Lake Quannapowitt

Best place to live. There is much to watch and places for kids to play or ball with friends. 2 playgrounds and a new Cumberland farms that opened on one side for snacks for runners and children

Very beautiful lake to jog around. I jogged around it staying on the sidewalk and it came to about 3.30miles, it was a nice run next to beautiful scenery.

Great place to visit if you’re really into Pod People.
Features include:
–Souless children pointing and emiting a high pitched shriek as you pass by.
–Lots of white people… like a lot
–Angry stares
–Hypertension!
–Aggressive speed walkers
–One of the old Gods Ganoboreah sleeps below the lake be sure leave an offering of your first born… or the town wont let you leave…
–Be sure to visit the snack shack
–Cursed snack shacks
–Free parking?

Great spot for a stroll on a weekend morning. Lots of space, friendly people, and lots of kid-​friendly play areas. Copious amounts of goose poop and some trash-​strewn areas knock it down a couple stars. Still, I’ll be back soon.

Avoid between January-​March!!! I ran over last weekend to do a lap of the lake. The sidewalks have not been plowed since early January from my vantage point. I was forced to run on the road for the entire loop of the lake. Unfortunate.
I live in nearby Reading, and the town does a much better job at keeping sidewalks plowed, even in this record breaking snow of 2015!

The best «attraction» in Wakefield. It’s so beautiful and peaceful.
A few things to do here I enjoy doing… walking your dog around the lake, running the lake, sun tanning at the band stand, having the kids play on the playground, sitting at the park bench people watching, fishing, canoeing, and playing baseball/​softball at the field.
So many things to do. It definitely brings the community together.

I can’t think of much more to add other than to say that it is probably one of the main reasons we bought our house in Wakefield. I remember coming into town on a Saturday in June and thought that there was a road race of some sort going on but discovered it was just a sunny Saturday!
We love walking our dogs (and yes, we pick up after them and yes, we move them aside so people can get by) around the lake.
And we love the community spirit! There is a gentleman who routinely walks the lake with a bucket and tongs and he picks up litter to keep the lake a nice place to walk. (We always wave and say hello and thanks.)
Also, as a dog owner and walker, it is nice that there are trash cans placed around the lake as well as water fountains at both the top and bottom of the lake. What other people have said is true though — no bathrooms.

We enjoyed our walk around Lake Quannapowitt but here are some pointers: it can be really busy with all the walkers and it is a narrow sized sidewalk for the amount of walkers; only half the lake has a paved waking path that is next to the lake (start by honey dew and turn around and go back at the church) and very sunny in parts. A nice 3 or so mile walk.

The lake is awesome for walking or running on a nice day. There is parking right off the road. Nice area and is safe!

I am in a seriously committed relationship with this lake. I visit it at least once a day — it’s a great 3.2 mile run (or walk, on those lazy days). This summer I’ve taken up just sitting by the lake with a good book. The only down side of that is that it gets super hot and I would love to be able to jump in the water, but don’t want to contract a fungus.

This lake is the perfect distance for somebody trying to get into shape. Around the long way without cutting corners the sidewalk gives you a 3.2 mile trek. If you take the short cuts through the dirt paths it is 2.8 miles via my GPS program on my phone.
The lake is constantly surrounded by beautiful people to remind your fat ass exactly why you are exercising to begin with! Keep up the hotties in yoga pants, sports bras and other skin tight clothing and I will keep running, rollerblading and biking the lake to get myself into shape.
It beats the hell out of acting like a gerbil on an exercise wheel at the gym staring at a spot on the wall with your ipod playing music.

Oh, «the lake,» how I
love to walk ’round you with my
very poopy dogs.
–Haiku review

I thought this was a pretty good lake, calm and peaceful. During the only I visited, I saw quite a few people jogging alongside the lake. The view at night was pretty too.

The lake you say? What is it? Duh only anybody who’s anybody goes to the lake to do the following;
— walk
— run
— bike
— blade
— lay out in the sun
— two playgrounds
— walk dogs
— drive around it
— softball
— whatever else you can think of
It’s a perfect 3.4ish mile (5K) walk and plenty of parking at the designated areas. You know where you started and where you’ll be ending, so it’s an excellent way to time out and judge your cardio workout.

Wonderful two-​mile stretch in one great big circle, like Nascar only instead of race cars you have joggers and moms with strollers and kids with dogs on leashes.
Earlier this year I would make it down for Sunday morning runs. My favorite place to sit is a tall lifeguard chair overlooking the water.

