Connecting 14 Boston neighborhoods from the Neponset River to Bunker Hill, the Walking City Trail is a hiking path through Boston's most immersive parks, urban wilds, community gardens, and greenways.

The trail is divided into four segments that are accessible by public transportation and include frequent stopover points for food, drink, art and culture, and restrooms. You can section hike the trail, or traverse the whole thing in one  day. (It's pretty much the same length as the Boston Marathon route.)

As more American cities expand their pedestrian infrastructure with new multi-use trails, it's time to expand our idea of where hiking can happen. The city is a rustling, fragrant, and scenically rich ecosystem where paths and street walks can be connected to create  long-distance hiking routes. What better place to model urban hiking than Boston, where visionaries like Frederick Law Olmsted brought the natural world to the city with the Emerald Necklace linear parks? Or where thousands 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. Find out why Boston is often called "America's Walking City." And when you get home, share your hiking adventures and discoveries by using the hashtag #WalkingCityTrail

SECTION  1:   Neponset  River  Greenway,   Edgewater  GreenwaY,   Sherrin  Woods,   Stony  Brook  Reservation,  Sherman  STREET  Conservancy   (8.3  miles)

Setting off from the Harvest River Bridge, follow the Neponset River into Mattapan and Hyde Park. Snake through residential neighborhoods and railroad infrastructure to pass through the rustic hollows of Sherrin Woods and massive woodlands at Stony Brook Reservation. A view of the Boston skyline and a  long descent  down Washington Street to Roslindale Village  are the finale of this introductory section of the Walking City Trail.

SECTION 2:   Arnold  Arboretum,   Southwest  Corridor  GREENWAY,   Franklin  Park,   Jamaica  Pond   (5.8  miles)

Enter the arbor paradise of Arnold Arboretum from its south end and enjoy another Boston vista from the top of Peters Hill before taking the Bussey Brook Meadow path and Southwest Corridor Greenway into "The Wilderness" of Franklin Park, where stone stairways, chuckling streams, and abandoned bear cages are part of the scenery. Pass through a hidden woodland in a sleepy residential area of Jamaica Plain, and finish at the  Jamaica Pond boathouse and docks.

SECTION  3:   OLMSTED   PARK,   Nira  Rock,  PARKER  HILLTOP,   THE  RIVERWAY,   THE  FENS  (6.1  MILES)

Descend winding stairs to the boardwalk along Ward's Pond and wind your way through the  woods of Olmsted Park before taking a hard right turn and climbing past  huge  puddingstone boulders to the summit of Parker 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 third section of the Walking City Trail on the Charles riverbanks.

SECTION  4:   ESPLANADE  PARK,   BOSTON  Public  Garden,   ROSE  KENNEDY  GREENWAY,   BOSTON  HARBORWALK,   BUNKER  HILL   (5.4  miles)

Home stretch, baby! Take a sumptuous stroll on the Charles  at Esplanade Park before crossing Storrow Drive and hitting Downtown Boston's best green spaces in a near-unbroken sequence. Pass through the labyrinthine streets of the North End, cross a set of locks on moving footbridges, and  link up with the Freedom Trail for the climatic climb to Bunker Hill Monument: the pinnacle of the Walking City Trail, still looming tall in Boston's oldest neighborhood.

Use the hashtag #WalkingCityTrail when sharing your trail pics on Instagram and Twitter! 

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