Goddard State Park

Master plan and implementation for a 427-acre historic site and state park facility

Goddard Memorial State Park was formerly the estate of the R. H. Goddard family. The Olmsted Brothers designed the master plan for the Goddard estate and the current park design respects the design intent of the original Olmsted Brothers plan, but the master plan also provides contemporary park amenities as required by the Department of Environmental Management’s long range recreational master planning goals.

Many of the newer park facilities including the beach, the bathhouse, the boat ramp, the 9-hole golf course and pro-shop and the horse-show ring and stables were originally implemented in the 1950’s- 1960’s and this master plan analyzed their use, location and condition and updated meet ADA and code requirements. The master plan recommended several improvements:

• Better traffic circulation, parking and park entrance control as well as better site accessibility for emergency vehicles
• Enhanced landscaping around the golf course
• Enhanced beach and bathhouse facilities
• Consolidation of maintenance and park police facilities
• Inclusion of natural interpretive center to be tied into the site’s existing horse and hiking trails as well as other existing natural features
• Definition of the park boundaries and the park’s relationship to the neighborhood.