Wakefield IS Lake Quannapowitt. I grew up there, go there all the time, and am taking pictures there on my wedding day. It’s a perfect place for a long walk catching up with a friend, relaxing with a book, having a picnic (the goose poop situation is better than it’s ever been), and people watching. Even the drive around isn’t bad, unless there’s a walk of some sort. Nice to take the long way home if there’s a good song on the radio.
There are lots of events going on spring to fall, and the fireworks are great on the Fourth of July.

Kind of can’t believe I’m reviewing an act of nature but hey, why not?
I love this lake. It’s large and perfect for walking, jogging, etc.
It’s kept very clean and is a popular spot at any time of day/​night. I’ve gone for walks by myself at 10:30/ 11:00 and never felt like I could be in danger.
Also a reunion spot since if you live in a 10 mile radius your bound to bump into at least (and usually more) one person you know. Lots of parking around the lake and a playground for the kids. Nice park also with a gazebo that I see people tanning, reading, playing frisbee, etc at.
Great place to go clear your head, exercise, take a stroll with friends or even have a romantic walk outside.

I will never be able to properly pronounce the name so I just stick to Lake Q! This place is amazing, its beautiful, easy to get to and has something for EVERYONE!
The lake itself is great for walking, or running. There are kayaks and such to rent on hot summer days or you can just hang out by the lake. There is also a wonderful kids playground and port a potties!
so great. Parking is however somewhat of a pain especially when its busy, to avoid this just come on off peak times and you’ll be fine!

I stumbled on Lake Quannapowitt completely by accident yesterday while looking for a Honeydew Donuts. I like their coffee and the dew drops– don’t judge me. Anyway, this lake is gorgeous. It’s perfect for taking a leisurely stroll and daydreaming about owning a sailboat. The next time I come here, it won’t be by accident.

It don’t get 5 stars cuz ya can’t swim in it… well, you can, but let’s just say it’s strongly suggested you don’t.
While people fish in Lake Quannapowitt, I’m only writing about it from the «pretty walk while exercising» point of view. And, it’s truly perfect for that.
The walk around Lake Quannapowitt can be separated into 5 sections:
1. The gentle, scenic side that hugs the lake;
2. The noisier, busier side that does not hug the lake;
3. The North End, near the Wakefield/​Reading Exit on Rt128;
4. The South End, near the center of town.; and,
5. The Business Park (Quannapowitt Parkway)
1. The gentle scenic side that hugs the lake has plenty of parking the whole 1 mile length. Whether walking or jogging, it affords a great view of the lake the whole way and, whichever way you are walking, it ends up at a park. You can walk up and back for a nice 2 mile walk and while most walk AROUND the whole lake, read on to see some reasons why you might not want to…
2. The noiser, busier side is also about 1 mile. This side, however, has a constant stream of cars, trucks and motorcycles with their noise and air pollution. You WILL get blasts of exhaust fumes, both regular and diesel, and it will be just pure irony as you walk by a lovely cemetary. There are also trees overhanging this side, some not too high, and, in spring, and summer, you could find yourself wearing some of those tiny, green, worms that drop from a strand of webbing.
If you like being squished between noisey, fumey vehicles and little, green worms and cemetaries. This side is for you.
3. The North End. There’s a parking lot down here and, before 4pm, some of the best hotdogs on earth at «Freds Franks» from spring to fall. There’s also a Honeydews for water and/​or iced coffee after/​during your walk. There’s a pleasant park down this end, not too big but nice… and a little beach that no one’s actually sunning at. Traffic is continuous but not noisey, or full of fumes.
4. The South End. There’s plenty of parking down here at the church parking lot. There’s also a large park, a playground for kids and a bunch of beachfront usually dotted with geese (but no one suns or swims on it). During seasonable days, there’s usually a slush cart at this end with water, if you need it. This end also allows a decision to take a minor shortcut through a small cemetery and walk along the water’s edge by a ball park and, yet another (very nice) park, (if you’re heading clock-​wise, that is…)
5. The Business Park. You don’t actually walk through buildings… but you walk by a few. The first stretch is a loooong road/​driveway, but then it’s nicely land-​scaped to the left and lake beach and scrub to the right. This area is ideal for fishing and is very nice during the day, however, personally, I would not recommend people walking through here at night. Even if it’s lightly lit, it’s the perfect place for weirdos to lurk.
Remember, the scenic side is the best side and you can get a good 2 mile walk if you start at the parking lot on either the south or north end, and then just turn back once you reach the opposite side. It’s up to you.
The last thing I’d say is to probably avoid going at high-​noon. There’s not much cover from the sun. And, if you like the feel of walking around with all kinds of people and pets and bikers and so on, you’ll want to go right after dinnertime. lots of people walk the lake around 6pm-​ish on nice nights.
Happy Walking!