Located in the heart of Holyoke, Massachusetts is the Holyoke Heritage State Park. Heritage State Park is one of the jewels in Holyoke, an old paper mill city located on the banks of the Connecticut River.

Heritage State Park is run by the Department of Environmental Management of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The group does a tremendous job keeping up the state park and does a phenomenal job drawing people to the park.

One of the highlights of the park is the carousel, which was preserved from destruction when the old amusement park Mountain Park was to be shut down. The City of Holyoke's citizenry pulled together and raised funds to save the carousel and for the bargain of one dollar, visitors can ride the carousel, one of the few wooden ones left in the country.

Heritage State Park's Visitor's Center hosts some great events, such as a citywide Christmas Tree decorating contest for children, with all proceeds going to charities. Within the Visitor's Center is also a great display of Holyoke's history, complete with pictures and displays.

Also located in Heritage State Park is the Volleyball Hall of Fame and Children's Museum. If you didn't know where in the world the Volleyball Hall of Fame was, now you do. The display at the Hall of Fame is somewhat small, but for a true Volleyball fan, it is a much worthwhile trip. The Holyoke Children's Museum draws people from all over the state as the museum truly is first rate.

Each August, Heritage State Park hosts Celebrate Holyoke, which is a four day festival of food, music, beer, and good times. Various restaurants from throughout Western Massachusetts serve up their food favorites while Paper City beer is being poured in the beer garden and bands like the Saw Doctors and Vanilla Fudge play the mainstage. This is a huge tourist draw for the city, and for more information about the event, check out www.holyoke.org.

A new addition to Heritage State Park will be a memorial to fallen Holyoke Police Office John DiNapoli. Heritage State Park is located adjacent to the police station, therefore, the memorial will be truly memorable for this officer killed in the line of duty.

Interestingly, there is also a now defunct set of railroad cars still resting on the tracks in Heritage State Park which used to serve as a railway to the Holyoke Mall and beyond. Anyone with some dough reading this should definitely inquire about this and revamp this tradition I remember from my childhood.



Recommended: Yes

Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Familes
Review Topic: Overview