This page was updated Feb. 2026.
Town looking to automate vehicle gate controllers at Morses Pond entrance
Feb. 9, 2026–The town of Wellesley has sent out a request for bids to furnish and install a pair of automated vehicle gates at the entrance to the Town’s Morses Pond property, located at 100 Turner Road. This automated gate system will have a pedestrian warning light and an audible alarm while in operation. The system will be programmable to open and close at designated times, days and dates, including the ability to have programmed automatic exiting to prevent drivers from being locked in. A remote mobile app will be part of the project, so that the gate may be operated remotely, as needed.
The app system will come in handy particularly once the Pond is officially closed for the season, yet warm weather continues, and people still want to access the trails, or hang out on the beach. (Swimming is “at your own risk” after the lifeguards finish their summertime work). Over the years, neighbors have asked the town to give people access to the Morses Pond parking lot, citing times when the Woodlands neighborhood has been overrun with vehicles parking on-street, and sometimes even blocking gate access/emergency access.
Ten things to know about Morses Pond in Wellesley
1) Its tagline is “MOPO, the beach within reach.”
2) To access the residents-only parking lot, drivers must get past the Turner Road gate. The gate is open 10am-dusk (typically 8pm).
3) Non-residents can walk, run, or bike in.
4) Lifeguards are on duty June 23 – August 17, 2025
5) Residents and non-residents may purchase season passes. More info at 781-235-2370.
6) Daily passes may be purchased for residents only and their guests.
7) The 102-acre pond is a source for some of Wellesley’s town water wells.
8) Every spring hundreds of supporters gather to do the “Plunge for Elodie,” a fundraiser to finance research to fight Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). The rare disorder affects people who are missing a critical protein that helps bind the layers of their skin together.
9) Morses Pond was the site of the notorious murder of Wellesley’s Mabel Greineder by her husband Dr. Dirk Greineder on Halloween of 1999. Dirk Greineder, who claimed his wife was attacked and beaten to death by someone, was found to have been living a lurid secret life. The allergist was found guilty of first degree murder in 2001 and he has been serving a life sentence since then.
10) Kayaking and paddle boarding is a lot of fun at MOPO. You can rent them at the pond
