Find your next favorite off-the-beaten vacation spot in Wendell, a hilly site sitting on the edge of the Connective River Valley in Western Massachusetts. Wendell is East Coast's best-kept secret, with lush woodland forests, crystal clear waterways, and a historic town center, rivaling better-known destinations in the United States like the Boston Harbor and Cape Cod.
Visit the area for an off-grid traveling experience with easy access to hiking, camping, and productive fishing. Wendell has several spots on its own that should appeal to lovers of the great outdoors. It is likewise surrounded by equally stunning areas that offer fantastic New England-style angling opportunities. Concentrate your powers exploring Wendell’s fishing spots, or use it as a beautiful and convenient home base to explore many of Western Massachusetts’ other great angling districts.
Start your Wendell fishing experience by heading straight to the lush Wendell State Forest. Situated south of the Millers River, the state forest has many streams and at least two ponds. Fishing mostly happens in Ruggles Pond, a crystal clear pond that’s quite a popular swimming area.
North of the forest, anglers will find the Millers River, which has a catch-and-release area subdivided into two sections. The upper section, largely undeveloped, can be accessed from Athol and Templeton. The lower section, which can be accessed within Erving, Orange, and Wendell, is surrounded by a more developed area. Its waters stay cool enough in spring and fall, making the river a great place to fish for brown trout, brook trout, and rainbow trout during these seasons. Trout swim to the cooler tributaries of the river when the weather starts turning warm, leaving the main river stem teeming with smallmouth bass, rock bass, common shiner, bluegill, pumpkinseed, redbreast sunfish, and fallfish.
Several minutes outside Wendell, anglers can fish the productive waters of Lake Wyola and Laurel Lake. Lake Wyola is particularly known for its stocked trout and ice fishing for chain pickerel. Other species commonly caught in the lake are pumpkinseed, yellow perch, golden shiner, white sucker, brown bullhead, banded killifish, and fallfish. On the other hand, Laurel Lake is a Great Pond easily accessed within Erving State Forest. While it has acidity issues, you can still find stocked brook trout here during spring. It offers fair fishing for a wide range of East Coast favorites including largemouth bass and chain pickerel fishery, bluegill, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, brown bullhead, and American eel.
Take your pick among Wendell’s best family-run farms, where you can explore and shop for fresh organic goods, including free-range poultry, maple syrup, crisp greens, and many more.
Visitors can hike, canoe, and kayak in Fiske Pond Conservation Area. This amazing outdoor recreational area is on permanently protected land.A particular highlight of this place is wide range of wildlife species that make their home in the land, including the great blue heron, kingfisher, moose, deer, and spotted turtle.