Upcoming Event: See Boston's"lost highway" in the woods

Hello, Boston! Hot enough for you? While our first group hike on the Boston Boundless Trail is happening this evening at 5:00 PM, our next adventure on the new trail is just around the corner, and I wanted to share the hike details and the signup page ASAP.

This coming Saturday, June 20th, we’ll be cranking the dial from “short evening hike” to “4.5-mile day hike” and exploring one of the strangest places on the entire Boston Boundless Trail. We’ll meet at Readville Station in Hyde Park at 10:00 AM and follow Section 4 of the BBT through the wetlands of the Neponset River Reservation to reach a literal lost highway that’s hidden in the greenery. This missing link is a piece of the I-95 connector that almost cleaved Boston in half during the 1960s and 70s, before the project was resisted and defeated by the People Before Highways movement. (Local author and MIT Professor Karilyn Crockett has a terrific book about this.) From there, we will enter the far west end of the Blue Hills Reservation and take the Skyline Trail to our finish line, the Blue Hills Trailside Museum, which has a resident river otter!

This will be the most thoroughly “backcountry” group ramble in Walking City Trails history so far. Meaning, we will be walking through rugged and remote territory, and the hike will feel closer to what most folks think of when they imagine “hiking.” The ground will be rocky and rooty in several places, and muddy in others. While most of the hike will happen on level-ish ground, there will be some moderately graded hills during the final mile or two. (A walking stick or trekking pole can be helpful here!) As with the mission of the BBT, to showcase the full spectrum of environments that one can find around Boston, this group hike will be an immersion in Boston’s rustic side.

CLICK HERE to sign up for this Saturday’s group hike, and be sure to read the parts about what to pack and how to get to/from the hike. I’m looking forward to whipping out the bug repellent and going for a hearty walk in the woods with you all real soon.

Cheers,
Miles Howard

The Walking City Trails are 100% community powered. Simply put, these urban trails would not exist without the enthusiasm and generosity of Boston explorers like you. If you would like to support our efforts to connect more people with the great *local* outdoors, CLICK HERE.