Lincoln's best-known cultural building has been closed to art since 2023, and it is going to stay that way for a while. In May, the Lincoln Squirrel reported that deCordova's indoor galleries would not reopen until spring 2028. They closed in 2023 for HVAC work and were first expected back in two to three years. The current plan is to start interior construction in the winter of 2026-27. That leaves this fall as the last full season before the hard-hats arrive. For now, almost everything cultural in Lincoln happens outside: on the sculpture park lawns, on conservation trails, and at two working farms. Those dates bunch up in October, and the schedule shrinks noticeably once November starts.
A Museum Building That Mostly Hosts Talks Now
The deCordova building is still busy. It just isn't showing art. The Trustees say the building keeps running public programs, lectures and private events while the sculpture park, café and store stay open. The building's biggest fall evening is Thursday, October 8, when 2026 Rappaport Art Prize recipient Sky Hopinka gives the 27th Rappaport lecture. The reception starts at 6:00 p.m. and the talk at 6:30.
For Lincoln residents, the outdoor campus is free. The Trustees list free admission for Lincoln residents, Trustees members and children 12 and under. Everyone else pays $14 per adult or $12 for seniors and students. That makes a quick loop of the park easy to fit into an ordinary weekday. The posted hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays. Twisted Tree Café closes an hour earlier each day. The same Trustees site also says the park shifts to Wednesday through Sunday in winter, with no start date. If you plan to visit on a Tuesday late in the season, check the hours first.
The Trustees' own statement about the renovation shows how much the outdoors shapes the plan. D.A. Hayden, the Trustees' vice president for the MetroWest region, told the Squirrel:
"This work will not expand the existing footprint of the building; rather it will improve how these spaces function for art and people. We look forward to building improvements which share the beauty of the outdoors with the indoor spaces."
The South Lawn Changes Hands Today
Today, October 4, is the last listed day for Nature Sanctuary. The outdoor exhibition opened in June 2025 and stretched across the front lawn and beyond. It included site-inspired commissions and loans by Venetia Dale, Kapwani Kiwanga, Joiri Minaya, Zohra Opoku, Kathy Ruttenberg and Evelyn Rydz.
From here on, the main temporary piece is Silvia López Chavez's Chromatic Portals on the South Lawn. It is three large doorway-like frames of powder-coated steel with chiffon overhead in blue, green and violet, standing for Land, Water and Sky. It belongs to deCordova's GROUNDED series of new commissions inspired by the site's land and ecology. It is listed through May 28, 2027, so it will stay up through the winter, when the colored fabric will stand out against bare trees and snow. The Summer 2026 park map marks it as new to the park this spring, along with Arlene Shechet's Channel Liberty.
If you'd rather have a guide, the Trustees list "A Walk in the Park," a fully outdoor tour at 1 p.m. on October 10, 17 and 24 and November 7 and 28. The ticket includes park admission. A "deCordova by Moonlight" tour for the Hunter's Moon is listed for Monday, October 26. It runs 60 to 75 minutes after hours, needs advance tickets, and asks guests to bring a flashlight or lantern. Event listings can change, so confirm the details before you buy.
The Town Has Started Leading Its Own Walks
Lincoln's own trails are also getting more organized programming this fall. On October 3, Conservation Ranger Will Leona started a first-Saturday ranger-walk series that visits a different town conservation parcel each month. The town flyer lists 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. walks of about two to three miles, suitable for all ages. Registration is required to keep groups under 15, pets stay home, and meeting spots are emailed to people who sign up. The first walk was Browning to Beaver Pond. Next up are Tanners Brook on November 7 and Pine Hill on December 5.
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust's October calendar fills in around those walks:
- Tuesday, October 6, 1 to 2:30 p.m. A mindfulness walk with John Calabria. The series is organized for ages 55 and up but welcomes everyone.
- Saturday, October 10, 9 to 11 a.m. Drop-in family scarecrow making at Codman Community Farms, with supplies provided.
- Tuesday, October 13, 1 to 3:30 p.m. A plant-identification and natural-history walk at Codman North with naturalist Jeff Adams, booked through Eventbrite.
- Sunday, October 18. The Scarecrow Classic 5K for runners and walkers, which supports LLCT's conservation, trail and education work.
- Wednesday, October 28, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Another Calabria mindfulness walk.
As of this writing, the trust's upcoming-events page lists nothing after October 28. Early October also brought storm damage. Town land-management staff were clearing fallen trees from trails, and Conservation asks residents to report downed trees or flooded trails at 781-259-2612. Getting to some trailheads may take longer for a while. Old County Road between Trapelo Road and Route 2 was reported closed for Enbridge gas-main replacement, and as of October 1 the work was expected to take "another month or so."
The Farms Carry the Family Calendar
At Drumlin Farm, 208 South Great Road, the new feature this fall is volunteer Nature Guides who run hands-on activities at farmyard stations. They are usually out Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with fall themes planned. That gives families a reason to stop by on a regular weekday, not just on event days.
Drumlin's big day is Fall-oween on Saturday, October 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It includes hayrides, the Drumlin Witch, wildlife and farmyard activities, and the Harmony Highway Band. Special-event admission for adults is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. For children it is $8 and $12.
Codman Community Farms at 58 Codman Road starts its season with today's Harvest Fair and finishes it with a cleanup. On Wednesday, October 28, at 1 p.m., Codman and the Lincoln Public Library host a free Fall Storytime with Librarian Debbie. Registration is required. Then on Sunday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the sixth annual Great Pumpkin Smash takes undecorated jack-o'-lanterns for composting, with a suggested donation of $1 per pumpkin.
October 24 Is the Crowded Saturday
Three of the season's biggest events fall on one day. Fall-oween fills Drumlin from morning through late afternoon. deCordova's 1 p.m. "A Walk in the Park" tour is on the schedule that afternoon. And the October 24 Special Town Meeting is scheduled to ask voters to choose a heating plan for the library at 3 Bedford Road. One option is a gas-boiler replacement of roughly $330,000, with more HVAC work later. The other is a full geothermal heat-pump and HVAC project estimated at $6.25 million gross, or about $3.7 million net after incentives. A household that wants to vote, ride the hayride and see the South Lawn will need to plan the day.
For an indoor art stop without leaving town, Clark Gallery at 162 Lincoln Road is showing Mayumi Nakao – New Work through October 31.
November Narrows the Window
Once October ends, the outdoor calendar gets thinner fast:
- Gropius House at 68 Baker Bridge Road moves from Thursday-through-Sunday tours, which run May through October, to weekends only from November through April.
- Saturday, November 7 has the ranger walk at Tanners Brook in the morning and a deCordova park tour at 1 p.m.
- Sunday, November 8 is the Great Pumpkin Smash at Codman.
- Saturday, November 28 is the last "A Walk in the Park" tour on the current schedule.
- Saturday, December 5 brings the ranger walk to Pine Hill.
After that come the winter hours at deCordova and the start of interior construction. Chromatic Portals will stay on the South Lawn through May 28, 2027, and residents can still walk in free.
If one of these walks or tours has you wondering about a particular corner of Lincoln, like what sits along the road to Tanners Brook or how life near deCordova changes from season to season, I'm always happy to talk it through over coffee. Ashley Fuller knows these trails and lawns as a neighbor, not just as an agent. Let's Connect.
