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The Bradley Estate, 2468 Washington St., Canton, is a former farm that was transformed at the turn of the 20th century into a country estate. Owned by the non-profit Trustees of Reservation since 1991, the property includes 90 acres of grounds open free from sunrise to sunset year-round.

The Eustis Estate at 1424 Canton Ave., Milton, is an 18,600-square-foot Victorian mansion on 80 acres of fields and woods, a rare, well-preserved example of the 19th century Aesthetic Movement that celebrated the value of art in home design and life. The house also serves as a gallery for 120,000 objects. Open Friday through Sunday, November through April, with guided tours at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 seniors and $8 students and children.

The Daniel Webster Estate at 238 Webster St., Marshfield, 1 to 4 p.m., first Sunday of the month. Docents will relate the history of the 1880 Victorian mansion and stories about Marshfield's most famous resident, statesman and orator, Daniel Webster. Free. For more information, go to  danielwebsterestate.org.

Winslow House: 634 Careswell St., Marshfield, 781-837-5753. Built around 1699 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On the grounds and open for viewing is the law office of the statesman Daniel Webster.

The Plymouth Antiquarian Society offers free tours of Burial Hill at 1 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month, except in January. Meet at the main Burial Hill stairway next to First Parish Church in Town Square. For more information, email pasm@verizon.net, call 508-746-0012 or visit plymouthantiquariansociety.org.

ABIGAIL ADAMS BIRTHPLACE: 180 Norton St., Weymouth. 781-335-4205. 

DUXBURY RURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Nathaniel Winsor Jr. House, 479 Washington St., Duxbury, 781-934-6106. Manages the Winsor Jr House; King Caesar House, 120 King Caesar Road; and the Gershom Bradford House, 931 Tremont St. "Four Bradford Daughters: Lives Well Lived" IS a self-touring, gallery- style installation in the Bradford House. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students and free children under 6 and younger.

MAJOR JOHN BRADFORD HOUSE: 50 Landing Road, Kingston, 781-585-6300. Home of the Jones River Village Historical Society, whose goal is to preserve the house and to collect, preserve, and educate the public about the history of the town.

JOSIAH QUINCY HOUSE: 20 Muirhead St., Quincy, 617-994-5930. Built in 1770 by the Revolutionary War leader, the house is a repository of Quincy family history.

FORBES HOUSE MUSEUM: Adams Street in Milton offers guided tours by reservation. The museum has Lincoln memorabilia and a large China Trade collection that includes 19th-century export porcelain, paintings, furniture and other items brought back from China by Captain Robert Bennet Forbes and his family. Admission is $10, and $8 for seniors and students. For information, call 617-696-1815.

BLUE HILLS TRAILSIDE MUSEUM: 1904 Canton Ave., Milton. 617-333-0690. Interpretive center for the state's 7,000-acre Blue Hills Reservation, managed by Mass Audubon. Indoor and outdoor exhibits, and a nature center.
 
HULL LIFESAVING MUSEUM: 1117 Nantasket Ave., Hull, 781-925-5433. Learn about the maritime history of Boston Harbor through a variety of exhibits and hands-on activities at the 1889 Point Allerton U.S. Lifesaving Station.

JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM: Columbia Point, Boston, 617- 514-1600. Just over the Neponset River in Dorchester, the library offers all kinds of programs about the 35th president, one of four born in Norfolk County. It's right next to the Massachusetts Archives, and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, also worth visiting.

MAYFLOWER SOCIETY MUSEUM:4 Winslow Street, Plymouth, 508-746-2590.Take a guided tour of the historic 18th century house of Edward Winslow, the great-grandson of Edward Winslow, third Governor of Plymouth Colony.

PILGRIM HALL MUSEUM: 75 Court St., Plymouth, 508-746-1620. America's oldest continuously-operated public museum houses a significant collection of Pilgrim possessions.

QUINCY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM: Adams Academy Building, 8 Adams St., Quincy. 617-773-1144. Founded in 1893 by local citizens led by Charles Francis Adams, Jr., the society is dedicated to preserving and promoting knowledge of four centuries of local history.

1749 COURTHOUSE MUSEUM: 4 Town Square, Plymouth. 508-830-4075. Tour America's oldest wooden courthouse in Plymouth's historical district.  

SPARROW HOUSE MUSEUM: 42 Summer St., Plymouth, 508-747-1240. The oldest house in Plymouth also houses an art gallery.

STOUGHTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY: 6 Ash Park Drive, 781-344-5456. Preserves the history of Stoughton through exhibitions of manuscripts, art, clothing, etc from archives, various lectures and programs.

U.S. NAVAL AND SHIPBUILDING MUSEUM: USS Salem, 739 Washington St. at the former Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, 617-479-7900. Tour the world's only preserved heavy cruiser.

THE COMPANY THEATRE: 909 Hingham St., Norwell, 781-871-2787. The Company Theatre hosts shows and performances year round. Tickets for events can be bought on the show's website.

The Island Grove Chorus, a women’s a cappella group, holds open rehearsals Tuesday nights at 7:15 p.m. at the UCC Church, 10 Bedford St., Abington. For more information, call 508-864-2676 or go to islandgrovechorus.org.

Fine Arts Chorale: Open rehearsal at 7:30 Wednesday nights at the Old South Union Church, 25 Columbian St. Weymouth. For more information, visit fineartschorale.org, or call 1-800-230-7555.

Catbird Café: 5:30 p.m., New England Wildlife Center, 500 Columbian St., Weymouth. Open mike, signup begins at 4:30. Food is free and potluck, but guests are encouraged to donate $2 at the door. For more information, call 781-682-4878.

Quincy Unplugged, an open mike event, 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., on the last Monday of the month at the Thomas Crane Public Library, 40 Washington St.

A
rt show: 10 a.m.to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday through Feb. 28, 121 Nantasket Ave., Hull. Hull Artists, a regional arts association of more than 90 artists and crafters. Free. For more information, visit hullartists.com, email gallerynantasket@gmail.com or call 781-780-1188.

The Blue Hill Observatory in Milton is open for short tours on Saturdays and Sundays and by appointment during the week.

The Quincy Toastmasters meet at 7:15 p.m. every Monday at the Fore River Club House in Quincy. Toastmasters is a nonprofit organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. For more information, visit  675.toastmastersclubs.org.

AMES LONG POND: Highland Street, Stoughton, 781-341-1300 ext. 8244. A public beach and great fishing for bass, pickerel and other warm-water species.

AMES NOWELL STATE PARK: Linwood Street; Abington, 781-857-1336. A year round day-use recreation area around Cleveland Pond. There pond is open to boating and fishing and there is a picnic area, ball field and several miles of walking trails.

BLUE HILLS RESERVATION: Headquarters, 695 Hillside Street, Milton, 617-698-1802. A 7,000-acre tract from Quincy to Dedham, Milton to Randolph, the reservation offers 125 miles of trails, views of the Boston skyline and the only rattlesnake colony in eastern Massachusetts. It includes Great Blue Hill, which reaches a height of 635 feet, and the Blue Hill Observatory, the nation's oldest continually-operated weather observatory.

BORDERLAND STATE PARK: 259 Massapoag Ave., Easton, 508-238-6566. The 1,570-acre park straddles the border between Easton and Sharon. Created in the early 1900s by artist and suffragist Blanche Ames and her botanist husband Oakes, Borderland offers many of the same pleasures that the Ames family enjoyed: walking and horseback riding on woodland trails, fishing and canoeing in the ponds, or, in winter, ice-skating and sledding. The family's 20-room mansion is furnished much as it was when the Ameses lived here.It is open for tours.

BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS: For centuries a gateway to Boston and America, the islands are now a National Recreation Area comprising 34 islands and peninsulas. A short ride from Quincy, Hingham or Hull.

CAMP KIWANEE, HANSON: Camp Kiwanee Road, off Route 58, Hanson, 781-293-2333. A summer destination for generations of South Shore youngsters, the camp began in 1899 as the summer home of Albert C. Burrage, a Harvard-educated copper baron from Boston who left an indelible mark on Hanson.

DANIEL WEBSTER WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: End of Winslow Cemetery Road, Marshfield. 781-837-9400. Hundreds of acres of grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands.

DUXBURY BEACH: A sandy peninsula six miles long extending from Marshfield to the Saquish secton of Plymouth. Plenty of parking and elbow room. Open to off-road vehicles.

