About

The Park

Pine Banks Park is a very popular recreation facility, offering 2 synthetic multi-sport fields and three natural grass fields. Pine Banks’ fields accommodate the following sports: Baseball, Softball, Rugby, Soccer (U12-Adult), Field Hockey, Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, and Track and Field. Additionally, Pine Banks has a several large picnic areas, a pond, playground, and several hiking trails in the woods.

Pine Banks hosts Melrose and Malden scholastic sports as well as various city youth programs. The Mystic River Rugby Club, a Division I National champion rugby club, also call Pine Banks their home.

The sports fields may be rented on an as available basis. See the Calendar for open times, view the park map for a layout of the fields or request a reservation.
There are several large, covered picnic areas that are very popular for parties and gatherings. These are available from May – October 31st of each year. Reservation requests will be accepted no earlier than April 1 of each year. For more information on reserving a picnic site, click here.

History and Geology of the Land

The site reportedly belonged originally to the Wampanoags in the early 1660s and the Lynde family in the early 1700s. Some of the natural features of Pine Banks Park are hundreds of large evergreens, especially white pines and cedars, rocky ledges, Mount Ephraim, lookouts, a pond and wildlife.

Millions of years ago, volcanoes altered the rocky areas and earthquakes created a fault line just south of the park. Thousands of years ago, mile high glaciers covered the land leaving an esker, a ridge formed as a rocky stream flowing under the ice, that today is a fascinating elevated walking path resembling a bridge.