alan e. rich environmental park

As I walked along the nicely mowed trails through the grassy areas with my parents, who are in their mid- seventies, I felt this was a magical place I could still enjoy nature and my parents all in one. Thank you sooooo much!!!!!

My daughter Andrea and I call this Park Heaven. We love the short trails, the beauty, the birds and forestry/landscape. I walk it 4-5 days a week. It is my Zen time, peaceful, well groomed.Athol has quite a few hidden treasures, this is among some of them. Athol also has some very historical culture, that not many are aware of. The native American history is fascinating .Bring your camera, you may find your self looking into the eyes of a Yellow Belly Sap-Sucker. Many interesting lil creatures including dragon fly and praying mantis.

not your usual park. Only about 3 or 4 acres in the heart of Athol that looks at first like a wasteland until you realize that it's an environmental park with naturally occurring flora and is really well maintainrd by volunteers.. a few picnic tables and access to the Miller's River for canoeing or viewing are added attractions.

This park is at the junction of the Millers and Tully Rivers. There are trails through meadows and wetlands. The people that created this park have chosen to leave the landscape as found, instead of bulldozing it, and creating some Olmsted vision of what a bucolic landscape should look like. The result is that there are a lot of native species and ecosystems in the park, right in the center of Athol.This park is located at the Main St. Bridge. There is parking at the trail head. For GPS directions, use the address "1 Main St., Athol, MA".

Small park but it is on the rivers edge and easy access to kayaking and canoing. Near the downtown area so a nice stroll to a local store or for something to eat is easy.

The Alan E. Rich Environmental Park provides an unusual natural area right near the downtown of Athol, Mass., which has about 11,000 people. I like the way this park offers an easy grassy trail through meadows with varied plants and turtles and birds, a fairly large river (the Millers) known for its dragonfly population and trout, and a big sky to look at, too. A volunteer who works in the park wrote this: "Athol is one of only a very few New England communities with varied wild habitats within the actual center of the community. The Cass Meadow complex enclosing the Millers River and the Tully River offers a varied and complete nature experience right on the Main Street of Athol. The Rich Park is the gate to this invaluable gift. The folks laboring week in and week out have maintained a vision of native New England plantings with a splash of decorative annuals transitioning from the busy highway. With steady support of the town Dept. of Public Works and the Town Hall this project evolved and intensified with a minimum of public dollars." I

It's nice, but could benefit from some TLC and some creativity. It simply is a boat launch and area to stand around in, maybe do some bird watching. I think with a little gardening, some benches for seating it could be very attractive to visitors.