Location: Mendon
Top Things to do in Mendon
What to do and see in Mendon, Massachusetts (MA): The Best Things to do
Mendon is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,839 at the 2010 census. Mendon is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, an early center of the industrial revolution in the United States. Mendon celebrated its 350th Anniversary in 2017.
Restaurants in Mendon
1. Vandervalk Farm & Winery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By nancybG4107ZD - Moodus, United States
While you can't get a real tasting/flight of wines right now, you can get a couple free sample tastings. Delicious fruit wines. Loved the peach blueberry and cranberry raspberry wines. The gal behind the tasting counter was friendly and very helpful. Oh, they sell maple syrup, and you can do a tasting of that as well. The cinnamon infused maple syrup is outstanding. They also sell trees, wreaths, and cemetery baskets. Definitely recommend this place.
2. Southwick's Zoo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 500 reviews
Open from early April through October, Southwick’s Zoo is a privately-owned zoo located at 2 Southwick Street in Mendon, MA. Spanning over 200 acres, Southwick’s Zoo is New England’s largest zoological experience. Southwick's is home to over 850 animals in naturalistic habitats including lions, tigers, giraffes, chimpanzees, white rhinos, two-toed sloths, and more. Southwick’s also offers a wide variety of attractions including the Skyfari Sky Ride, Woodland Express Train, Soaring Eagle Zip Line, 35-acre Deer Forest, petting zoo, walk-through aviary, presentations and keeper talks, the Rainforest Adventure Maze, the EARTH Discovery Center, and so much more! Southwick’s Zoo’s mission is to provide an extensive zoological collection and educational facility for their visitors. Southwick’s Zoo offers a full day of family fun and an exciting environment for visitors to learn more about animals and their conservation.
Reviewed By rockwood13 - Needham, United States
My wife and I took advantage of a nice sunny day mid-week in early October to visit Southwick Zoo. We had not been there for more than 15 years when our children were young. It is about an hour away from our house and when we arrived there we were pleased to see that it wasn't crowded and there was plenty of parking. Because it was during the week and it was nearing the end of the season the cost of admission was reduced from $28.00 to $20.00 for an adult. If you belong to certain other organizations such as AAA you can also get an additional discount of $2.00. In our opinion this is the best zoo in Massachusetts. They have a large number of animals (the website says more than 150) and many of them I have not seen at other zoos in Massachusetts. Among the animals are cheetahs, chimpanzees, lions, tigers, giraffes, and rhinos. Many of the animals you can get quite close to for exceptional viewing. The giraffes even approached us as we were viewing them, most likely as the zoo at certain times of the year has "giraffe encounters" where you can actually feed the giraffes. The animals are spread out over a large nicely wooded area which provides a good amount of shade to keep you from getting too hot on summer days. We brought our lunch and ate at one of the many picnic areas in the park. They also have several areas in the park and a restaurant adjoining the park where you can buy food. We spent several hours walking around the park viewing the animals. For small children they also have a petting zoo where you can feed and pet pygmy goats. In addition to the animals, Southwick Zoo also has some rides. They have some kiddie rides that were closed during our visit. They also have pony rides and camel rides which in the fall are only open on weekends. Also they have the Skyfari ride and Woodland Express rides which were open when we went and were actually included in the price of admission during our visit. The Skyfari ride is lke a chairlift that takes you above some of the animal exhibits while the Woodland Express is a train ride that takes you through part of the forest. We only took the Skyfari ride and enjoyed the relaxing ride and view. We found the people working at Southwick Zoo to be very nice and thought the zoo was very clean and all the animals looked to be well cared for. If you are looking for a zoo to visit in Massachusetts and only have time to visit one, this would be my choice. Based on our experience we will return there in again in the future.
3. Mendon Twin Drive-In
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 106 reviews
Reviewed By CaesarBrutus - Boston, United States
Was really nice to be able to get out & see a movie! A lot of options at the snack shack and the ice cream was also good (both took credit/debit cards)! Bathrooms are clean and easy to use without being too close to people. We were there just before 7; before 7:30, the center spots are filled. Park where is stated to park; we (& many others) did not park close enough to the pole and had to move our cars; you can’t put 2 vehicles close to each other (even if together), etc. But, this lets them be open, which we really appreciated. Next time, we plan to bring a battery-operated radio: no problem with our battery, but had to keep turning ‘accessory’ mode back on, due to some automated thing in our vehicle that shuts it off after a while (if anyone knows how to prevent this, would be good to know). A lot of people sat outside, but we stayed in the car, since we forgot bug spray.
4. Quissett Hill Farm
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
