Reviews of Purgatory Chasm State Reservation (Park)

Heidi Brooke

What are the most amazing hikes of my life I loved it there

Jaime Caitlyn

Purgatory is so much fun! I’ll be going back. Great photo opportunities and I love climbing all over the rocks.

Abby Ericson

Beautiful place to hike, nice picnic tables at the trail head, plenty of parking. Paid parking during peak season.

Brendan Ellis

Best time catching lil frogs, "well trying"

Peg Pierce

Fantastic for the family. Trails and caves to explore keep kids and adults busy. Even easy walking trails fir grammas like me

Jonathan Winter

Fun place to go hiking. It can be a little challenging for older people and young children because of the rocks.

Michael Pierson

Kids loved it as did i. Great place to run around. Suggest keeping smaller kids on the floor as most of the cliffs have steep drops.

mike ninteau

Very small area to hike thru, but very nice Boulder outcrops, and glacier debris. And 10$ for out of state plates. Stuff like this is free in Connecticut

fred billings

It's a great place to enjoy nature

Brian Miller

Fun spot for every member of your family. Good half day trip.

Lollie Playz

Very fun. You can rock climb, enjoy nature, play at a park, and relax.

jenny roman

It's a good place to hike and get a good work out love it!

J. Ryan

Amazing local park, been going to Purgatory Chasm since I was single digit age

Chris Baylis

Perfect day trip with the kids

Mike Barros

Love going on our annual trip to this place. There is so much more to see than just the actual chasm.

Nikki Wood

Great place for either a low key hike or a more strenuous rock climb

Harmoni Buxton

Amazing family day out.

Francisco Montalvo

Its a great place to just unwind and be one with nature.

Derek Michael Gray

It is a wonderful outdoor experience. A natural wonder for the entire family!

Vinny Piazza

Great day trip, good for a couple of hours. It can be busy on nice days and parking can be tough to find. You can visit the Chasm or go around the edge's of the Chasm for better hiking and less people.

Scott Shedeck

A short hike, but the scenery is truly unique. Plenty of grills and picnic tables of you want to make a day of jt

Mark FitzSimmons

A chasm with a moderate to easy degree of rock traversal

Joan Degaitas

Beautiful area with picnic tables and a great playground! Very well kept with natural beauty! Fun trails for the adventurous ones!

Aaron Shepherd

Awesome place trials are unreal. The views are great

Peter Smith

Beautiful MA State Park. Chasm walk is very pretty and unique

Mandy Mott

I hadn't been there in years... It was a lot of fun climbing the rocks in the chasm.

Peter Cardin

Been goin here for years very nice place awesome caves, cracks,rocks streams and tuns of woods for long walks close parking ice cream trucks little playground park for kids $5 for mass parkn i think $6 for ri plates... Animal friendly and tuns to

Kristi Collazo

Always a super fun place to bring my children!! They climb, follow many trails, check out small streams, and water falls. Wildlife around as well. Nice outdoorsy location to spend a few hours .

Diane Potter

Had a great afternoon here with the kids. We did the chasm, chasm loop and little purgatory loop. Bathrooms are nice and lots of cool information there too about the history of the chasm. $5 for Massachusetts vehicle well worth it. We will be back.

Jason Groves

This is a must-see for anybody interested in the earth and geology. This is a very unique place I highly recommend. I've been coming here for 45 years. It still puts me at all every time I walk down

Carlos T

Amazing place for the whole family to go exploring. Hiking trails are easy to follow.

Gunther Cox

This is such a cool place to visit and hike around. I love going here.

Eric Cheng

Really fun place for a hike for hikers at any level!

Brandon Smith

Awesome place to go climb around and be with nature there is quite a bit of amenities for a state park as well. They have a play ground for kids and on site bathrooms which is a plus and usually there is an ice cream truck with small food items and drinks parked outside the chasm itself. Great fun for a day with nature!

Josh Lima

Awesome place to go hiking for the day if you're in the area. Dog friendly and if you're looking for a place to do some bouldering I've seen people doing that here.

G team8

Awsome place to go. Nice people, great environment. Scenic and great hiking place, all in one.

