Facilities
Bathrooms Bathrooms can be found in a few places in Franklin Park:
Golf Clubhouse: The Clubhouse has the only public bathrooms in the park; the Clubhouse and its facilities are open to all park users, not just golfers. The Clubhouse is located on Circuit Drive (the main road through the park) near the Blue Hill Avenue Entrance.
Franklin Park Zoo: The Zoo has bathrooms (though you'll need to pay an entrance fee to get into the zoo). The zoo is located near the Blue Hill Avenue Entrance to the park.
White Stadium: During weekday business hours and when it's open for sports events, you can ask to use the bathroom in the Stadium locker rooms. Enter at the gate closest to the Walnut Avenue parking lot. Bathrooms may be harder to access during the summer Sports Camp.
You can eat at the Golf Clubhouse --there's a snack bar serving breakfast, lunch, supper, beer and wine during daylight (golfing) hours in the warmer months. In winter or during bad weather the snack bar is often closed. You can reserve the function room (seats 150) and the golf course caterer for a group event. The Franklin Park Zoo also has a healthy snack bar for lunch that is accessible upon paying Zoo admission. There are informal pizza and Caribbean restaurants along Blue Hill Avenue (Dorchester) across from the park. On the Egleston Square and Jamaica Plain side, you have to walk a few blocks down the hill to Washington Street to find food.
The Golf Clubhouse is fully wheelchair accessible.
To enjoy the park, go on The Loop, a 2.5 mile paved path that winds around the golf course and through the park. The path does have an occasional rut or crack. The Loop will take you through wooded areas, past a picnic site, and over old stone bridges that traverse Scarboro Pond - a popular birding and fishing spot. There are other paved or hard-packed dirt paths throughout the park. A smaller, paved, one mile loop path goes around White Stadium and the Playstead.
Functions
You can reserve the Golf Clubhouse function room that seats about 150 people for a social event or meeting. The cost is about $130 for four hours and you must use the Golf Clubhouse caterer or pay an additional fee of $3.00/person. To reserve the room, call 617-265-4084. To contact the caterer, call 508-954-8776. Alcoholic beverages are allowed, but you must use the caterer's bartender. There are a few other rules and regulations, but it is a great place for a big gathering. The function room opens onto a lovely terrace with tables for outdoor seating that overlook the rolling hills of the golf course.
It's free to reserve a spot in the park for a family reunion or group picnic, download a Special Events Permit application and submit to the Boston Parks Department.