15 Best Things to Do in Leicester (MA)
West of Worcester, Leicester is a city at the northern tip of the Blackstone Valley with an impressive industrial history. Since the early days of the American Industrial Revolution, Leicester has been a center of card manufacturing. A card was a tool used to loosen cotton fibers before spinning them into yarn. By the early 19th century, Lester was responsible for one-third of all hand and mechanical charts made in North America. Today, Leicester is a rural suburb of Worcester, home to several family farms and an elegant old center, part of Becker University. In the disc golf community, Leicester is known for its two great 18-hole courses located on the same road along Maple Street. 1. Hot Dog Annie’s At the time of this writing, this hot dog stand at 244 Paxton Street was 70 years old. The hallmark of a good fast-food restaurant is the simplicity of its menu. Hot Dog Annie’s does just that. Your choices are simply hot dogs, burgers, old-fashioned cream sodas and root beer, and chocolate milk. You must order the BBQ sauce made from our secret recipe for your dog. At the end of the parking lot is a cozy outdoor dining area with picnic tables, flowers in planters, and ample shade. Come on Wednesday and get 4 hot dogs at a special price. 2. Disc Golf Leicester has two acclaimed disc golf courses along Marshall Street. Maple Hill (132 Marshall St) is open year-round, except when it’s snowing. This is a technical championship course designed over a variety of habitats including open fields, forests, and ponds. This truck dates back to his 2002 and features 4 sets of baskets. Nearby is the Pyramid (103 Marshall St), with 18 holes mostly in the woods, although the fairways are relatively open. Founded in 1988 with his two sets of baskets, Pyramid is known for its excellent store, also known as the Marshall Street Disc Golf Pro Shop. 3. Cooper’s Hilltop Farm Dating back to 1918, this fourth-generation dairy farm is located in the lush hillsides of Leicester’s Rochdale area. Cooper’s Hilltop Farm spent his early decades in wholesale and supply, and he finally opened his shop to the public in the 1950s. The facility is housed in a play-roofed barn built in the 1930s as a facility to pasteurize the farm’s milk. Milk is still a staple here, pasteurized and homogenized right behind the shop. Whole milk, low-fat milk, and skim milk are available, as well as flavored milk, light cream, and heavy cream. The farm also sells homemade bread, eggs, and pasture-raised meats like beef, pork, and chicken, as well as a range of locally made artisanal products, from pastries to gourmet cheeses. 4. Leicester Country Club Known as one of the best public courses in the Worcester area, Leicester Country Club has made many improvements in recent years, including better drainage to ensure better playing conditions. The challenges on this track are quite varied and require you to use every club in your bag. A notable hole is his 8th, a short dogleg right par 4 with flow and a difficult uphill approach on his shot. The distinctive par 3 17th slopes uphill along a narrow tree-lined fairway to a bunker-guarded green. After the game, head to Grill 19 to recharge and enjoy sandwiches, wraps, burgers, salads, and shareable entrees like chicken wings and chicken fillets. 5. Sargent Pond Just east of Leicester Country Club is a beautiful pond, which can be reached from the city center downhill. A feature of Sargent Pond is that the coastline is largely undeveloped. The southern shore is lined with lakeside homes, while the northern half is all pristine forest. He has two places where he can row a boat on the pond. The north end of Lake Avenue and behind Castle Cantina on Main Street. Nearby on the south bank is Lawson Broom Cemetery, the final resting place of Colonel William Henshaw (1735-1820). At a meeting of the Safety Committee in 1774, he called for “human companions ready to act at any moment”, hence the term “Minutemen”. 6. Leicester Harvest Fair This heartwarming annual event is traditionally held on Town Common on the third Saturday in September. Held in early fall, the Leicester Harvest Fair is a free event with live music, family games, district walking tours, and a wide range of exhibitors and protesters. There are stalls for everything from baked goods to textiles, eggs, craft beer, photography, flower arrangements, and home-grown vegetables. In previous editions, the Swan Tavern hosted an open house with an art exhibition inside. 7. Burncoat Pond Wildlife Sanctuary On the Spencer city boundary lies Burncote Pond, once Leicester’s city beach. The western part of the lake is now part of the Audubon Society of Massachusetts protected area. The site is about 250 acres, but it’s part of a group of reserves, so you can spend a few hours exploring the countryside or continuing the Midstate Trail through Spencer. Around Bangkot Pond, enter pine and oak forests, cross rivers, and walk along wild marsh edges. In late spring, the laurel trees are in full bloom, creating beautiful scenery. Another great view of the pond is from Richards Overlook, a huge boulder on the Flat Rock Trail. 8. Tatnuck Driving Range Nearby these disc golf courses on Marshall Street are golf attractions with numerous practice facilities. The focal point is a driving range of over 250 yards with a mix of grass and man-made hitting stations and sand traps surrounding the greens. There is also a short range with flags 30-60 yards away, perfect for approach play practice. Designed to test your putting skills on holes up to 50 feet long, the 18-hole miniature golf course is perfect for the whole family. Finally, there’s an ice cream stand that serves over 30 flavors of Gifford’s ice cream and giant Kaiem hot dogs. 9. Cotyledon Farm A mosaic of forests, meadows, marshes, pastures, and farmlands,