Date visited: 5/29/2023

See Also: Boston, Cambridge, Watertown

This park is part of the Charles River State Reservation. The Reservation is on 17 miles of land on both sides of the Charles River. We walked a three mile loop that encompassed the Charles River Esplanade on the Boston side, the Longfellow Bridge to Cambridge, this walkwway on the Cambridge side near the MIT campus, and the Harvard Bridge leading back to the Boston side. This side was less busy than the Boston side. The Longfellow Bridge is adorned with all sorts of trophies. This is called the "Trophy Room", an art project that was started anonymously in 2014. There are some nice views of the Boston skyline here beyond the various yacht docks.

Date visited: 2/25/2024

This might be one of Mandy's favorite trips yet! There were plenty of off-leash dogs to visit, bark at, and sniff. In fact, this place seems to be a tailored made destination for dogs! The park is managed by the Cambridge Water Department, and Cambridge licensed dogs are allowed to be off-leash here. The majority of the park consists of a three mile walking trail around the fenced off pond. The pond serves as the water supply for the city of Cambridge, so there is no access. There is a small side pond, named "Little Fresh Pond", that is accessible, and has a doggie swimming area. There is also Kingsley Park, sort of a park within a park, on the top of a small hill. There's a couple of viewing platforms where you can see the pond, and some open field areas that serve as dog parks. The only downside is that parking is only for Cambridge residents. If you don't live in the city, you need to park elsewhere. I know you're not supposed to do this, but we parked at a nearby shopping plaza and walked about a half mile to the park. The plaza featured a Petsmart store, that we did stop at and re-stock our supply of dog treats, so at least we shopped at the plaza where we parked! We wound up walking a total of four miles altogether. Except for the lack of parking, this is a great place to bring your dogs.

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Date visited: 3/8/2024

This is the very beginning of the Minuteman Bikeway. It starts at the Alewife Brook Reservation near a number of other bike trails. Only about a tenth of a mile or so of The Minuteman Bikeway is in Cambridge, as it quickly crosses into Arlington. This is a single picture at the start of the trail in Cambridge. See the Arlington page for the rest of our adventure.

Date visited: 3/10/2024

The Somerville Community Path becomes the Alewife Linear Path once it crosses into Cambridge. The path connects to a series of other paved paths near Alewife Station, including the Minuteman Bikeway, and a path that leads to Fresh Pond, both places we've visited recently. These paths make it easy to get around town on foot or by bike. It's a nice alternative to driving because traffic and parking is a mess in this area! We covered the entire section from the Somerville line to to the start of the Minuteman Bikeway, where we were just two days prior.

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