Two In A Thousand: Belmont's Great Places

One person's favorite location might be another person's dull destination.

But in terms of designating a place within a town a "great" place – one where natural beauty or design or just its history speaks volumes – one can be certain that such as selection does have a certain appeal that nearly everyone can agree makes it special.

In the past year, in an attempt to raise the profile of locations that may go unnoticed, the state's The Great Places in Massachusetts Commission – an initiative from the state legislature that was signed by Gov. Deval Patrick – released a list of 1,000 locations that everyone in or tourists coming to the state should see.

The locations included historic and cultural sites as well as natural landscapes and other places that are unique to the state. They were selected by the commission from suggestions from people around the state.

Belmont is the home of two locations best known for their natural beauty: the Beaver Brook Reserve and the Habitat Education Center.

Located on the Waltham line, Beaver Brook is a 59-acre park made up of open fields, woodland and wetlands. The park includes bike paths that become cross-country skiing tracks, playing fields, trails and a covered area for picnics

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In the Belmont Hills, the 88-acre Habitat offers a variety of exciting opportunities to learn about nature and wildlife at the Massachusetts Audubon Society's sanctuary.

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