ELLISVILLE HARBOR STATE PARK: Route 3A, Plymouth. Prehistoric Native Americans hunted, fished, harvested shellfish and made tools in this beautiful, uncrowded spot on Cape Cod Bay. Once part of the 18th century Harlow family homestead, the park has a barrier beach, salt marsh, spagnum bog, rolling meadows and red pine forest.. Recreational activities include walking, birdwatching and beachcombing. In fall and winter, harbor seals can often be seen just offshore.

ISLAND GROVE PARK: Park Ave., Abington, 781-982-2125. Eleven-acre park in Abington surrounded on three sides by the Island Grove Pond and complete with a picnic area, swing sets, bathrooms, a sand-bottomed pool, snack shack, walking trails, and fishing.

MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY: North River Wildlife Sanctuary, South Shore Regional Center, 2000 Main St., Marshfield. 781-837-9400.

MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON VISUAL ARTS CENTER: 963 Washington St., Canton.  781-821-8853. Located on a 138-acre wildlife sanctuary just south of Boston, the Visual Arts Center houses Mass Audubon's extensive art collection.

MOOSE HILL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY: Massachusetts Audubon Society, 293 Moose Hill St., Sharon. 781-784-5691. Mass Audubon's oldest sanctuary and one of the largest, with nearly 2,000 acres.

MYLES STANDISH STATE FOREST: Plymouth and Carver. One of the state's largest recreation areas, at 12,404 acres (more than 19 square miles). It has 15 miles of bike trails, 28 miles of equestrian trails, 79 miles of hiking trails, 429 campsites and 58 ponds. It is also open to boating, swimming, fishing, hunting, picnicking and cross-country skiing. It contains 6,641 of ecologically significant pine barrens and 3,365 acres of native white pine and oak. It is home to 41 rare or endangered species.

NANTASKET BEACH: Route 3A, Hull; 617-727-5290. Across the street from the Paragon Carousel.

PLYMOUTH ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY: 508-746-0012. The Society owns and maintains three historic houses from different centuries: the 1677 Harlow House, 119 Sandwich St.; the 1749 Spooner House, 27 North St.; and the 1809 Hedge House, 126 Water St.; and an ancient Native American site, Sacrifice Rock.

SOUTH SHORE NATURAL SCIENCE CENTER: 48 Jacobs Lane, Norwell, 781-659-2559. Outdoor walking trails; the EcoZone, an interactive live animal exhibits with fish, turtles, and bullfrogs; critter corner; feed the animals and meet an animal.

PLYMOUTH BEACH: Off Route 3A. A three-mile long barrier beach that protects Plymouth Harbor. Home to the endangered piping plover, it is open to restricted off-road use, swimming, hunting and fishing. 

WEBB MEMORIAL STATE PARK: Off River Street in Weymouth. Views of the harbor and the Boston skyline. The park is a peninsula that extends nearly half a mile into Hingham Bay. There is fishing, picnicking and areas for walking.

WHALE WATCHING: When you think of whale watching, you envision behemoth creatures popping up, making waves that rock tourist-filled boats. People who go whale watching out of Plymouth experience that and more. It's a not-to-be missed summer outing for children and adults. But there's more to the experience than the thrill of spotting Moby Dick.

WOLLASTON BEACH: Quincy Shore Drive, Quincy, 617-727-5290. Located in Quincy, popular with runners and families.

WORLD'S END: 250 Martin's Lane, Hingham, 781-740-6665. Designed by Frederic Law Olmstead, the 251-acre reservation boasts tree-lined carriage paths and sweeping views of the Boston skyline, only 15 miles away, ideal for walking, picnicking, jogging, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, or enjoying nature.

Shea Skating Rink, 2 to 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 2:40 p.m. Thursdays, 651 Willard St., Quincy public skating. Admission is $3, skates available to rent. For more information, call 617-512-8402.

Ulin Memorial Rink, 11 Unquity Road, Milton. Ice time is free Monday-Friday morning, $3 to $5 on Friday nights and weekends.

Zapustas Ice Arena, 240 North St., Randolph. Open to the public from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays, $3. Lessons available from the Commonwealth Figure Skating Club.

Pilgrim Skating Arena, 75 Recreation Park Drive, Hingham. Programs for beginners.

Rockland Ice Rink, 599 Summer St. Free public skating, 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Public hockey, noon to 1:50 p.m. Mondays and Friday, $5.

Armstrong Arena, 103 Long Pond Road, Plymouth. Public skating most days, $5. Public hockey for ages 18 and up, $10.