Crys El

Well maintained, with a variety of trails that range from easy to more difficult. Includes bathroom, water fountains and clearly marked paths throughout. Incredibly beautiful.

lydia labree

Love this place me and my grandson favorite place to bond while hiking, rock climbing and palying on the playground

Arleen Herrmann

Purgatory Chasm is a beautiful state Park that offers the opportunity for a picnic, hikes or just sitting and taking in the peaceful beauty of nature . Great place to just sit and reflect on life. One observation is that there are areas that should have that's to protect young children from getting close to the edge.

Dav RoZ

Great place to take an outdoor excursion..also has a nice playground for the little ones.

Krissy C

Pretty place to walk, the chasm is pretty cool. Kids love to play in the "caves". Popular place to walk and you do have to pay to park. Trails are well marked though

G C

Nice hiking trails and picnic areas!...I gave it a three because Massachusetts started charging "parking fees" in lieu of state park admission fee

Dianne Cook

Purgatory has always been a nice place to go although it used to be free but now you need a debit or credit card to pay $5.00 to park .

Tracy Clancy

An outdoor experience completely with a playground and place to barbeque. Also rock climblimbing. Be sure to bring sneakers.

Andy Ebbin

This is a great place to hike. Very rocky terrain with a lot of ups and downs. Highly recommended.

Jeff Searles

I love this place. Jumping up and down on the rocks. You do have to pay to park. Its 10 dollars for non residents.

Remi Lanoie

A great piece of nature's beauty

Brooklyn Original

The parking is far too expensive for one person. $10 for out of state is a bit much for what adds up to be 90 minutes of hiking. This might be a better deal for families but for serious hikers it’s a bit silly to not offer another solo option.

Mark Alcarez

Challenging but good for kids. Picnic area, parking and restrooms. Play area for. Children too.

Sarah Varnerin

Love coming here to climb the rocks and look at the amazing views. Pro-tip: Don't forget to pay for parking... they are very vigilant about giving out tickets!

Jack Shack

Beautiful and very easy hiking/walking.

Richard Molczyk

Good olace for kids and dog

Staci Graves

One of my favorite places on the planet. There aren't enough words to describe how wonderful this place is.

Katie Brown

Had a great time. Didn't realize how much rock climbing would be involved but as you get further on it gets easier.

jeff boston

Awesome caves and a lot to look at with being able to explore where you wish

Stephen Holtorf

Love love love! A totally awesome place the visit and I will return if I'm ever back in the area. It was very clean and beautiful.

Kim Harrington

It was a great experience.I've been there before.

Christine Towle

Great playground too! Wear sneakers instead of flip flops because of large rocks and boulders.

Veronica Duarte

Great to climb

Robert Duffley

Safety first @ this wonderful mix out of outdoor activities. Used to be free when I was a kid but $10 is worth ot still.

Victor Felix

Second time here. It could be a little challenging for little kids, but definitely a great place to hike and spend some calories.

Joseph DiPietro

Awesome place to explore! Brought my kids, ages 3 and 5. I think 3 is a little young due to challenging terrain here, but made it through with no cuts and bruises. Awesome, beautiful views. Most excellent way to spent a day. There is also a very nice playground on the premises is your little one have any energy left after walking the chasm!!

Jason Hennessey

Rangers there are absolutely rude, stupid and unfair rules. Wanna bike? You can't. Wanna walk with pets? You can't. The workers there have no human decency, and are rude if you do something you aren't supposed to, which you could never know because they don't tell you. I would never return to this place.

Lauren Tauer

The chasm loop trail is really fun and interesting to hike through. I love that the place is dog friendly, though I wish that they could go into the visitors center with you. Note to dog owners: I wish I had put a harness on my elkhound instead of a collar for the big rocky parts where they move quick ahead with momentum. There is a passthrough near the pavillion entrance to the chasm that proved difficult for some dogs, but others went through with ease. I had to carry mine through.

Jennifer Warnasch

I love this place theres good trails to go on pluss picnic areas with grills

evelin ram.

It is amazing to spend an afternoon with the family and friends. My girls love it

Chris Taylor

Awesome hike for kids. Challenging but doable with young ones ( under 5 yrs)

Alex Mikulich

Great state park. Wonderful day trip for families. The rock formations are extraordinary. Get there early on weekends to get a parking space. Bring supplies for day hike and meal in the woods.

