BOSTON HARBORWALK
JFK LETTERBOX:
SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: August 22, 2004
Length: Boston HarborWalk; 47 miles (when completed)
Dorchester Shore Reservation parking lot to Letterbox; 1.6 miles
Drive-by; JFK Library
Difficulty: Easy. Flat, paved trail.
Directions:
Take exit 15 off of I-93 to Columbia Road eastbound. At Columbus Circle; take Day Blvd. to reach the Fort Independence parking lot or Morrissey Blvd to reach the entrance to the JFK Library at Umass Boston and the Dorchester Shore Reservation parking lot about another ½ mile further down Morrissey Blvd on the right.
Boston's HarborWalk is an inviting public walkway along the waterfront, with parks, public art, seating areas, cafes, exhibit areas, interpretive signage, water transportation facilities, and a wide range of other amenities. The Boston Harbor Association works closely with the City of Boston's Environmental Department, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and waterfront property owners to ensure completion of the 46.9-mile HarborWalk. In 1984, the Boston Redevelopment Authority joined in partnership with the HarborPark Advisory Committee and The Boston Harbor Association to initiate HarborPark focus on the revitalization of Boston's waterfront. The centerpiece of this innovative initiative is the HarborWalk, a continuous public walkway along the water's edge that is, in effect, a re-established shoreline. When completed, the HarborWalk will stretch some 46.9 linear miles along wharves, piers, bridges, beaches and shoreline from Chelsea Creek to the Neponset River. For more information visit; BOSTON HARBORWALK .
Starting from the Dorchester
Shore
Reservation parking lot;
Note;
There is a separate ½ mile paved path
here, which follows crescent-shaped Malibu Beach around a small saltwater
bay.
Turn left out of the entrance, following
alongside Morrissey Blvd
and cross over the Blvd at the cross-light.
Note;
Right takes you south, where you can hook up with the Neponset Trail.
See; Neponset
Trail .
Heading north along the sidewalk, you'll come
to a path on your right leading to the Dorchester Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
A must visit, as a path from the memorial leads you up to a bench area
overlooking the bay. You come to the Umass Boston/JFK Library entrance at
0.4 miles. This is the start of the completed section of the Boston
HarborWalk. Here a wide paved trail takes you alongside the bay past Umass.
You pass a large picnic pavilion and many fisherman as you round the point and
eventually come to the backside of the JFK Library at 1 ½ miles. JFK's
sailboat is here, next to a large flight of steps leading up to the front
entrance. For information concerning the JFK Library visit; JFK
LIBRARY . Great views of Boston's skyline. This is also under the flight path to
Boston's
Logan
Airport, so there are a lot of planes flying low overhead. The paved trail ends just
ahead where you cross a short dirt path to a stone-dust trail. There are picnic
tables to your left. You head up a short hill to a large field. Stop! Follow
along the tree line on your right for 12 paces (2 steps = 1 pace) to a small
path. Note; this path becomes very overgrown during the summer months and can be
hard to spot. Head down this path to a large piece of granite sticking up on
your right. Look left and see a flat granite slab with some bricks and an iron
pipe beside it. Go to the opposite end of this slab, move one rock and
underneath the slab is the JFK LETTERBOX. Continue along the stone dust
trail until you hit the paved trail at 1.8 miles. Turn right onto the trail and
head back along the bay. Here along Harbor Point is a gazebo and views of
the JFK Library to your right and
Fort
Independence
across the bay to your left. Next, you come to a large granite map of Boston
Harbor
surrounded by benches. Old Harbor Park is part of the Harbor
Point housing development, and is a welcoming, beautifully maintained
portion of HarborWalk. Its many amenities -- benches, shelters, and
lighting -- make this portion of HarborWalk one of
Note;
A 1 mile trail heading right from Marine Park follows the causeway around
Pleasure Bay to Fort Independence on Castle Island, but
biking is not allowed. Originally freestanding,
From Marine
Park
you head left along Day Blvd around
Pleasure Bay. You come to East Broadway at 4.7 miles, where the Farragut
Statue resides inside the intersection.
Note;
It’s only a ½ mile detour to check out
Fort
Independence
on
Castle
Island. Just continue straight.
Just after the statue, a cross-walk will take
you over Day Blvd and up East Broadway along a sidewalk. Take a right down Farragut Road, passing by the tennis courts and you'll come to the entrance for Conley
Marine Terminal. Head left, on-road, along East 1st Street
until you hit Summer Street at 5 ½ miles. Turn right along a wide sidewalk and
cross over the Reserved Channel. After crossing the bridge, look
right to see a map board of the Marine Terminal area. Head right past this map
board along a short path that brings you to Black Falcon Ave.
To the right are where the cruise ships dock, but the public is not allowed
access. Note; There are no
separate paths through the Marine Terminal area, just roadway, which, on
weekends is almost devoid of traffic. Travel along Black Falcon Ave
between the cruise terminal building on your right and the Boston Design
Center along your left. Then, follow the blue painted path right to the Reserved
Channel, where you can look across to the Conley Container Terminal.
Follow the blue path left along the channel to its end at 6.8 miles, where
you'll have great views
Deer
Island, East Boston
and
Logan
Airport. Then follow Dry Dock Ave
back along the front side of the Boston Design Center. When you reach
the blue path again, turn right and follow it to a small park surrounded by a
red fence. This is where the Boston Police boats are located. Head back past the
police trailers and turn right down Tide Street. This brings you to a red fenced walkway that overlooks the dry-dock. Next,
turn left along Fid Kennedy Ave
and into the industrial park. After passing by Seafood Way, you'll notice a building on the right. The Ted Williams Tunnel passes
below on its way across the
Inner
Harbor
to East Boston
and
Logan
Airport. After passing this building, there is a HarborWalk sign and an
uncompleted section of the trail on the right. Instead, head left past the Harpoon
Brewery and you'll come to Northern Ave. Turn right and follow Northern Ave
through a traffic circle where you can then access a sidewalk as you pass by
the Pavilion.
Note;
When you reach Fish Pier (Massport), take a quick detour to the
opposite side of Northern Ave
to the South Boston Maritime Park. Here you'll find a seasonal cafe with
outdoor seating, benches and a light sculpture. From the opposite end of this
tiny park, you can see the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Next, cross over
D Street
to the World Trade Center East building and view a not-to-be-missed
sculpture garden with whimsical pieces laid out along winding paths. The kids
will love it! Head back out to Northern Ave
and turn left.
Continuing along Northern Ave
you pass the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center West building,
as well as the
Seaport
World
Trade
Center
across the street. Cross back over Northern Ave
and you'll come to Pier 4. Take a right and travel through the parking
lot. Just before the Pier 4 Restaurant the HarborWalk picks up
again on your left and travels underneath the cantilevered portion of the
Institute
of Contemporary Art. See; ICA . The trail
follows along the harbors edge dotted with interpretive signs and sculptures.
Looking left you have a good view of downtown Boston. The trail takes you around Fan Pier along a brick and cobblestone path.
Interpretive panels and ship silhouettes present the history of Fan Pier
and
Boston
Harbor. The Moakley Courthouse overlooks harbor and is an impressive building
itself. This brings you back to Old Northern Ave
at 9.1 miles.
Note;
You have two options from this point. You may head right across the
Old
Northern
Ave
Bridge
(now a pedestrian only bridge) into downtown Boston
and continue following the HarborWalk over to
To
check out the Fort Point Channel;
From the end of Fan Pier, head left along the courthouse to a cross-walk
across Old Northern Ave
and up towards the Northern
Ave
Bridge. Just before this bridge, turn right and follow the trail as it passes below
the bridge. This brings you alongside the Fort Point Channel. Here,
a boardwalk takes you past the Boston Children's Museum and up to Congress Street.
Note;
If you’re riding bikes, you may wish to detour around the next two sections as
there are stairs involved. Cross the street and turn left up Congress Street, then right along
A Street
and finally right down Summer Street. This next section actually travels
through a corridor of the old Boston Wharf Company building. To detour,
turn back up Summer Street and make an immediate right down Melcher Street. Take a moment to marvel at the old buildings here that all seem to have a
different shade of brickwork. Next, turn right at Necco Street
and another right between two buildings. This will bring you back to the
channel and the corridor exit.
