Walks and more

A Bike Loop Around the Charles in Needham, Dedham, Boston, and Newton

This ride on the Blue Heron Trail starts and ends at Cutler Park in Needham. It covers about 10 miles, and takes about 2.5 hours at a leisurely pace. Some of the ride is on smooth carriage roads and sidewalks. However, there are enough steep, narrow, and bumpy stretches, as well as busy roads, to

A Highly Unofficial Route on Connections to the Upper Falls Greenway

The Upper Falls Greenway is a one-mile converted rail trail that extends from Newton Highlands to Newton Upper Falls, with a spur trail connecting to Needham Street. In the coming years, connections are likely to be made between the Greenway and other trails. But if you don’t mind some scrambling on steep, rough trails, and

A Loop Along the Aqueducts

This page describes an 8-mile loop beginning and ending in Newton Centre. It covers both aqueducts, and makes the connection between them by walking on the trail and road shoulder along Quinobequin Road. The entire route can be walked (or, more likely, bicycled) in either direction. A detailed description of the counter-clockwise direction starts below.

Along the Charles River Path: Loop from Watertown Square to Bridge Street

This loop walk or bike ride is about two miles long. It covers the area described on this page. View other possible walks along this part of the Charles. You can start the walk at any point along the loop. The description below starts from Watertown Square. If you start from Bridge Street, parking is

Along the Charles River Path: Loop from Watertown Square to Moody Street

This loop walk or bike ride is about 7 miles long. Almost all of the route is on the Charles River Path, with just a couple of sidewalk detours. You can start the walk at any point along the loop. The description below starts from Bridge Street and does the western loop first, followed by

Along the Charles River Path: Loop from Watertown Square to Auburndale

This route is about 13 miles long. You can start the trip at any point along the loop. The description below starts from Bridge Street and heads west. Parking is available on the side streets parallel to Bridge Street. The eastern half of this trip is on the trails described on these two pages of

Along the Charles River Path: Moody Street to Watertown Square (by foot and bus)

This walk is about 4 miles long. It starts (or ends) with a bus ride from Watertown Square to Moody Street in Waltham. The walking portion of this trip is on the trails described on these two pages of this website: Bridge Street to Moody Street Galen Street to Bridge Street Alternate trips: • an

Charles River to Newton Centre

Did you know that you can walk from here: to here: on a route that is almost entirely through parkland? Read on for details. This walk is 7 miles long. It takes about 3 hours. The trip ends in Newton Centre. The starting point is a trailhead near the river at the end of Sawmill

Newton Centre to the Malls

Scenic walks of less than two miles each lead from Newton Centre through Webster Woods to the malls near the intersection of Route 9 and Hammond Pond Parkway. The map below shows three different routes. The blue shading shows the route to The Shops at Chestnut Hill. To get to The Street Chestnut Hill, follow

Riverside Walk All Year

Cautions: This walk is not suitable for young children, because it covers several unofficial trails, including some scrambling over a brush-covered former railroad bed. This version of the route avoids walking near the Martin golf course, which is not open to walkers during the golf season. See this page for an alternate route that can

Riverside Walk Winter Loop

Cautions: This walk is not suitable for young children, because it covers several unofficial trails, including some scrambling over a brush-covered former railroad bed, as well as walking along a busy road. The route goes through the Leo J. Martin Golf Course, which is not open to walkers during the golf season. So this route

The Charles River in South Newton and Boston: Blue Heron Trail to Millennium Park

This 4.3 mile round-trip walk begins and ends at the end of Sawmill Brook Parkway. A 6.5-mile one-way walk from the Charles River to Newton Centre also begins at this location. Online map Printable map Editor’s Note: The Blue Heron Trail along the stretch of the Charles River between Nahanton Park and Millennium Park is

Upper Falls Loop Trail

This 3-mile trail was created by neighborhood leaders in Newton Upper Falls. It passes through Hemlock Gorge, the Upper Falls Greenway, several other parks and conservation areas, and neighborhood streets. It is described in this post on Village 14. Google Map AllTrails Map

Waban to Chestnut Hill

This walk is about 4.5 miles long. It takes about 2 hours at a leisurely pace. The walk starts at the Waban MBTA station on Beacon Street just west of Woodward Street. It ends at the Chestnut Hill MBTA station, allowing an easy return to the starting point. Online map Printable map Walking Directions with

Webster Woods/Hammond Pond Trails

Three color-coded loop trails were marked with blazes and intersection numbers in 2021. The loops range from 0.8 miles to 1.4 miles. Longer walks are possible by combining two or three of the routes. Detailed descriptions of each route appear below. This rough map shows the routes. The Newton Conservation Areas map will soon be