Boston outdoors

Dune and Bog Walk

<p>1-2 hours, 1-2 miles in loose sand. Head out from the Province Lands Visitor Center to explore an<br />enchanting landscape of sand dunes and wild cranberry bogs. </p> <p><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW187906810 BCX8">Meet at the Province Lands Visitor Center, with </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW187906810 BCX8">a </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW187906810 BCX8">possible caravan</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW187906810 BCX8"> to a nearby site</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW187906810 BCX8">. </span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW187906810 BCX8"> </span></p>

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Art in the Park on Georges Island

<p>Unleash your creativity with a variety of art activities designed to enrich your island experience. Test your hand at watercolors, write and illustrate nature haikus, learn to decode signal flags, and explore sun printing.</p> <p>NOTE: <a href="https://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferry-tickets/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ferry tickets</a> must be purchased to attend this event. Georges Island is accessible via public ferry. To purchase ferry tickets, please visit the Ferry Information page on the <a id="menur33i" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferryschedule/" href="https://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferryschedule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#myModal" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#myModal" data-remote="/common/commonspot/customcf/modals/modal_intercept.cfm?targetURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bostonharborislands.org%2Fferryschedule%2F">Boston Harbor Islands partnership website</a>.</p> <p>Events may be effected by weather. Please ask the Boston Harbor Welcome Center for updates.</p> <p> </p>

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Boston Harbor Now

Free Outdoor Tango @ Kendall Urban Park Roof Garden

Running from Jul 17, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026

Free Outdoor Tango @ Kendall Urban Park Roof Garden! PopUp Summer Free tango on the KENDALL URBAN PARK ROOF GARDEN on Fridays from 5:30–8:30pm! We host a free class for beginners, too, so all are welcome!

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MIT Events Calendar

Appalachian National Scenic Trail

The Appalachian Trail is a 2,190+ mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers.

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Photo Credit: ATC/Benjamin Hays

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area

. . . where you can walk a Civil War-era fort, view historic lighthouses, explore tide pools, hike lush trails, camp under the stars, or relax while fishing, picnicking, or swimming—all within reach of downtown Boston. Youth programs, visitor services, research, wildlife management, and more are coordinated on the park's 34 islands and peninsulas by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.

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NPS Photo

Cape Cod National Seashore

The great Outer Beach described by Thoreau in the 1800s is protected within the national seashore. Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape Cod's past and continuing ways of life. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon today's visitors.

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NPS image

New England National Scenic Trail

From the Sound to the summits: the New England Trail covers 235 miles from Long Island Sound across long ridges to scenic mountain summits in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The trail offers panoramic vistas and close-ups of New England’s natural and cultural landscape: traprock ridges, historic village centers, farmlands, unfragmented forests, quiet streams, steep river valleys and waterfalls.

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AMC Photo

Arnold Arboretum

The Arnold Arboretum is a botanical research institution and free public park affiliated with Harvard University and located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in North America.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Back Bay Fens

The Back Bay Fens, often simply referred to as "the Fens," is a parkland and urban wild in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1879. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to serve as a link in the Emerald Necklace park system, the Fens gives its name to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Boston Common

The Boston Common is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common covers 50 acres (20 ha) of land bounded by five major Boston streets: Tremont Street, Park Street, Beacon Street, Charles Street, and Boylston Street.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park

Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park is a combination national recreation area and state park situated among the islands of Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, United States. The park is made up of 34 islands and peninsulas and is managed by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Boston Harborwalk

Boston Harborwalk is a public walkway that follows the edge of piers, wharves, beaches, and shoreline around Boston Harbor. When fully completed it will extend a distance of 47 miles (76 km) from East Boston to the Neponset River.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Boston Public Garden

The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent to Boston Common.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Castle Island (Massachusetts)

Castle Island is a peninsula in South Boston on the shore of Boston Harbor. The landmass was an island until 1928, when it was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land. Castle Island has been the site of a fortification since 1634, and is currently a recreation site and the location of Fort Independence.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Charles River Esplanade

The Charles River Esplanade is a park in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it is located on the south bank of the Charles River Basin and comprises part of the Charles River Reservation. The park was dedicated in 1910 as the Boston Embankment.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park

The Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park is a public park in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. It is considered the start of the Boston Irish heritage trail.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Emerald Necklace

The Emerald Necklace consists of a 1,100-acre (4.5 km2; 450 ha) chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Franklin Park (Boston)

Franklin Park, a partially wooded 527-acre (2.13 km2) parkland bordered by the Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, is maintained by the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department. It is Boston's biggest park and the site of the Franklin Park Zoo.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Georges Island (Massachusetts)

Georges Island is one of the islands in the Boston Harbor, situated just over 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 39 acres (160,000 m2), plus an intertidal zone of a further 14 acres (57,000 m2), and rises to a height of 50 feet (15 m) above sea level. Historic Fort Warren is on the island.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Jamaica Pond

Jamaica Pond is a kettle lake, part of the Emerald Necklace of parks in Boston designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The pond and park are in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, close to the border of Brookline.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Mount Auburn Cemetery

Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway

The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the Financial District, the Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

Spectacle Island (Massachusetts)

Spectacle Island is a 114-acre (46 ha) island in Boston Harbor, 4 miles (6.4 km) offshore of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is part of the city of Boston.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons