Length:                 Alewife T-Station to Cambridge Water Works and Fresh Pond Loop Trail; 1 mile. 

                                Fresh Pond Loop Trail; 2.5 miles.                    

                                Cambridge Water Works to Fresh Pond Letterbox; 1/2 mile          

Difficulty:             Easy. Flat, paved surface.

To start from Alewife T-Station; Take Boston's Red-Line to access this station. See; MBTA for more information. For information about taking your bike on the subway. See; MBTA/BIKES . From I-95, take exit 29 to Route 2 east to Alewife. Take the exit for Alewife Station Access Road and park at the T-station's parking garage.

To start from the Cambridge Water Works; From I-95, take exit 29 to Route 2 east to Alewife. Take the exit for Routes 3/16 southwest. Follow Alewife Brook Parkway (3/16) to Fresh Pond Parkway (3/16) to the Cambridge Water Works.

Fresh Pond Reservation consists of the 155 acre kettle-hole Lake called Fresh Pond and 162 acres of surrounding land. In the mid 1800's the Pond was privately owned and the site of a flourishing ice industry, its clean water producing high quality ice that was shipped as far away as Europe, China and India. The Pond became the City's drinking water supply in 1852 and is now part of the reservoir system for the City of Cambridge. For more information visit;  FRESH POND .

Alewife T-Station, a stop on the commuter rail line into Boston is a hub for four trails that radiate from it, as well as, another proposed future trail. From the northwest, the Minuteman Trail terminates here. See; Minuteman Bikeway Letterbox . Head south for the Fresh Pond Trail and a future spur from Fresh Pond that will connect to the Charles River Bikeway called the Watertown Branch Rail Trail. See; Watertown Branch Rail Trail .West takes you along the Fitchburg Cutoff, a short trail that is part of the larger Mass Central Rail Trail and still a work in progress. See; Fitchburg Cutoff  . East takes you along the Red Line Linear Path which turns into the Somerville Community Path, both of which are part of the larger Mass Central Rail Trail. See; Somerville Community Path . A proposed trail heading northeast called the Alewife Brook Trail would connect to the Mystic River and the Mystic River Paths. See; Mystic River Paths .

From the end of the Minuteman Trail at Alewife T-Station, There is a green sign showing the various bike routes and mileages from this point. To reach the Fresh Pond Trail, turn left down the sidewalk along the side of the parking garage. Just before the tunnel, the trail crosses over the road and heads around the backside of the station. The trail then turns left away from the station and travels underneath Alewife Brook Parkway. You’ll see a green sign that reads Fresh Pond and points to the right. Head right as straight takes you along the Red Line Linear Path. The trail heads down a narrow corridor. You emerge from the narrow corridor and follow alongside Alewife Brook Parkway. This takes you over the Alewife Brook Bridge which crosses over some active rail lines. You then come to traffic rotary and follow the trail to the left. Just past the Dunkin Donuts is a crosswalk that will take you over Concord Ave to a sidewalk. Head straight to reach the bike trail. Turn left and follow the bike trail to the Cambridge Water Works parking lot across the old railroad tracks after about a mile. Travel between the parking lot and Water Works building to reach the Loop Trail.  Head right along the trail with Fresh Pond on your left and the old railroad tracks and bike trail to your right. The trail loops around to the west as you pass a connecting path to the bike trail. Note that the chain linked fence, which encircles the pond, has a lot of poison ivy growing up it, so please don’t touch. This trail is paved, but older and rougher in spots. Also, a lot more pedestrians and dogs, so be alert. The trail splits, left continuing along the pond and right bringing you up to Lusitania Meadow. Head right. A ¼ mile loop trail takes you around this wildflower meadow which also includes a spur trail out to Concord Ave. After checking out Lusitania Meadow, continue along the trail as it merges back with the pond trail at a ½ mile (millage does not include the meadow loop). Look for a dirt path on your right that heads into Lusitania Woods. Take 9 paces (2 steps = 1 pace) along this path and you should be next to an Oak tree on your right. Now, look past this tree into the woods and a bit to the left and spot a very large diameter Oak tree. From that tree, again look past it to your left and spot a second very large diameter Oak tree. Go to the backside of that tree and under some rocks is the Fresh Pond Letterbox. If you continued along the dirt path you would come to Neville Place and the Maynard Ecology Center as well as Mather Park. Continuing along the paved trail, you'll come to a sign board and Emergency Call Box #4. A spur trail on your right leads past Black’s Nook and out to Concord Ave. Continue along the trail and you’ll spot the Fresh Pond Golf Course along the right, followed by Little Fresh Pond. After 1 3/4 miles you then encounter a short unpaved section. If you look to your right, you will see some old railroad tracks. These are the same tracks that run in front of the Cambridge Water Works. You then come to newly paved asphalt which brings you to the Cambridge Water Works purification facility. A 1/4 mile detour to your left takes you up a small hill into Kingsley Park, a shaded area with two stone overlooks and then loops back down to the trail. You then come back to the Cambridge Water Works building and parking lot after 2.5 miles. If you continued along the bike path that runs in front of the Water Works and alongside the old railroad tracks, it would eventually take you over the tracks and alongside Fresh Pond Parkway, ending at Huron Ave. Future plans call for utilizing the old rail bed and turning it into the Watertown Branch Rail Trail. This trail would then travel down to Watertown and connect to the Charles River Bikeway. See; Watertown Branch Rail Trail and Charles River Bikeway Letterbox .