Buy a “Park Package” - Combine a canal tour with a
visit to the Boott Cotton Mills Museum and receive a discount!
Call to inquire about special group rates.
*Program offerings may be reduced during
the week of August 27 -September 2 due to
seasonal staffing levels.
Pawtucket Canal Tour
This 75 -minute tour travels by foot, trolley, and boat
up the Pawtucket Canal to the Francis Gate Complex.
Learn how these historic structures helped to
save Lowell from disastrous floods.
Pawtucket to the River Tour
This 90 -minute tour travels by foot, trolley and boat
along the Pawtucket Canal to the river. Discover
how the demand for waterpower forever changed
the river and the city of Lowell.
Mill and Canal Tour (July 1-Sept. 4)
Explore the role of water in shaping Lowell’s history
while traveling by canal boat on the Merrimack
River, the Pawtucket Canal, and the Northern Canal.
This two-hour tour also visits the historic Pawtucket
Gatehouse and Suffolk Mill to investigate how water
was harnessed for power. Some walking is required
– wear comfortable shoes. Tours take place rain or
shine – dress accordingly.
Canal tour times and schedules may be modified at
any time depending on water levels.
Trolley Tours
Views of Lowell Tour
Join a park ranger for a guided tour of historic
downtown Lowell on the park’s trolley. Each tour
will highlight a different perspective of Lowell’s
story as seen through the views along the trolley
tracks. Free.
Reservations are required for all tours. All canal
tour reservations must be ticketed and paid for
no later than thirty minutes before the start of the
tour; at that time, unclaimed reservations will be
released and sold to waiting visitors.
*On August 19, our boats will provide environmental
education and interpretation programs, including boat
tours on the river, in partnership with the Southeast
Asian Water Festival and will be unavailable for our
regularly scheduled programs. Come join us!
* Our boats will also be unavailable during the Lowell
Folk Festival, July 28 -30.
Tsongas Industrial History Center The
Tsongas Industrial History Center , a partnership with the University
of Massachusetts Lowell , offers curiculum-based education programs
for grades 3-12, summer camps, as well as teacher workshops.
Call for more details.
Children’s Activities
Become a Junior Ranger
Pick up a Junior Ranger Activity booklet at either the Visitor
Center or the Boott Cotton Mills Museum. As you explore the
park, complete the series of activities presented in the booklet
and turn it in to a ranger at the desk before you leave to
become a Junior Ranger—badge, certificate, and all! Answers
to the activities can be found throughout the park. Free.
Boott Discovery Trail
Discover the story of Lowell's mills, their machinery, and their
workers through the Boott Discovery Trail during your visit
to the Boott Cotton Mills Musuem. Children of all ages can
pick up their work aprons and time cards at the museum entrance
and through hands-on activities explore how cotton cloth was
made from raw cotton to finished cloth. Experience the roar
of a 1920s weave room and learn what working in a textile mill
was like. Available during regular museum hours. Free with
admission.
Children's Corner
Visit our Children's Corner in the park's Visitor Center. Participate
in hands-on activities to explore Lowell's technology through
gears and pulleys, read a book together to learn about immigration,
machinery, and much more. Self-guided during regular Visitor
Center hours. Free.
Take
a ride on a turn-of-the-century trolley. The trolley normally
runs March through November weather permitting, 7 days per
week. Please call for daily schedules.
