk in, you’ll find a lot more than just one field. There’s a beautiful pond where you can fish or walk around beneath a canopy of trees, several larger fields with picnic areas and a playground in the back, and a huge hill perfect for hiking, jogging or just walking your dogs. Pit stops are also strategically placed all over the park for circuit training, sharing a meal with friends or just lounging on a bench. It also gets five stars cause it’s fun to say Menotomy ROCKS!
Arlington residents can reserve a picnic area for $ 30 for 3 hours. Non-​residents can do so for $ 60.