Summit at Wachusett Mountain State Reservation

Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation & Recreation (DCR)
Princeton, Massachusetts

Wachusett Mountain State Reservation encompasses about 3,000 acres and includes the highest peak in eastern Massachusetts. Indigenous peoples of the area considered Wachusett and the other nearby mountain chains sacred. Managed by the commonwealth’s DCR, it’s a prime example of 19th-century early recreational park development. It showcases the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Wachusett is also a vital natural resource, home to Massachusetts’s largest known old-growth forest stand. As a “monadnock”—a word derived from an Abenaki language, when loosely translated, means “mountain that stands alone”—Wachusett was originally an ancient mountain that has since eroded to its current height of 2006 feet. As a regional high point, the summit is on a significant bird-of-prey migration route during the fall.

Amaze Design worked closely with the DCR, Park staff, and stakeholders to provide an interpretive plan for ongoing reservation-wide improvements. We developed a detailed program for the mountain’s summit, including interpretive trails and landscape elements. In addition, we implemented a portion of the interpretive plan: the design and fabrication of a series of exterior interpretive waysides for harsh mountaintop weather.