The Whole Lake Waban Loop Opened for a Few October Days. Here's the Walk the Rest of the Year Looks Like.

How do you find out ahead of time when the whole Lake Waban loop will be open? A reader asked exactly that under The Swellesley Report's October 25 story about the loop reopening. The editor's answer had no date in it. The news travels through the Wellesley College community, and if you watch the calendar, the openings tend to come at the same times each year, parents' weekend being one of them.

That answer holds the whole story. The full loop around Lake Waban opens on Wellesley College's calendar, with the agreement of the private owners on the southeast shore. It is not a town trail with a seasonal gap. On every other day, the walk worth planning is the College-side out-and-back. In November, the College's own calendar gives that shorter walk more to offer than usual.

The Weekend the Gates Were Open

On Saturday, October 24, 2026, the entire loop reopened during Wellesley College's parents' weekend. Swellesley reported that school families and anyone else who heard about it got a fall walk all the way around the lake, and added that it was open again on Sunday. The College lists that weekend, Friends and Family Weekend, as Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25. Asked about later dates, the site replied in the comments that the loop was open on the 26th and that it didn't know about anytime after that.

By the time this reaches you, it's safest to assume the gates are shut again. The College's visitor page says plainly that you will not be able to complete a loop around the lake, and asks visitors to plan accordingly.

Where the Path Stops

The College's visitor page says the closed section is on the lake's southeast side and is private property. When the College reopened its campus to visitors in late 2021, The Swellesley Report described the closed stretch more precisely. It runs from the gate behind the President's house, along the southern shoreline, to the gate at Pond Road.

The closure followed this sequence:

In its November 2021 notice, quoted by the student newspaper The Wellesley News, the College said the family that owns that portion had told the College and the Town earlier that year that they would not reopen it to the public. In the same report, Meghan Jop, executive director of the Town of Wellesley, said the explanation the town received was that a number of people had been getting onto the private property.

An Opening That Follows the College Calendar

The College's stated position explains why the full loop shows up on some weekends and not others. Speaking for the College, Director of Media Relations Stacey Schmeidel told The Wellesley News:

"The College respects the rights of the neighboring homeowners to control access to their property. We are grateful that the family allows the Wellesley College community to access their portion of the lake path several times each year."

Those few days a year are arranged for the College community. The public gets in when the gates happen to be open. In April 2024, Swellesley reported that students received occasional email notices about the openings, that the openings sometimes fell during exam weeks, and that they came about once a semester. Big campus weekends are the most likely times, and this October fit that pattern.

No upcoming date has been posted. The College's alumnae events page lists Reunion 2027 for May 28–30, 2027, but it says nothing about opening the path. The College's Friends and Family Weekend page doesn't mention the lake path either, even though the path did open that weekend. Your best signal is still a heads-up from someone connected to the College or a local news post that weekend.

Visitors who stay on the path help keep these openings going. The explanation the Town received was about people leaving the path and getting onto private property, so the small habits matter.

The Walk You Can Take Any Day

The College describes its 500-acre campus grounds and paths as open for everyone to enjoy, and that includes every stretch of the lake path on College property. Without the southeast shore, the lake walk becomes an out-and-back. You walk the College side, turn at the gate, and come back the way you came. As one student told The Wellesley News, it means you "have to double back instead of going around [the lake] in a circle."

Swellesley's 2019 walk guide, written when the whole loop was still open to the public, measured it at about 2.5 miles. That guide pointed out water views, the topiary garden, a boardwalk through the marsh, the College boathouse, and a view of Galen Tower across the lake from Pond Street. The guide also said bikes weren't allowed on the loop. The College's current rules for visitors are in its own guidelines:

• Dogs: Dogs must be leashed at all times. Off leash under voice control is not allowed.
• Buildings and restrooms: There is no public access, except at public-facing places such as the Davis Museum, the bookstore, Global Flora and the Office of Admission during their posted hours, and at events open to the public.
• Parking: The general public parks in Distribution Center Lot #2. Parking is limited, so the College suggests walking or biking to campus when you can. Cars in restricted areas can be ticketed or towed by the College or the Town.

Plan restrooms around the second point. On a weekend afternoon, the Davis Museum or Global Flora is the practical place to stop.

What the College Side Offers in November

The private shoreline sets the limit on the walk. The College calendar is what fills it. Through November, the out-and-back can link several free and open campus spots. That changes the outing from a shorter version of the loop into an afternoon with a start and an end point.

The Davis Museum is free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Mondays. It has two exhibitions running from September 25, 2026 to May 30, 2027. "Excavating Antioch: The Archaeology of an Ancient City" covers the city's ancient history and its 1930s excavation. "Shi: Stories in Stone" looks at Chinese traditions of collecting and appreciating stones.

The outdoor Wellesley College Botanic Gardens cover 22 acres and are free and open all day, every day, year-round. Global Flora and the Visitor Center are open free to the public on Sundays this fall from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The garden's Fall Open Hours event listing gives the closing time as 2:15 p.m., so go earlier rather than later. Garden visitors can park free all day in the Davis garage, about a ten-minute walk away, and the College warns that weekday spaces nearby are very limited because of construction.

These are the dated, free, open-to-the-public options for the rest of the month:

The Saturday drop-in tours are first come, first served, with room for 20 people. Global Flora's Sunday hours skip November 29, the weekend after Thanksgiving, and the fall season ends December 6. For a Saturday, one option is to walk the College side of the lake in the late morning, turn at the gate, and finish at the Davis by 2 p.m. for the tour.

If you want a longer walk with no turnaround, Swellesley's 2025 coverage of the closure suggested Centennial Reservation and the woods around it as another nature walk in town.

Being able to walk to places like Lake Waban, the Davis and the Botanic Gardens is part of what a Wellesley home offers. If you'd like to know how your home's location and surroundings show up in today's market, Donahue | Maley | Burns Team would be glad to walk you through it. Schedule your complimentary home valuation.