WALK 27 MILES OF BOSTON PARKS, GARDENS, URBAN FORESTS, AND STREETS
The "WCT" is divided into four segments ranging from 6 to 8 miles. Each can easily be split into two shorter section hikes. Each Walking City Trail section is accessible by public transit at multiple points and includes access to public restrooms, water, and food. You can hike the Walking City Trail in small pieces, or complete the whole thing over a day or two. The trail is yours to "activate" as you see fit!
As cities expand their multi-use trails, it's time to expand our idea of where hiking can happen. The city is a rustling, fragrant, and historically loaded ecosystem in which pathways and street walks can be connected to create long-distance hiking routes. What better way to discover urban hiking than by hiking Boston, where visionaries like Frederick Law Olmsted brought the natural world to the city with the Emerald Necklace linear parks? Or where thousands of people walk the Freedom Trail each year?
Slip on your comfiest shoes, grab some coffee from the nearest corner store, and use the maps or turn-by-turn directions from this website to hike the Walking City Trail today. Discover why Boston is called "America's Walking City." Finish the whole trail, let us know, and we’ll send you a free patch! And when you get home, share your hiking adventures and discoveries with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Connecting 17 Boston neighborhoods from the Neponset River Reservation to Bunker Hill Monument, the Walking City Trail is a 27-mile urban hiking path through some of Boston's most scenically immersive parks, urban wilds, gardens, and residential neighborhoods. It was created in 2022 by a hearty crew of Boston ramblers.
SECTION 1. NEPONSET RIVER RESERVATION, EDGEWATER GREENWAY, SHERRIN WOODS, CONNELL/SMITH FIELD, STONY BROOK RESERVATION, SHERMAN STREET GREEN SPACE CONSERVANCY (8.3 MILES)
Set off from the Harvest River Bridge and follow the Neponset River through Mattapan and Hyde Park. Traverse residential neighborhoods and railroad infrastructure to pass through the rustic hollows of Sherrin Woods and the massive forest of Stony Brook Reservation. An epic view of the downtown Boston skyline from the tallest hill in the city and a descent into Roslindale Village by way of a hidden *fairy village* are the finale of the Walking City Trail’s first and longest section.
SECTION 2. ADAMS PARK, ARNOLD ARBORETUM, BUSSEY BROOOK MEADOW, SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PARK, FRANKLIN PARK, CHILCOTT GRANADA GARDEN, PARLEY VALE WOODS, JAMAICA POND (5.7 MILES)
Enter the arbor sanctuary of Arnold Arboretum from its quieter south side and enjoy another sublime downtown Boston vista from the top of Peters Hill before following the waters of Bussey Brook to the Southwest Corridor Greenway. Continue and enter "The Wilderness" of Franklin Park, where stone stairs and rusting bear cages are part of the curious scenery. Descend through a hidden woodland in a sleepy residential area of Jamaica Plain, and wrap things up at the Jamaica Pond docks.
SECTION 3. JAMAICA POND, OLMSTED PARK, NIRA ROCK, MCLOUGHLIN WOODS, MISSION HILLTOP, KEVIN W. FITZGERALD PARK, THE RIVERWAY, THE FENS, FENWAY VICTORY GARDENS, COMMONWEALTH MALL (6.1 MILES)
Follow the shores of Jamaica Pond and then find your way through the woods of Olmsted Park before taking a hard right turn and climbing past huge puddingstone rock formations to the summit of Mission Hill, where one of the best Boston views on the trail awaits. A quick detour through the Longwood medical area delivers you to The Riverway, where you'll hike part of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace past Fenway Park and the Victory Gardens before finishing this secton on the Charles Riverbanks.
SECTION 4. ESPLANADE PARK, BOSTON PUBLIC GARDEN, BOSTON COMMON, AUNTIE KAY & UNCLE FRANK CHIN PARK, MARTIN’S PARK, BOSTON HARBORWALK, PAUL REVERE MALL, CHARTER STREET PARK, PAUL REVERE PARK, WINTHROP SQUARE, BUNKER HILL MONUMENT (7.3 mILES)
Enter the bustling core of Boston with a seabreeze scented stroll along the Charles River at Esplanade Park before crossing into the Boston Public Gardens and Boston Common. Next, snake through the streets of Chinatown and the Leather District to reach the briney brick paths and boardwalks of the Boston Harborwalk. Step into overlooked parks in the labyrinthine North End alleys and cross a set of *moving footbridges* across the Charles before climbing Bunker Hill to complete the trail.
