This reservation is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and park rangers offer programs year-round detailing its history. Serious rock climbers enjoy the quarries, but you don’t need to be one to climb here. Kids will like scrambling over some of the smaller granite outcroppings.

If your child has visited the historic Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, he or she may be interested to know that its materials came from here, the birthplace of America’s large-scale granite quarrying industry. In its heyday, there were more than 50 quarries here. Granite from Quincy was used in buildings across the country. The last active quarry closed in 1963.

The Granite Railway Quarry, one of the more important quarries here, opened in 1830 and was active into the 1940s. Abandoned, it began to fill with water and eventually had depths of up to 300 feet. It was a popular yet very unsafe diving and swimming hole, so it was drained and filled; it now makes up part of the 22-acre park.

Remember: Long pants and sturdy footwear, such as hiking boots or sneakers, are recommended for rock climbing. Keep your dog on a leash and clean up after it.

If the kids would rather play in the sand than on granite, visit Wollaston Beach only about 10 minutes away.

Get back on Furnace Brook Parkway and take a left onto Adams Street, where you’ll find lots of dining options in West Quincy.