EMERALD NECKLACE GREENWAY:
BOSTON,
MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: NO
LETTERBOX PLANTED AT THIS TIME
Length:
Charles River Bikeway to Franklin Park entrance; 5.7 miles
Difficulty:
Easy. Flat, paved trail.
Directions:
You can access this trail from the north via
the Charles River Bikeway or from the south via the Southwest Corridor
Greenway as well as
Franklin Park
and Arnold Arboretum. See links for directions; Charles
River Bikeway Letterbox , Southwest
Corridor Greenway Letterbox , Franklin
Park Letterbox , Arnold
Arboretum Letterbox . There are some small parking lots located in
Olmstead
Park
along
Pond Ave.
You may also access this trail from the subways Orange Line via the Forest
Hills Station. See; MBTA
. Bikes are allowed on the
Orange
, Blue and Red Lines all day on weekends. For more information about taking your
bike on the subway visit; MBTA-BIKE
.
Completed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1895,
the 6 mile long Emerald Necklace was the first linear park to be
constructed in this country. The Emerald Necklace is comprised of a
series of parklands and vehicular parkways, which are linked by the wetland
resources of the
Muddy
River
. The five major parts of the system include the Back Bay Fens, Muddy River
Improvement,
Jamaica
Park
, Arnold Arboretum and
Franklin Park
, and their connecting parkways (Fenway, Riverway, Jamaicaway and Arborway). The
Emerald Necklace is the only remaining intact linear park designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted,
Sr.
,
America
’s first landscape architect. As such, it is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. Green and open spaces, rivers and ponds, and a wealth and
diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, wildlife habitat, riparian life, bridges
and other structures make up this urban jewel. It took civic visionary Frederick
Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903) almost twenty years (1878-1896) to create the six
parks now known as the Emerald Necklace. The Back Bay Fens, Riverway,
Olmsted Park
,
Jamaica
Park, Arnold Arboretum and
Franklin Park
stretch five miles from the
Charles River
to
Dorchester
and make up over 1,000 acres of parkland. For more information visit; EMERALD
NECKLACE .
Starting from the
Charles River
Bike Path; take the ramp up to the
top of the Mass Ave Bridge and head
left into
Boston
. Sidewalks are available. Turn right down
Beacon Street
and pass below the
Ipswich Street
overpass. Turn left along Charlesgate West and follow it as it takes you up a
ramp to
Ipswich Street
. Cross over I-90 and the rail line and you’ll come to a split in the
road. Use the cross-walk to get to the stone bridge abutment overlooking the
Muddy
River
below. This is about a ½ mile trip. Paved trails follow the Muddy River
south on both sides from here through Back Bay Fens Park. I chose the
western path, which is to your right as you look down on the river, as there is
more to see along the way. Pass by a brown sign that reads “
Emerald
Necklace-Back
Bay
Fens-1879”. These signs appear every time you enter
a different portion of the greenway. You immediately encounter the community
gardens, with trails meandering throughout them; however, they all bring you
back to the main trail which runs alongside
Park Drive
. You come to your first road crossing,
Agassiz Road
, at 0.8 miles. Like most of the road crossings, a bridge traverses the river,
allowing you access to the opposite side of the greenway. I continued along
Park Drive
. Next, I turned left away from
Park Drive
, so I could check out a Veterans Memorial.
This then took me past a pedestrian bridge that crossed the river at 1 mile. I
followed the trail right past the Rose
Garden, which brought me to Clemente Field. Wide open ball
fields and basketball courts occupy this area. The trail splits, with another
pedestrian bridge crossing the river. I followed the trail behind the bleachers,
which took me around the ball field and back alongside
Park Drive
. Another road crossing, whose bridge takes you over to Fenway (the road that
travels the eastern side of the greenway). I continued along
Park Drive
, where the river is briefly diverted underground. The trail then crosses
Brookline Ave
at 1.7 miles, where the river is again diverted under a large open medium.
Continue along
Park Drive
, which you need to cross to access the sidewalk, as there is not really a trail
through the medium. Here the trail and river turn left.
Note;
You have two choices. You may head up
Park Drive
and access the paved trail on the left before you cross over the rail line or
do what I did and access the stone-dust trail that runs alongside Riverway,
across the medium. At the entrance is another Emerald
Necklace sign reading “Riverway-1890”.
