by Renee Lindo (Read Renee’s agent bio. / Read Robbie’s agent bio.)
Rockland is a great place to live on the South Shore. It's a small, tight-knit community with a real home-town feel. Rockland has good schools, diverse restaurants, and nice parks and walking trails. The location is perfect...halfway between Boston and Cape Cod, with highway access right in town. Rockland is also close to supermarkets, shopping centers, and the MBTA commuter rail.
Rockland Schools
The Rockland Public School System is a PK-12 district. There are approximately 2,179 students with a 12.9 to 1 student-teacher ratio. There are currently five school buildings in Rockland— the R. Stewart Esten School, Jefferson School, Memorial Park School, John W. Rogers Middle School, and Rockland High School—but they are in the process of condensing into four state-of-the-art schools.
The Middle School was built in 2013, and the High School was comprehensively renovated at that time as part of the same building project. Rockland also recently approved a new, 760 student elementary school building project which will replace the Jefferson and Memorial Park Schools and transform the Esten School into an early childhood center for pre-school and district-wide kindergarten. For more in-depth information about the Rockland Public School System, visit the Rockland Public Schools Website or check out Rockland’s School District Profile on the Massachusetts State Website.
Things to Do in Rockland
MaGoo’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop
One or our family’s favorite things to do in Rockland is visit MaGoo’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop. They have a great 18-hole mini-golf course which is fun and challenging for all ages. We enjoy playing a competitive round of mini-golf then following it up with a nice, big ice cream. MaGoo’s offers a wide variety of hard serve & soft serve ice cream, specialty sundaes, and “Razzles” (soft serve ice cream with your choice of mix-in’s). There are so many flavors and options to choose from, it is seriously hard to decide what to get. Everyone in our family loves the Razzles! Our favorite Razzle flavors are Chocolate Lovers, PB Oreo, and Grasshopper.
Rockland Town Forest & Thompson Pond and Twin Ponds Trail System
We just recently discovered that Rockland has some pretty cool hiking trails. The Rockland Town Forest is a fun walk featuring stone lined paths, wooden bridges, a winding stream, and a number of little surprises along the way (Storywalk, painted rocks, tree ornaments, and fairy houses). Another great place to hike is at the Thompson Pond and Twin Ponds Trail System. There are several different trails here—one goes all the way to Union Point. We enjoy walking the wooded paths that lead to Thompson Pond on one side and Twin Ponds on the other. The trails are clearly marked, they have nice sturdy bridges built over streams and marshy areas (which adds to the fun), and they both end with scenic views of the ponds.
Hartsuff Park
Hartsuff Park is a great place to spend the day with the family. There are ball fields, basketball courts, an 18-hole disc golf course, a playground, picnic area, hiking trails, and sand bottom swimming hole. We're hoping to try out the disc-golf course soon (it seems like you have to bring your own discs, so we are looking into buying a cheap set on Amazon).
Popular Rockland Restaurants
There are a lot of different restaurant options in Rockland. Some of the most popular are:
- Lucca Restaurant and Bar - Fine Italian food
- Mineiros Brazilian Steakhouse - Authentic Brazilian BBQ
- Player’s Sports Bar & Grill - Classic American favorites (burgers, pizzas, wings, and more)
- Jac’s Café - One of the area's best breakfast spots! Jac's is known for their amazing homemade donuts, acai bowls, Jac’s Fit 5 Skinny Breakfast, and all of the typical breakfast classics (specialty waffles, pancakes, omelets, skillets, and more).
There are some great counter-service and take-out options in Rockland as well, including:
- Vivi’s Kitchen - Greek wraps, salads, bowls and burgers
- Themis Pizza - Pizzas, calzones, subs and more
- Spicy Edamame - Chinese cuisine and delicious fresh sushi
- Little Bangkok Thai Restaurant - Authentic Thai food
Learn More About Rockland
If you are interested in learning more about Rockland, follow us on social media at @lindorealtygroup on Instagram and @lindorealtygroup on Facebook. Our agents will be reviewing their favorite Rockland businesses and restaurants throughout the month of April!
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