South of Boston

Weir River Farm

Hingham

75 acres

Photo Credit: Peter Marotta

This family-friendly farm—one of the last in Hingham—captivates visitors with its own livestock family of horses, pigs, cows, chickens, and sheep.

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Plan Your Visit
  • Overview
  • Ideas for Your Visit
  • Admission & Hours
  • Directions & Contact Info
  • What You'll Find
  • Facilities & Accessibility
  • Venue Rental
  • Property Map
  • Regulations & Advisories

Overview

Originally part of the picturesque, early-20th-century country estate of renowned artist Polly Thayer Starr, today Weir River Farm is a 75-acre working farm comprising fields and pastures surrounded by oak and red cedar woodlands. The farm supports diverse wildlife habitats, including upland grasslands, while the Weir River passes through the farm at its northwest edge. The farm is home to our herd of Belted Galloway cattle, who may be spotted from the trails intersecting Weir River Farm, as well as our barnyard animals including horses, sheep, goats, chickens, pig, and llama.

The Weir River Farm Store features Trustees Grown produce, meat, and eggs as well as local and organic food from the highest-quality producers.

We connect people to their local food systems through our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, providing a way to eat locally and experience a “taste” of farm life. You can support local farms and local food by joining our CSA at Weir River. Vegetable CSAs feature 100% organic farm-fresh produce from June to October, and seasonal meat CSAs include 100% grass-fed beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork and chicken. Click here to see the current list of CSA options.

Ideas for Your Visit

You can often spot our herd of Belted Galloway cattle from the trails intersecting Weir River Farm. The Weir River Farm Barnyard is home to our horses, goats, sheep, llama, and pig. The Barnyard is open to the public during Open Barnyard on Saturdays, spring through fall, and during other specific programs. For a complete list of programs, visit our Things to Do page.

From the trails on Weir River Farm, you can visit the adjacent Whitney & Thayer Woods, whose trails connect to nearly 5,000 contiguous acres of open space. Trails are open year-round daily, sunrise to sunset, while the barnyard is open seasonally for visitation.

Also adjacent to the property and Whitney & Thayer Woods is a 62-acre Conservation Restriction, Turkey Hill. Turkey Hill is managed by the The Trustees in cooperation with the Towns of Cohasset and Hingham.

A cinderblock NIKE building can be found at the property and is all that remains of an anti-missile radar control station that was located at Turkey Hill during the Cold War.

Admission & Hours

Walking trails are open from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free to all.

The Barnyard is open for specific programs. Admission varies depending on program offerings. Please visit our Things to Do page for a complete list of upcoming programs.

We welcome school and youth groups for experiential educational programs. Please visit our Education Page for information about farm-based education. To initiate a visit request, email weirriver@thetrustees.org.

Directions & Contact Info

140 Turkey Hill Lane
Hingham, MA 02043
Telephone: 781.740.7233
Email: weirriver@thetrustees.org

Get directions on Google Maps.

Please note that there are two parking lots to access Weir River Farm. For public parking, please use the 140 Turkey Hill Lane parking lot.

Weir River Farm Parking Area: From Rt. 228, turn onto Leavitt St. next to the Hingham Town Library. Follow for 0.6 mi.; bear left onto Turkey Hill Lane. Lot is on right, just past 140 Turkey Hill Lane. To access the barnyard, cross the street carefully, then walk the grassy “chute” path down the hill towards the big red barn.

What You'll Find

Along with our livestock and spectacular views, Weir River Farm hosts a robust series of programs and events year-round, from concerts and sunset picnics to field trips and summer camp. Check out all our events.

On weekends, the Open Barnyard is a chance to experience life on one of the last working farms on the South Shore and interact with our variety of animals.

Please note, Weir River Farm no longer has a farm store.

Facilities & Accessibility

Accessible Features

The Studio (our store/classroom/engagement space) is accessible, with accessible parking and bathroom.

We are pleased to share that we have partnered with Autism Alliance to make Weir River Farm an Autism Welcoming and sensory responsive business to better serve individuals with autism and their families and caregivers. The staff at 75-acre Weir River Farm has been trained by Autism Alliance to provide simple yet impactful accommodations and Autism Welcoming options, which help families with autism have a better experience while hiking the trails and visiting the barnyard.

We have a Social Story available to better prepare you for your visit to the farm, which can be viewed as a web page or downloaded.

Venue Rental

Please click here to learn about opportunities for private events on Weir River Farm.

Please email weirriver@thetrustees.org if you would like to inquire about renting an area of the property.

Property Map

There is a trail map posted on the main kiosk, in the parking area.

We recommend that you take a photo of the map on your phone so you can refer to it during your visit, or download a trail map before you head out.

Regulations & Advisories

As a working farm, there are things to consider when visiting this unique property.

  • Please stay on marked trails.
  • Please do not open gates, disturb livestock, or interrupt farm operations.
  • For health and safety reasons, please do not feed the animals.
  • Dogs are not permitted anywhere at Weir River Farm or the trails surrounding the farm. The property is adjacent to Turkey Hill and Whitney & Thayer Woods, which do welcome dogs.
  • Hikers should be aware of the farm’s use of electric fencing around the perimeter of the livestock acreage.
  • The barnyard is open to visitors only in season, May through November, on Saturdays and during other special events throughout the year. Learn more about Open Barnyard and other programs.  We invite your family to enter the barnyard area only during these scheduled programs. Entering pastures, pens or other livestock areas without farm staff is strictly prohibited and can be extremely unsafe.
  • PHOTOGRAPHY: We ask that photographers or their clients become Contributing Level Members before conducting portrait sessions at this property.  Click here for more information. To request permission for any portrait sessions, please email weirriver@thetrustees.org. The Trustees of Reservations reserves the right, and may give permission to its designated photographers and videographers, or to outside media, to photograph or video visitors and program participants at all its facilities and properties.
Before Setting Out
More to Explore

Farm Chores

Join us for our unique Family Farm Chores program held on Saturdays. Get on your muck boots: your whole family will get to be farmers together! Help feed Nutmeg and Kiwi, the ponies, Ruby, the llama, and Dixie the potbelly pig. Collect eggs from our flock of chickens, and maybe even help mooooove the cows to a new pasture.

Farm Chores
Upcoming Events

History

Weir River Farm was the home of Polly Thayer Starr, whose paintings and drawings have been exhibited and admired at museums in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia for more than 70 years.  It was given to The Trustees by Ms. Starr in 1999.

Archival Collections
Archival material related to Weir River Farm is available to researchers at the Archives & Research Center in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Victoria Thayer Starr Collection (16.0 linear feet)
Regarding Victoria Thayer Starr, daughter of American artist Polly Thayer Starr, who lived at Weir River Farm with the bulk of the material from 1980-2004, entire collection spans 1815-2013.

The View From Here
See What People Say

This is a great place to take young kids to visit a working farm where you can see cows, pigs, chickens etc. Great place to walk around and take in the views while educating the children.

Tripadvisor User from Boston

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