I preferred this side of the river because it
brings you to an old stone stairway and stone pavilion along the left. A
pedestrian bridge on your right will then take you over the river to the paved
trail, where the rail line runs alongside behind an embankment. Whichever side
of the river you decide to continue on, you’ll next pass under a stone arched
bridge for Longwood Ave at 2 ¼ miles. When you reach
Netherlands Road
, if you’re on the stone-dust trail, you’ll want to cross over to the paved
trail, as it’s just a dirt path alongside Riverway. The next major road
crossing is
Brookline Ave
at 3 miles. However, you’ll need to turn right, using the cross-walk, to
access a cross-light that will take you over this busy road. Turn right when you
reach the other side. The next road crossing takes you on a dirt trail,
alongside
River Road
. This non-paved section is very brief as it ends at
Washington Street
. Again, there is no cross-walk here to continue the trail across this very busy
road, so you need to detour to the right to access a cross-light. After you’ve
continued along the other side, the trail then crosses over the entrance to
Jamaicaway.
Note;
Again the trail splits with the left branch taking you alongside Jamaicaway and
the right branch heading alongside
Pond Ave.
I continued alongside
Pond Ave.
The trail divides; left for pedestrians and
right for bikes. An Emerald
Necklace sign here reads “Olmstead Park-1891”.
A small parking lot is available here. The wide, paved trail runs alongside Leverett
Pond and passes by old stone bridges and walls. You’ll pass by another
small parking lot at 4 miles where the split trails combine as you head uphill
to
Perkins Street
. Across this street is an entrance to Jamaica
Pond. However, the 1 ½ mile trail that encircles the pond does not allow
bikes. Instead, you need to turn left and travel along
Perkins Street
(a wide sidewalk or bike lane is available) to Jamaicaway, where you then head
right. An Emerald Necklace sign here reads “Jamaica Pond-1892”.
Jamaica Pond,
Boston
’s largest freshwater pond, is over 50 feet deep and is fed by natural
springs. Again the trail splits with a pedestrian path heading right down
towards the pond and a bike trail left that takes you alongside Jamaicaway. You
come to the Jamaica Pond Boat House at 4.3 miles, with an adjoining band
stand overlooking the pond. Built in 1910, the Boat House contains a restroom,
refreshments and information. The two trails briefly combine and then split with
the pedestrian path heading right along the pond and the bike trail heading
left. Cross over
Prince Street
and head left around the rotary. A sign in the medium will read “Arborway”.
Continue south along Arborway, where there is a wide shoulder for bikes (the
sidewalk here is so-so). There are green signs for Arnold Arboretum along
the route. Spy a house on your right that looks like a Tudor castle at 4.8
miles. Arborway consists of a two lane road in the middle and one-way streets
running along either side. You come to another rotary. There are cross-walks
that will lead you around the rotary and back alongside Arborway. Just follow
the green Arnold Arboretum signs. The sidewalk here is nice and
wide. You come to the Emerald
Necklace-Arborway Gate-1872
entrance to Arnold Arboretum at 5.1 miles. See; Arnold
Arboretum Letterbox for clues and directions. Continuing past
this gate, the sidewalk follows alongside a stone wall separating you from the
arboretum. Next you come to the Forest
Hills Gate entrance and follow alongside a large stone wall as the
Arborway becomes an elevated road. This brings you down to
South Street
at 5 ¼ miles. Across the street is the Forest Hills T-Station. Right
takes you to the Washington Street
Gate entrance (See; Southwest Corridor Greenway Letterbox) or
cross the street and head left over two sets of old track to the Forest Hills T-Station map board. From the map board, a
cross-walk takes you left to the start of the Southwest Corridor Greenway.
See; Southwest
Corridor Greenway Letterbox
for clues and directions. Turn right and travel along the sidewalk, crossing
over
Washington Street
, where you’ll come to a green Southwest Corridor Park sign. The
elevated highway is now on your right as you follow this trail to
Forest Hills Street
at 5.7 miles. A rotary is on your right. You can enter
Franklin Park
from two directions. You can turn left down
Forest Hills Street
and enter the park from a paved trail that comes down from the right or you can
cross over
Forest Hills Street
and turn left at the park entrance. See; Franklin
Park Letterbox for clues and directions.
HH
CLICK HERE FOR EMERALD NECKLACE GREENWAY MAP
CLICK
HERE FOR BOSTON BIKE MAP
BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE
SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND
DISCLAIMER
BIKE IT OR HIKE IT
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