Kiara Davis

Great outdoors place. Come prepared to hime, grill and run around on the playground.

Damaris Figueroa-Pratt

Great place for small hikes with family and pet friendly

Donald G Lagasse

Always like to stop when in the area. Nice picnic stop. Take a walk to relax. Lots of trees, lots of rocks for kids to climb on. Some pretty flowers pop up the right time of year. I do wish people would respect nature and pick up after themselves and not spoil the beauty.

Evan

One of our favorite hikes in the area! It's easily accessible from the highway, has plenty of parking, and a very clean visitor's center and a nice playground. The chasm itself is really cool. Hiking it is short, maybe a mile at most, but there is a ton of interesting terrain. Despite that, it's navigable by most, even our 4 and 6 year olds. Give it a try!

Christina Buxton

Great spot to bring the kids for outdoor exercise! Field for kickball, nice playground, plenty of grills and picnic tables and an indoor bathroom. The chasm is ideal for adventurous hikers like my 9 year old. I would be cautious in bringing kids younger than maybe six and people who have impaired mobility would likely be unable to navigate climbing the rock formations. Definitely bring good non-skid shoes and bug spray. if you bring a dog for the chasm be aware you're probably going to be carrying them half of that time. Parking is reasonable, maybe $5.

Joseph Perry

Clean and maintained. Good family spot for all ages.

Ras El Hanout

Great place to just sit in quiet woods during the week. Great grilling and picnic areas

Sonny Hines

So mush fun, nature, and it smells like it too

Demetria Hammond

Kids had a great time hiking, climbing and exploring. I however am clearly too old for this place lol. Very clean and well taken care of and marked trails.

Cheryl Kingman

Paths are clearly marked.Well main tained.

Jeff LeBoeuf

Totally awesome place to explore and hike around. Love it.

Mick D

This is a great place to have a picnic lunch and go for nature walks. It used to be free but now they charge $5 for mass residents and $10 non residents for parking

Jake Hemond

Such a fun spot, really easy to find and we'll maintained. It's nice for a small hike to little purgatory as well but the chasm is beautiful whether on top or on the bottom

Brittany Birdsall

Beautiful structures and trails for hiking.

Dan Lewis

Truley quite the hike. Its a short one but the views are great i would suggest a brunch hike On a weekday. Cant change nature but i wish it was a longer trail.

Adal Thamizh

I visited this place today with group of friends around 15 people including kids. There many route are available inside and some rocks and caves route are also available which are very difficult for kids and elder people. Overall I felt very happy inside the state Forest..it's nice atmosphere and good air circulation..you feel the nature and green beauty..inside one park also available where kids can play and enjoy it. Please wear good shoes and rock structure are amazing ..kids trolley are difficult to handle...

Sarah Forde

Great for scrambling, exploring, and having a little picnic!

Lara Ramos

It is a beautiful place to go. Very peaceful.

Mindy Snow

Small, but great for kids. Lots of climbing, playgrounds, picnic areas.

Kenston Rockwell

It is beautiful, but tons if mosquitos! I loved it regardless! So beautiful, nicely kept, clean, the people were nice, and I plan to camp here!

Moe Ouellette

Great cool place for a hike through the rocks

amelia Hunter

Wonderful place for a hike...only thing I didn't care for was parking fee?? Last time I went, no parking costs

XAries

Loved it greatest experience but dangerous and tough hike good for challenges

Marlana Stone

So glad I live close to this amazing place! It gets so busy on the weekends but when its quiet it is so cool to walk and climb around. Great hiking and trails and love the playground for the kids

Joseph DeBartolo

great hike if the weather is nice

Jennifer

Great place for some hiking. They have a fun playground area as well.

carolyn allen

Worth the drive in autumn. Great hike, beautiful sites. Just love it

Freddy Melo

Awesome.... Fun place for the whole family

Debbi Wood

So much fun, lots of crevices, caves, and trails. A place for every age and fitness level!

notnoah chartier

I hiked a lot and it was really cool. It was also a really fun experience and I enjoyed it.

Michael Thompson

Beautiful place for an easy hike. Very busy all the time in the very center of the park. Take the longer hike around the chasm, it's easy and less busy.

