Riverside Greenway

Overview

This “in progress” section of the DCR Blue Heron Trail would run from Lyons Field on Commonwealth Avenue to Concord Street, passing through Riverside Park and the Leo J. Martin Golf Course. Several informal trails already exist along this route. Connections to the trail systems in Weston and Waltham are also being studied.

The Riverside Greenway Working Group is pulling together Newton residents, state agencies, and non-profit groups to develop this trail system.

Two articles in the Conservators Newsletter have described the progress of the project:

Longest Walk: 1.2 miles

Longer Walks that include this property:
Riverside Walk All Year
Riverside Walk Winter Loop

Maps

Other maps and aerial photos:

Bing Maps bird’s-eye photo

Get here by MBTA: The Greenway is adjacent to the Riverside terminal of the Green Line, but a chain link fence now prevents direct access. Plans for redevelopment of the station parking lot include providing access to the trail system along the river.

Will connect to:

Leo J. Martin Golf Course and Riverside Park

Auburndale Park (once a way is found to get past the MBTA tracks and the Mass Turnpike)

Trail Map

Click map for larger image

GPS Enabled Trail Map

Access City of Newton GIS Map

To see your location, press the location icon while viewing the map on your smartphone. If the blue location dot doesn’t appear when you open the map, come back to this page and click here.

Owner & Administrator Websites

DCR
Riverside Greenway Working Group

Photo Gallery

The Pony Truss Trail was rebuilt in 2020.

A bench along the Pony Truss Trail

Work begins on the Pony Truss Trail

Workers install marking posts at the Concord Street entrance to the trail leading to the Lower Falls Pedestrian Bridge in August 2011

Panoramic view of the old railroad bridge over the Charles between Concord Street and Washington Street, prior to its reconstruction as the Lower Falls Pedestrian Bridge in 2012.

The dedication of the Lower Falls Pedestrian Bridge in 2012.

The old Pony Truss bridge in 2011, prior to its reconstruction.

The Pony Truss Bridge in Riverside Park will be a link in the Greenway.

The new bridge built in 2013.

A guided walk sponsored by Historic Newton and the Newton Conservators crosses the Pony Truss Bridge in 2015.

This underpass formerly connected Riverside Park to Charles Street in Newton. Because of the poor condition of this underpass, the MBTA closed off access to it in 2016.

Walkers cross the "Pony Truss Bridge" on a tour of proposed Riverside Greenway led by Newton Conservators Director Larry Smith in September 2019

The underpass is now closed. Planning to restore it is underway.

The entrance to the underpass from Charles Street in Newton.

A path along the Charles next to the golf course could become part of the Greenway.

The Charles River, viewed from the trail in Wellesley

The Martin Golf Course and ski track may become the site of links in the Riverside Greenway.

The path leading upstream on the Newton side of the river from the Pony Truss Bridge is scheduled for reconstruction in 2019.

Reconstruction of the "Lasell Boathouse Bridge" began in 2023.

The Boathouse Bridge is now closed.

The Boathouse Bridge in the foreground, now closed to the public, is scheduled for reconstruction in 2019. The MBTA bridge is at rear.

The MWRA has paved and landscaped a path through their deep rock tunnel access site, the location of a major water main break in 2010. The path connects Riverside Park to the Boathouse Bridge.

This bridge in the Martin Golf Course may become a link in the Greenway. A trail along the Wellesley side of the river leads to the pedestrian bridge that was rebuilt in 2012.

A new trail on the Wellesley side of the river connects the Martin Golf course to the Lower Falls Pedestrian Bridge (at left) and the Waterstone at Wellesley housing development (at right).

The proposed route for the Greenway crosses I-95/128 on an old railroad bridge.

Another old railroad bridge crosses an I-95 frontage road adjacent to the Riverside MBTA station.

Possible trail routes

First three photos shown here. Click a photo to view the complete slideshow or click here to browse the complete gallery.

History

2012

An old railroad bridge was rebuilt as the Lower Falls Pedestrian bridge, and connecting trails constructed, creating a trail from Washington Street in Newton Lower Falls north to Concord Street. A trail was built on the Wellesley side of the Charles River extending to the edge of the Leo J. Martin Golf Course. The proposed Riverside Greenway is expected to connect to both of these trailheads.

2013

The “Pony Truss Bridge,” an old pedestrian bridge across the Charles, was rebuilt.

2017

Riverside Greenway Working Group formed to create trail connections in this area. Newton Conservators is a member of the Working Group.

2020

Newton City Council approves Community Preservation Act funding for design of a link in the Greenway. The Pony Truss Trail is rebuilt along the Charles from the Pony Truss Bridge to Route I-95.

Features

Biking, Boat Launch, Charles River Walk, Scenic View, Woods Trail

Additional Information

Proposed Trail Improvements

Future links on the Blue Heron Trail

2014 update and photographs

2019: Panel discussion at the Newton Free Library

Herb Nolan’s slide show

Video of entire discussion

2020: DCR proposes creation of a multi-use trail system from Riverside to Quinobequin Road.

Report a Problem

Report a Problem in a Park or Conservation Area

Riverside Greenway

Overview

Maps