Outdoor Activities
Blue Hills Trailside Museum
1904 Canton Avenue, Milton, MA 02186 http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Blue_Hills/index.php
Interpretive center for 7,000 acre Blue Hills Reservation managed by Mass Audubon Society.
Freedom Trail
15 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
http://www.thefreedomtrail.org
“This three-mile ribbon of red paint links 16 historical sites. Most visitors start the trail at the Boston Common. The National Park Service offers 90-minute guided tours starting at the Boston National Historical Park Visitor Center. Maps are also available here. Stops include the Old State House, Faneuil Hall and the Old North Church.”
Charles River Reservation and Esplanade
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/charlesR.htm
The Charles River Reservation includes 17 miles of "linear park with endless recreational opportunities. Whether your interest is canoeing or ice skating, baseball or in-line skating, the Charles River is a beautiful resource."
Parks
Emerald Necklace
A 1,100-acre chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts, it includes:
- Boston Common
Boston Public Garden
Commonwealth Avenue Mall
Back Bay Fens
The Fenway
The Riverway
Olmsted Park
Jamaica Pond
The Jamaicaway
Arnold Arboretum
The Arborway
Franklin Park
Borderland State Park
North Easton, MA and Sharon, MA
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/borderland/index.htm
“Borderland is one of the most historically significant tracts of publicly owned land in the Commonwealth. Created in the early 1900s by artist and suffragist Blanche Ames and her botanist husband Oakes, Borderland offers many of the same pleasures that the Ames family enjoyed: walking and horseback riding on woodland trails, fishing and canoeing in the ponds, or, in winter, ice-skating and sledding.”
Blue Hills Reservation
695 Hillside Street, Milton, MA 02186
Varied terrain and scenic views, in combination with the reservation's proximity to Boston, make it a popular destination for hikers from the metropolitan area. The highest point within the reservation, Great Blue Hill in Milton, is the site of a historic weather observatory whose tower offers views of Boston and the surrounding area.”
Beaches
Duxbury Beach
Duxbury, MA
http://www.duxburybeach.com/
"Duxbury Beach is a 6-mile long barrier beach that extends from Marshfield in the north to Gurnet Point and Saquish (part of Plymouth) in the south. The Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc., a Massachusetts charitable corporation formed in 1975 for the purpose of preserving the ecological value of the beach, owns approximately 4 miles of Duxbury Beach. It leases most of the beach to the town of Duxbury for use by Duxbury residents and the general public."
Hingham, MA 02043
“Small bathing beach next to Monument Park. Large picnic area, restaurants nearby and restrooms. Lifeguards at the end of June. Parking available. Entrance to public parking is north of Hingham Harbor from Route 3A.”
Nantasket Beach
Hull, MA (617)-727-5290
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/nantask.htm
"Open year-round, dawn to dusk. Lifeguards on duty from late June to early September. Nantasket Beach has been a popular summer destination for city dwellers since the middle of the 19th century. The reservation encompasses 26 acres along one and a third miles of oceanfront."
Nelson Beach
Plymouth, MA 02360
“Off Route 3A, north of Plymouth Center. No lifeguards. Free parking and children's play area.”
Plymouth Beach
Plymouth, MA
“More than 3 miles of sandy beach on the open ocean. One of the most publicly accessible swimming beaches on the South Shore. Views of Saquish Neck to the northwest and Manomet Bluffs to the southeast. Lifeguards, concessions and bathhouse. Parking for 200 cars. Parking fee. Directions: 3 miles south of Plymouth Center on Route 3A. Turn left into beach parking lot just after Plimoth Plantation.”