After an unusually cool and rainy spring, we took advantage of a Sunday afternoon in April to rent a two-person kayak at Newton Paddle Boston in the historic Norumbega boat house. The staff provided us with paddles and life jackets and went over a few basics. We took a map of that section of the […]
Where the Charles River Road parallels the river from Watertown Square to Brighton, a half-mile Braille Trail was created for the blind and the deaf blind to enjoy nature and explore the banks of the Charles. An unsighted person can follow a guide wire connected by wooden posts along a walking path to points of interest, […]
To those who have visited Boston, the iconic scene of the Charles River Basin with its sailboats gliding near the Longfellow Bridge is like a sparkling jewel with the golden dome of the statehouse in the background on historic Beacon Hill. This man-made basin or pond was created by the damming of the Charles River […]
The upper portion of the Charles River is so different from the river that flows into the heart of Boston. Begin at the Broadmoor Sanctuary (mostly in Dover) and drive toward Sherborn. Along the way you will find a quiet stretch of river with several wetland areas. A few years ago one of my more […]
Following the Charles River from Boston is a journey through historic sites as well as places of scenic beauty with many opportunities to walk, run, bicycle, or take to the water. For those who wish to explore the upper Charles River outside the I-95 corridor, some of the most scenic locations can be found in […]
The lovely Weeks Footbridge that crosses the Charles between the main campus of Harvard and the business school is the site of festive occasions throughout the year. May Day Celebration Every year on May Day, Harvard students in formal dress many of them residents of Lowell House leave campus and gather with other students and […]
During my explorations of the Charles, I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting three sites that are very close together on Rte. 16, a road that runs parallel to the river halfway along the river’s course. About two miles from Wellesley Center is Elm Bank, site of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society since 2004. Turn left onto a lovely wrought-iron […]
What can be so interesting about a dam? you ask. Well, just as there are some interesting bridges on the Charles, some of the dams are also worth considering, starting with the Milford Dam and waterworks where the the river begins. When a friend and I decided to visit the dam years ago, guided by one of […]
What a great view of the annual Head of the Charles Regatta from the Eliot Bridge in Cambridge! Standing on the north side of the bridge, we can watch the scullers and crews approaching as they round the turn at tree-covered Riverbend Park, pass the Cambridge Boat Club, then disappear beneath the Eliot Bridge, to emerge again on the other side rowing alongside […]
Charles River Crossings One of the most famous Charles River crossings memorialized in Longfellow’s poem happened on a moonlit night in April 1775 when Paul Revere quietly rowed across the Charles from Boston to Charlestown, a short time before British Regulars disembarked from their ships in Boston Harbor to cross the Charles and begin their cold, […]
After an unusually cool and rainy spring, we took advantage of a Sunday afternoon in April to rent a two-person kayak at Newton Paddle Boston in the historic Norumbega boat house. The staff provided us with paddles and life jackets and went over a few basics. We took a map of that section of the […]
Where the Charles River Road parallels the river from Watertown Square to Brighton, a half-mile Braille Trail was created for the blind and the deaf blind to enjoy nature and explore the banks of the Charles. An unsighted person can follow a guide wire connected by wooden posts along a walking path to points of interest, […]
To those who have visited Boston, the iconic scene of the Charles River Basin with its sailboats gliding near the Longfellow Bridge is like a sparkling jewel with the golden dome of the statehouse in the background on historic Beacon Hill. This man-made basin or pond was created by the damming of the Charles River […]
The upper portion of the Charles River is so different from the river that flows into the heart of Boston. Begin at the Broadmoor Sanctuary (mostly in Dover) and drive toward Sherborn. Along the way you will find a quiet stretch of river with several wetland areas. A few years ago one of my more […]
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