Erika Duran

Our family loves this place. It's free and has a lot of fun to offer to people of all ages. Bathrooms available (not just porta potties) Wear sneakers!

Jordan Nelson

So much fun and places to explore/ climb/ hike over & through huge rocks & caves or go around the rocks and take a hike thru trails in the woods, seeing little streams & small waterfalls leading to small bodies of water along the way. One of the coolest places I ever been. I'd def. go back again!

Michael Gabrila

I love the Purgatory, I grew up going there all the time, mostly on the weekends. But there is a bunch of trails and a bunch of grills so you can have a cookout.

Heather Gaw

I always come here when I come to MASS, they never used to charge parling and such but it's probably a way to keep unwanted people out. Was excited to share this experience with my daughter and family.

Jason Coates

Great trail for first time hiking. Moderate escalations and terrain with beautiful scenery of streams and bolder formations.

Anthony Clemente

It was great. I loved it. You have to be there and experience it for yourself. Great for climbing rocks with the kids.

Abby Underwood

Super good track to walk on. Very environmentally conscious so make sure to stick to the path! Very family friendly and dog friendly place but watch out for slippery patches after rainfall!!

Paul Goodchild Ph.D., CPA

We had a great time hiking here and enjoyed hiking on the rocks. It's a place where the average person can go to enjoy a walk in and around the rocks. While mountain hikers or rock climbers won't find it a challenge, it's perfect for getting young kids and adults out for the day enjoying nature. Plus it's free except for a parking fee.

Amir Yosef

Excellent hiking park. Best place to spend a Saturday or Sunday if weather is nice. Set up tables and BBQ grills available for the public PARKING IS NOT FREE which is annoying. $5 for mass cars, $10 for non mass.

J. Douglas Morrison

Awesome place for a cookout. There are rocks to climb & caves to explore. I grew up at that place. It's a lot of fun.

Siprus Hobbalicious

Great place to relax, but can be very expensive. Get up when the water park opens to get a seat and a table or you might not be able to find one.

Joe Sestrich

This is an interesting spot for walking in nature. You can pick a rugged path through the chasm, or smoother paths around the edges.

Catherine Karuga-Ndivo

Awesome hiking for the family! Climbing the rocks in the chasm was fun. The rock formations are very beautiful. We even did the "fat man's misery" challenge. The hike paths are well marked and shaded by the trees so it's not uncomfortable even on a very hot day. It has great picnic areas and a playground for the kids.

Gabriel Connolly

Great place to work and play.

Suzan Moody

Such a great walk down to the chasm and the leaning rock. The easier way is thru the rocks are shown via blue marks. Just watch your feet and the trail. There was a surprising amount of people with dogs (all on leashes) going thru some tricky terrain. Although i didn't see any problems i would recommend leaving your puppies at home. Some of the ledges dropped pretty far. Keep the kids close. There is a state park parking charge so bring a credit card. Loved it!

Judith Blondel

Not for non-athletic older folks. Huge boulders to navigate and climb over.

Jessica Collazo

Rangers were a little rude.. But the chasm itself was gorgeous

Brian Rickerson

Great place for hiking and rock climbing. And so much more!

Karyn Norman

Great place with rock scrambling and hiking.

Tyler Ferrara

Great hiking spot in Mass. Love the adventurous descent into the shasm almost as much as the people

David Mooers

Beautiful place! Been amazed by it since I was a kid. The rock formations are incredible! Wear some good shoes if you plan to hike through it though. Flip flops not recommend.

Maria Larsen

I enjoy our state parks, they do a great job keeping them up. The bathrooms are clean, the museum is cool

levipicard

very cool place. it's fun to climb around on the rocks.

Griffin C

Purgatory Chasm is an amazing place. There are so many huge rock formations and small caves and small passage ways. It's hard to describe what this place is like but the best way to put is imagine that a massive giant reached into the earth and tore a massive land mass out out of it, cavernous and massive: that's purgatory chasm.

jn m

CROWDED! This was the loudest, most packed trail I have ever been on. There were so many people pushing through the narrow passages, no one was patient and it was hard to move out of the way to see anything. It was also super loud with all the voices and kids, one lady had music BLASTING from her backpack. If you love to be in close quarters with tons of people then this "nature" hike is it.

