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Charles River Reservation, Boston, MA

Photo: Original uploader was Daderot at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureIconic

Charles River Reservation

Walk, run, bike or paddle the riverside paths of the Charles, from the Esplanade in Back Bay upstream past Cambridge and Watertown.

Charles River Esplanade near the Hatch Shell, Boston, MA (DCR office: 1175A Soldiers Field Road) · Boston, MA

About Charles River Reservation

The Charles River Reservation is a state park along both banks of the Charles River in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown and Newton, with about 20 miles of paths for walking, running and biking. It includes the Esplanade in Back Bay, built on fill when the river was dammed in 1910 to create the Charles River Basin. You can sail, row, kayak or canoe on the basin, and there are playgrounds, sports fields, spray decks and a skating rink along the way. It is open sunrise to sunset, dogs are allowed and alcohol is not.

  • #riverfront park
  • #bike path
  • #running
  • #kayaking
  • #sailing

What's around here?

The closest stops to Charles River Reservation, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing

    Arthur Fiedler Memorial

    Check prices

    A memorial portrait of the longtime Boston Pops conductor, installed on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Charles River Esplanade

    Check prices

    Riverside green space on the south bank of the Charles River in Boston's Back Bay.

    Steps awayMore like this

  • Eat & Drink
    Iconic

    Cheers Beacon Hill

    $25–$50

    The real Beacon Hill bar whose exterior inspired the TV sitcom Cheers, tucked beneath the historic Hampshire House.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink

  • Museums

    Gibson House Museum

    Under $25

    A preserved 1860 Victorian rowhouse in Boston's Back Bay that shows domestic life across three generations of one family and their staff.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Family Favorite

    Boston Public Garden & Swan Boats

    No admission fee

    America's first public botanical garden, weeping willows, the Make Way for Ducklings statues, and famous Swan Boats.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Boston Public Garden

    No admission fee

    A 24-acre formal park in central Boston, recognized as the first public botanical garden in America.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    0.3 mi awayMore like this

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