This page was updated May 2025.
Town announces Morses Pond summer 2025 dates
Morses Pond will be open for swimming June 23 – August 17
Open Seven Days A Week
Lifeguards on Duty: 10am to 5pm
Park Rangers on Duty: 5pm to Dusk
Don’t eat the fish
Feb. 2025–The Wellesley Health Department has received notification from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health of a new fish consumption advisory (FCA) for Morses Pond. Mercury concentrations in fish most recently sampled by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection were above the DPH action level of 0.5 parts per million (mg/kg). This indicates that daily consumption of fish from the waterbody may pose a health concern. Fish Advisories are a common occurrence in the Commonwealth as seen here on the Massachusetts Fish Advisory Map.
Wellesley residents should not be alarmed but should take recommended precautions.
Additionally, please note that the drinking water supply for Wellesley is safe to consume and is not affected by this Advisory.
Visit this website for more information on fish advisories. For questions, please call the Health Department at 781-235-0135.
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
Autumn at Morses Pond
Fall is a wonderful time to visit Morses Pond in Wellesley. Here are ten things you should know about the area:
1) Its tagline is “MOPO, the beach within reach.”
2) Welcome to fall and looser MOPO parking restrictions. In summer the parking lot is residents only, but in fall all are welcome. To access the lot, drivers must get past the Turner Road gate, which is open 10am-dusk. (Sometimes earlier…when we got visited in mid-Sept., the gate was open by 9am.)
3) If the Turner Road gate is closed, visitors may park on street (mind the parking signs), or walk, run, or bike in.
4) A section of the parking lot may soon be given over to pickleball, partly to give neighbors in the Sprague Field and Perrin Park areas relief from the noisy, and popular, sport. A proposal for possibly locating 4 pickleball courts at the Morses Pond parking lot is making its way through town boards and committees.
5) Lifeguards are off duty and won’t be back until late June 2024.
6) Morses Pond is full of milfoil, fanwort, duckweed and more. The town in summer 2023 replaced its aging weed harvester with a shiny new $350k model. The new equipment is on the job 8-10 hours per day, 6 days per week, May through September.
7) The Morses Pond area is managed by the Recreation Commission and the Natural Resources Commission.
8) The 102-acre pond is a source for some of Wellesley’s town water wells.
9) 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.
10) 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.
Summer 2023 at Morses Pond
Summertime in Wellesley isn’t complete without a visit to Morses Pond. Here are ten things to keep in mind as you plan your adventure:
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 26-Aug. 20, 2023.
5) Residents and non-residents may purchase season passes. More info at 781-235-2370 and here.
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
