Since the Walking City Trail is not a physically blazed hiking route, trail maps and written directions are essential to hiking the trail. On this page, you'll find three navigational resources for your adventure.
THE ALLTRAILS APP
To hike the Walking City Trail with the aid of GPS, just download the AllTrails app onto your phone by clicking here. Once you've fired up the app, go to your phone's browser, navigate to this website page, and CLICK ANY OF THE MAP LINKS BELOW to access maps of the Walking City Trail on your phone. The maps will open in AllTrails. If you subscribe to the paid "Pro" version of AllTrails, you can download the maps and use them with your phone in airplane mode.
PRINTABLE PDF TRAIL MAPS
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If you prefer to limit your screen time on the trail or not use a phone altogether, a good old paper trail map never goes out of style. You can download these four sectional Walking City Trail maps for your hike. Each trail section map is 3-4 pages in length, to allow for a closer look at the trail. Print them out or view them in your smartphone browser whenever you need to stop and take a map check mid-hike.
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WRITTEN TURN-BY-TURN TRAIL DIRECTIONS
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Maps are an important navigational tool but sometimes it's nice to put them away and focus on your immediate surroundings. Maps also can't pick up every detail of the landscape. These descriptive turn-by-turn trail directions will show you every path and street to take, while also spotlighting notable gems, oddities, and resources alongside the trail (the stuff you won't see on a map.) As before, you can print them out for your hike or view them in your phone's browser as you go.
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TRAIL CONDITIONS
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The Walking City Trail is exactly 24.89 miles long with 991 feet of vertical elevation gain from start to finish. The trail terrain includes sidewalks, dirt paths, gravel paths, rocky and rooty paths, stairs, boardwalks, and bridges. While trail difficulty and ease are subjective, Section 1 from the Harvest River Bridge to Adams Park is arguably the "toughest" trail section with a length of 7.6 miles and an elevation gain of 322 feet (most of which happens within the Stony Brook Reservation.)
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Some parts of the trail can become muddy or even partially flooded after heavy rain, so be sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast when you're preparing for your hike.
WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR HIKE
One of the perks of urban hiking is that you don't need as much gear for your hike as you likely would in the backcountry. Usually this means a lighter pack and a fatter wallet, and if you do happen to leave something behind, chances are you can find it in a store along the trail. That said, a hike on the Walking City Trail will be a hell of a lot more enjoyable if you pack the following items for your urban hike...
- Comfortable walking shoes and thick socks
- Sunblock and a brimmed hat
- At least 1 liter of drinking water
- 3 upper body layers, such as a t-shirt, a fleece, and a rain jacket
- Bandages, antibiotic ointment (for scrapes) and/or blister tape
- A headlamp or flashlight, if you're hiking into the evening
- A portable phone battery/charger, if you plan to navigate with your phone
- Comfortable walking shoes and thick socks
- Sunblock and a brimmed hat
- At least 1 liter of drinking water
- 3 upper body layers, such as a t-shirt, a fleece, and a rain jacket
- Bandages, antibiotic ointment (for scrapes) and/or blister tape
- A headlamp or flashlight, if you're hiking into the evening
- A portable phone battery/charger, if you plan to navigate with your phone
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIONS
You can get to each section of the Walking City Trail via the MBTA public transportation system. These bus, subway, and rail lines service the trailheads. Transit information in the trail directions notes additional stops within each trail section. In some places, you'll have to take an off-trail detour of anywhere between 0.2-1 mile to reach the closest public transit stop.
Section 1 trailhead, Harvest River Bridge (Mattapan)
- Bus lines: 24, 28, 30, 31, 33, 245
- Light rail: Mattapan Trolley, Capen Street station
Section 2 trailhead, Adams Park (Roslindale)
- Bus lines: 14, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 51
- Commuter rail: Needham line, Roslindale Village station
Section 3 trailhead, Jamaica Pond boathouse (Jamaica Plain)
- Bus lines: 39, 41
- Subway: Orange Line, Green Street station
Section 4 trailhead, Esplanade Park entrance on Mass. Ave (Back Bay)
- Bus lines: 1
- Subway: Green Line, Hynes Convention Center station
Trail's end at Bunker Hill Monument (Charlestown)
- Bus lines: 92, 93
- Subway: Orange Line, Community College station
Section 1 trailhead, Harvest River Bridge (Mattapan)
- Bus lines: 24, 28, 30, 31, 33, 245
- Light rail: Mattapan Trolley, Capen Street station
Section 2 trailhead, Adams Park (Roslindale)
- Bus lines: 14, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 51
- Commuter rail: Needham line, Roslindale Village station
Section 3 trailhead, Jamaica Pond boathouse (Jamaica Plain)
- Bus lines: 39, 41
- Subway: Orange Line, Green Street station
Section 4 trailhead, Esplanade Park entrance on Mass. Ave (Back Bay)
- Bus lines: 1
- Subway: Green Line, Hynes Convention Center station
Trail's end at Bunker Hill Monument (Charlestown)
- Bus lines: 92, 93
- Subway: Orange Line, Community College station