Riverfront Park

When I first moved here in fall 2004, there was a lot of coverage of Riverfront Park in the press. Unfortunately, despite actively trying to locate the park, I was never able to find it! This Saturday, after stopping at The Daily Bagel to pick up some sandwiches (highly recommended!), my husband and I decided to try again to find the park. Since I'm posting this, that tells you we found it. Access is via Commercial Street - there's no parking allowed on Commercial Street, but we had no trouble parking along Boulder Street and were pleased to see there's no parking meter charge on weekends. The park spans from Putnam Street to Commerical Street. Hopefully this information is enough to help anyone else looking for the park...it seems that the city assumes that we all know where it is!

What a beautiful spot. The park was a lush expanse of soft green grass, bordered on one side by the Nashua River and on the other side by railroad tracks. Looking up towards Main Street reveals a classic New England downtown, with brick buildings, Victorian homes, and a forest backdrop. A number of benches are available, but we instead chose to picnic in the grass. I was surprised that despite the perfect weather, our only companions in the park were a mother and her children, who were driving around the paths in PowerWheels. If you go, be sure to wander over the old iron bridge for the best river view. Of note, handicap-accesible restroom facilities are available.

A number of activities are held in the park throughout the year, including free Friday night movies in the summer. Check out the event schedule for more information.

I have contemplated starting a blog such as this for some time now. After finally making it to Riverfront Park (to me, something of an epitome of realizing that Fitchburg truly does have much to offer but that those offerings are sometimes difficult to find), I decided that now was the time to get started. I certainly hope that this blog can begin to serve as a forum for those who want to share why Fitchburg is a great place to live, as well as for those who are considering coming to the area.