Cross over Congress Street and take the stairs to the right of the "Neighborhood Health Plan" sign. After you've crossed over Summer Street, head down through a corridor of the old Boston Wharf Company building and this brings you out alongside the channel. Continue along the channel and you'll go around the tiny Binford Park. To your left will be the Gillette headquarters. You come to the end of the main channel, where a bridge right will take you to the opposite side of the Fort Point Channel HarborWalk. However, as of July 2008, this section has not been completed. Instead, continue straight, passing by a guard house and cross over the road to the Rolling Bridge Park on your right. This is roughly the 10 ½ mile mark, depending on how many detours you took. A loop trail takes you through this small park which contains benches, interpretive signs and a big, red painted arm of the Old Colony Railroad Bridge that formerly occupied this site. At the time of its construction in 1898, the Old Colony Railroad Bridge was the largest rolling drawbridge of its kind. In addition, stones are arranged in a seating pattern to mimic a circular configuration of another bridge that occupied a nearby site. Cabot Cove is accessible via a pedestrian bridge built into the Old Colony Railroad Bridge and along the west side of the Dorchester Avenue Bridge. From here, you can access the South Bay Harbor Trail, a connector trail that brings you to the Southwest Corridor Greenway. See; Southwest Corridor Greenway Letterbox . Head back along Dorchester Ave and up to Broadway. Note; There is access to the Broadway T-Station from here. Turn right and cross over Broadway Bridge. This brings you to South Bay Park. This park is a must-go-to location for train and locomotive fans. The park provides a great vantage location to observe the trains entering or leaving South Station, one of the busiest train stations in New England. South Bay Park, situated within the area formerly occupied by the South Bay, was filled over time leaving only the existing configuration of the Fort Point Channel. The land under South Bay Park was filled-in by the mid 1850s and is straddled by two bridges crossing the Channel: the West 4th Street Bridge and Broadway Bridge. After crossing the bridge, turn left, using the cross-light and travel along the wide sidewalk to the West 4th Street Bridge at 11 miles. See; South Bay Harbor Trail for further directions.
Downtown-Charlestown Harborwalk;
Head right across the
Old
Northern
Ave
Bridge
(now a pedestrian only bridge) into downtown Boston.
Note;
The HarborWalk picks up on your right, however, there are stairs
involved. If biking, continue straight out to Atlantic Ave
and turn right. Follow the sidewalk and take your first right back towards the
harbor to pick up the HarborWalk as it travels around
Rowes
Wharf.
Turn right down the stairs and travel along
the harbor, around Rowes Wharf and the Boston Harbor Hotel. Check
out all the large yachts. Next comes
India
Wharf
and then
Central
Wharf
and the New England Aquarium at ¾ miles. Travel out to the end of Long
Wharf and back along the Marriott Hotel and this will bring you to
the Christopher Columbus Park.
Note;
If you head left through the park you can access the Rose Kennedy Greenway,
See; ROSE KENNEDY GREENWAY
and the Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
Next comes
Commercial
Wharf
at 1.3 miles and Joes American Bar & Grill. This is a great spot to
grab some food, as they have outdoor seating and you can keep an eye on your
bike. We skipped this wharf, mostly full of car parking. You now enter the North
End section of the HarborWalk, passing by Lewis Wharf and
Sergeant
Wharf along what is now Commercial Street. When you come to
Burroughs
Wharf, take a right down Battery Street
and bear right to return to the HarborWalk. The Boston Fire Dept.
has a sub-station here with some fire rescue boats. When you reach the US
Coast Guard Station at 2 ¼ miles, you have to head back out to Commercial Street, as their is no access allowed. Head right past the Coast Guard's
entrance and you'll come to Langone Recreational Complex and Puopolo
Park. Pass by the wading pool and ball field and then turn right past the
Bocce Ball fields and playground to reach the HarborWalk. From here you
have good views of Charlestown and the Boston National Historic Park
across the harbor, as well as the Bunker Hill Monument. You come to the
base of the
Charlestown
Bridge
at 2.8 miles.
Note; You have two options from here. First Option; You can turn left and travel over the bridge into Charlestown and Chelsea Street. Note; You can make a detour from here to visit the Bunker Hill Monument and return via a loop route. See; Bunker Hill Monument Loop below. Head right along Chelsea St and then right down Warren St to Constitution Rd. Pass through the parking gate and you'll return to the Charlestown HarborWalk section after a 0.6 miles. However, because the Freedom Trail (See; FREEDOM TRAIL ) travels over the bridge, there is a lot of pedestrian traffic making biking difficult. Second Option; Continue straight to cross the river via the Charles River Dam & Locks to Paul Revere Park.
I choose the second and more scenic option, continued straight and traveled underneath the Charlestown Bridge, where a short boardwalk brought me to Beverly Street Extension.