Stacy Grant

Thefamily had a blast especially my 6 yr old grandson

David MacIndoe

This is a childhood favorite of mine. Grew up here going all the time and continue to love coming here. It's a shame you have to pay for parking now but it's not at all expensive. Kids have a blast here exploring rocks and caverns. Occasionally an ice cream truck sets up here too. Nice short hike or you can take hours to explore. They have a nice nature center attached to the park with nice bathrooms too and they're down the street from West End creamery. They used to have fun names for different rock formations such as Fat Man's Misery, Devil's Corn Crib and the Devil's Pulpit. Sadly they took them down...maybe not PC enough? Anyways, definitely worth a trip. Summer is best as it will be dryer and it's a cool escape from the heat. Colder months you'll see ice and it can be wet.

Rebecca Londono

Great place to walk trails, explore chasm, hang out with family in the summer. Fun little playground for children especially when the spinny thing is open. I've seen people bring very small children and dogs into the chasm but I personally feel it's too dangerous.

Rick Meli

Great place Wonderful rock outcrops, to many people. There where 100s ot was like Time Square.

Rachel Cronin

Oh my gosh it is great here. We came from colorado and it was a number one visit on out to do list. Even though it was rainy we didnt get too wet because of the trees and the rocks are great for little kids to stay entertained.

scott chalmers

A great place to spend a couple of hours among giant rocks and walking trails. Hard to imagine such a cool place so close to home.

CATHLEEN MUTNICK

Only been once & was disappointed that we had to pay $10 due to out of state plates. In fact, Park Ranger (?) came right to our car as soon as we turned off engine. The chasm is very difficult & our older dog couldn't climb the rocks so we found one of the nice shady trails to explore.

David Julian

Fun place to climb around in with the kids

Ji Li

Surprising interesting place to go! Very good hiking! Highly recommended.

Mitgoman1 1

Great place for climbing. Bring the dogs they will love the trails. Definitely worth the drive there.

Jonathan Richer

We go here often great place for a hike bring your dog bring a snack and habe an amazing time .. See you on The trail

Telma Torres

Great place for hiking. Good place to have a great time with your family.

Margaret Renfranz

An amazing geological treasure. Several theories about how it came to be, but all theories agree that the formation was a result of violent force.

Jenn Orrell-Santoro

If you're looking to take an adventurous hike through nature and not on just a treadmill, city street, etc...and enjoy nature at the same time - this is the place to go!!

Carlene Lawrence

Such a beautiful place to hike through!

Stephen and Rebecca Holtorf

Wow! That sums up our visit. The rock climbing was so fun and all of the scenery was breath taking. I highly recommend this place. The rock climbing isn't great for toddlers.. a couple were there and crying. If you do bring children please put them in jeans and closed toe shoes. I'm am adult and we even dressed for the walk. There is a playground that looked nice and a beautiful picnic area that is great for families. The plus side is pets are allowed.

angie c

Beautiful scenery. Intense hiking and climbing.

James Bilodeau

Nice place to check out, walk, relax, picnic.Will be back!

Sathya H

Loved to pass through rock and well marked trails

Tatiana Ecolastico

Great place to walk with family and super clean environment.

Christopher Dupuis

Great fun for family and hiking. Lots of rocks to climb on and nice play ground for kids.

Kevin Campbell

Always a great time visiting this natural landmark. Parking is interesting with the new state park rules. Apparently it's $5 for in state visitors and $10 for out of state visitors. Good luck navigating the kiosk that dispenses the tickets though. The buttons don't line up with the options and I ended up accidently paying less than I was supposed to. Also they had blocked off the upper parking lot for no good reason and then inexplicably allowed access by time we returned from our hike. It's only bothersome because the upper parking lot is not paid parking. There is some question as to when you have to pay parking also, it seems to be an honor system at best.

cloey murphy

Been going here since I was little, and everytime it was great. Rock climbing and cool caves to go in.

Dahl Kalvi

There is an easier hike on the yellow trail but there is some rock climbing to get to it. They are checking for $5 parking passes now. They gave my friend a warning and allowed her to get a $5 pass instead of a $25 ticket. You show you paid and they take your name off the ticket list.