Rest-Stop-Ranch Inc

About Rest-Stop-Ranch

Rest-Stop-Ranch is a respite retreat center and accessible garden at 202 Haverhill Road in Topsfield, Massachusetts. It's for long-term caregivers and the people they care for, including people with disabilities and memory loss. Every program is free. Mary MacDonald and Karl Ackerman began welcoming guests in 2009, and Rest-Stop-Ranch Inc. became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2019 (EIN 84-2668406). In 2026 we will welcome more than 300 visitors, with help from more than 50 volunteers.

How it started

Mary cared for her mother, Margaret Fraser MacDonald, through frontotemporal degeneration until Margaret died on December 24, 2008. Those years taught her how few places a caregiver can go to rest, and how few gardens a wheelchair can reach. The next year, she and Karl began opening their land to other caregivers. Mary is an interfaith chaplain. Karl built the accessible trails, including the 315-foot Secret Garden path.

The gardens

Half a mile of ADA-accessible trail, including the MargFMac Trail, winds past more than 70 lilacs and 100 roses to the Lily Pond Overlook. Guests come with wheelchairs, walkers, canes and strollers. The Ranch is an ArbNet Level I Arboretum.

Programs (free, by reservation)

• Thursday Social: a weekly drop-in with coffee in the Caretaker's Cottage or on the patio. Thursdays, 1–4 PM.
• Memory Café in the Garden®: for people with memory changes and their care-partners. Second Saturday of each month, in the garden April–October and in the Cottage November–March. It started in 2015, and from 2016 to 2019 it was one of 13 memory cafés seed-funded by the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services.
• Garden Rx: open garden hours on the accessible trails. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1–4 PM, April–November.
• Sunday Stroll: second Sunday of each month, 10 AM–2 PM.
• Flower festivals: the Bulb Parade (April), Lilac Fest (May), the Rose Rodeo (June) and Lily Fest (July).
• Winter Bonfires and Holiday Strolls: one Saturday a month, January–March, and three December weekends of lights. The first Holiday Stroll was in 2011.
• Care-Partner Group: twice a month on Zoom, Thursdays 6:00–7:30 PM. For people caring for a spouse with FTD or Young-Onset Alzheimer's.
• Spiritual Care: one-on-one time with Mary, by phone, on Zoom or at the Ranch.

To reserve, text Mary at 978-887-4202 or visit rest-stop-ranch.org.

Who helps

Volunteers from Northeast ARC, Gordon College, the Governor's Academy and local Girl Scout troops work alongside us. Our partners and supporters include:

• the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
• Newburyport Bank, Institution for Savings and Salem Five
• the International Lilac Society
• Essex County Master Gardeners
• SeniorCare Inc.
• the Friends of the Topsfield Council on Aging

Recognition

• WCVB "5 for Good"
• Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency
• International Lilac Society 2025 Award of Merit

Where gifts go

In 2025, gifts from individuals brought in $25,471, about half of our $52,834 in total revenue. Our 2026 goal is $75,000. Through December 31, Mary and Karl will match every gift to our GivingTuesday fundraiser, dollar for dollar, up to $10,000.

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