Note; If you wish to access the Charles River Bikeway, turn left up Beverly Street Extension and it will bring you to Causeway Street. Turn right and cross over I-93 where it emerges from the “Big Dig” and check out the great views of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. To your left across Causeway Street is the beginning of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. See; ROSE KENNEDY GREENWAY . Follow Causeway Street past the Boston Garden building and turn right along Legends Way. This brings you alongside the North Rail Station, located in the Boston Garden. Continue down the ramp and travel between the black metal fence out to Nashua Street. Follow Nashua Street right until it veers left, then head right to connect to the paved trail alongside the Charles River.
Note; Turning right takes you onto a boardwalk terrace overlooking the river. You can then head past Therapy Dock which brings you to a cement catwalk that runs alongside the railroad tracks and out to a Railroad Drawbridge over the river.
Turn left and travel through Nashua Street Park, where the trail splits. The trail is paved to your left and a hard packed gravel to your right along the river. The two trails eventually merge and bring you to Charles River Dam Bridge (Route 28). See; Charles River Bikeway Letterbox .
At Beverly Street Extension turn right and enter the Charles River Dam & Locks. This is where the Charles River meets the Boston Harbor. The Charlestown Bridge will be up on your right and the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge will be to your left. A metal walkway will take you over the locks to Paul Revere Park in Charlestown. Bear right and look for a boardwalk that will take you underneath the Charlestown Bridge and back on the HarborWalk at Tudor Wharf after 3.3 miles. You need to travel through the parking lot to pick up the HarborWalk again near the exit gate out to Constitution Rd..
Note; You can make a detour from here to visit the Bunker Hill Monument and return via a loop route. See; Bunker Hill Monument Loop below.
Travel around the large marina and Constitution Wharf and you'll come to some old railroad tracks at about 3.8 miles and the Boston National Historic Park. Currently (As of August 2009) a metal gate blocks access to the park, so you need to detour around it. Head left along the old tracks (hard packed trail) into a parking lot. Turn right and this will bring you to Constitution Road. Turn right and follow Constitution Rd past "Gate 1" along the Freedom Trail and into the Boston National Historic Park. See; BOSTON NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK . Head right down the pier to check out the USS Constitution and USS Cassin Young (Free entry). Great views of downtown Boston and the US Coast Guard cutters across the harbor. Head back up the pier and turn right along 1st Ave and the Harborwalk. This will take you past another Gate and out to a combination boardwalk and brick lined path right, down Terry Ring Way. Be sure to check out the Korean War Memorial on your left. This takes you out to the end of Pier 4, part of the Charlestown Nary Yard at 5.1 miles. Head back down the pier and right along the Harborwalk, past Piers 5-7. The boardwalk becomes rough until you pass by Pier 8 and the Shipyard Quarters Marina where the trail turns to stone-dust. The Harborwalk currently ends at 5.7 miles at the junction of 1st and 16th Streets. If you follow 16th Street out to Chelsea Street you'll see the green Tobin Memorial Bridge (Route 1) above you as it heads right towards the Mystic River. If you head right to the Chelsea Street Bridge, it doesn't cross over the Mystic River, just an inlet. The Harborwalk will continue around this inlet and all the way out to the Mystic River, then up along the Mystic River to the Schrafft Center (section already completed), located on the shores of the Mystic River near Route 99. Future plans then call for connecting the Harborwalk to the Mystic River Paths. See; Mystic River Paths .
Bunker Hill Monument Loop; Hills involved. From the exit gate near Constitution Rd head straight up Warren St and use the cross-light to cross Chelsea St. Turn left along Chelsea Street and you'll come to City Square Park along your right. Fountains-statures-historical informational signs, very ornate park. Exit out the west side of the park and head up Harvard St. Beautiful old houses and buildings. Turn right down Main St and then left up Monument Ave. This brings you to Monument Square. The Bunker Hill Museum (restrooms available) is located on your left. Take the paved ramp up to the Bunker Hill Monument. About 3/4 miles. The museum and monument are run by the NPS and free. You can climb the 294 steps up the granite monument. Great views. For more information visit; BUNKER HILL MONUMENT . Return to Monument Square and travel left to the southern corner of the "hill". Head down Winthrop St and around the Commons to Park St. Take a left off Park St down Warren St. Use the cross-light over Chelsea St and continue down Warren St to Constitution St. Pass through the parking gate to return to the Harborwalk after a 1 1/4 mile loop.
HH
CLICK HERE FOR BOSTON HARBORWALK MAP
CLICK HERE FOR DORCHESTER BAY MAP
CLICK HERE FOR BOSTON BIKE MAP
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
MARCH 4, 2007
TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION
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BIKE IT OR HIKE IT LETTERBOXING