Fruitlands Museum WinterFest Weekends

Sledding, Nordic skiing, and art at Fruitlands Museum, in Harvard, Massachusetts

Fruitlands Museum's hills and trails are opent to hardy souls of all ages eager to bundle up and play in nature.

Fruitlands Museum’s hills and trails are opent to hardy souls of all ages eager to bundle up and play in nature.
Photograph courtesy of Fruitlands Museum

Fruitlands Museum’s picturesque winterscape
Photograph courtesy of Fruitlands Museum

WinterFest Weekends offer fun for the whole family.

WinterFest Weekends offer fun for the whole family.
Photograph courtesy of Fruitlands Museum

Miles of trails are open for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.

Miles of trails are open for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.
Photograph courtesy of Fruitlands Museum

Fruitlands Museum

Weekend in January and February, noon - 5 P.M. 

Fruitlands Museum, well-known as the site of an historic utopian experiment, also has an ideal wintertime draw—the “OMG!” hill. Its steep pitch is a thrill for kids and adults alike who sled during the museum’s WinterFest Weekends (snow permitting). More manageable for the little ones and those less bent on an adrenaline rush are the bunny slopes and five trail loops for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing through woodlands and open fields. The 210-acre Harvard, Massachusetts, property offers views of full-blown sunsets, the western side of Mount Wachusett, the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, and the Nashua River Valley. The museum’s cluster of historic structures—the farmhouse where Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane led their idiosyncratic community in 1843, The Shaker Museum, and The Native American Museum—are closed for the season (they will reopen April 15), but hot chocolate is served at the visitor center during WinterFest Weekends, and there’s a wood-burning fire pit outside. The adjacent Art Museum will also have on display, through March 26, an exhibit of landscapes in Hidden Hudson: Paintings from the Permanent Collection, in addition to selections from its other holdings on art related to the Transcendentalists, Shakers, and Native Americans. The two buildings and the grounds will be open on weekends regardless of whether there is enough snow for sledding and skiing, but if inclement weather precludes traveling or outside activities, WinterFest Weekends will be canceled. Visitors can check the museum’s website before venturing out.

Read more articles by Nell Porter-Brown

You might also like

What of the Humble Pencil?

Review: At the Harvard Art Museums’ new exhibit, drawing takes center stage

This Connecticut Mine Was Once a Prison

The underground Old New-Gate Prison quickly became “a school for crime.”

Harvard Film Archive Spotlights Japanese Director Mikio Naruse

A retrospective of the filmmaker’s works, from Floating Clouds to Flowing

Most popular

Is the Constitution Broken?

Harvard legal scholars debate the state of our founding national document.

Paolo Pasco and the art of making crosswords

Paolo Pasco and the art of making crosswords

Harvard Research Funding Will Resume, Government Signals

Notices of grant reinstatements follow a court ruling, but the Trump administration could still appeal. 

Explore More From Current Issue

Two people moving large abstract painting with blue V-shaped design in museum courtyard.

A Harvard Art Museums Painting Gets a Bath

Water and sunlight help restore a modern American classic.

Student walking under bright stage lights shaped like smartphones displaying social media apps.

Two Years of Doxxing at Harvard

What happens when students are publicly named and shamed for their views?

Illustrated world map showing people connected across countries with icons for ideas, research, and communication.

Why Harvard Needs International Students

An ed school professor on why global challenges demand global experiences