Trailside Museum and Widowmaker Brewing

Family-friendly Brewery Backyard Road Trip!

The proliferation of breweries in New England these days means that any time that there is a child-centric activity, there will be a brewery close by! That’s great news for us parents. (Although, my three and a half-year-old son seems to get as excited by the prospect of the brewery trip as much as the destination itself!) This trip to the Trailside Museum and Widowmaker Brewery was sure to make us all happy. 

The Trailside Museum at the Blue Hills- Milton, Massachusetts

My son, Danny is at a great age where the even walks around the block excite him. The prospect of going to the Trailside Museum, a small collection of natural history related exhibits and animals, thrilled him!

The Trailside Museum sits at the base of the Blue Hills and straddles the Milton/Canton (Massachusetts) town line. I figured the museum wouldn’t be too crowded in late April. I was wrong since a race that took place on the trails of the Blue Hills filled the parking lot almost to capacity.

My son absolutely loved the exhibit hall. Although relatively small, it was a perfect size for him. Most of the displays grabbed his attention and the layout was conducive for him to revisit certain parts. Interactive presentations and live animals made the museum visit enjoyable for him. A tunnel which led from one display area to the next provided a diversion for a good ten minutes, climbing in and out.

I was disappointed that the river otter’s habitat was under renovation (it will be back later in the year), but we did see owls, vultures, deer, and foxes. Watching the animals was thrilling for Danny. After that, he enjoyed throwing pebbles into the streams that bisected the property, coming down from the mountain. Before we left, I had to take him for one more tour of the museum.

Widowmaker Brewing – Braintree, Massachusetts

On our way home, our brewery trip was to Widowmaker in nearby Braintree. Widowmaker operates out of a functional facility at 220 Wood Road which is in an industrial park in the northern part of Braintree. Their taproom is large and their beers are delicious. The brewery is extremely family friendly. Never have I seen quite the array of children’s books and even a small table just for kids to sit at as they have here. Hats off to a brewery whose beers namecheck both a comedy team (the Martin & Lewis Milkshake IPA) and a historical reference (Whig Party Pale Ale). Both of these beers are top notch, two of my favorite concoctions that Widowmaker releases. The brewery is large, inviting, kid-friendly and most importantly, serves excellent beer. Widowmaker can be found online at www.widowmakerbrewing.com.

Altogether this trip was a great success! Danny was happy to watch the animals and to look at that museum’s displays. Although I was happy to be there, I also enjoyed my time sampling beers at Widowmaker (just as Danny enjoyed sampling the goldfish crackers from the dispenser). It was a perfect morning backyard road trip!

The Trailside Museum is part of Mass Audubon. Find more information here. For more brewery road trips in Massachusetts, click here, here and here.