The blog entry “Welcome Summer on the Charles” (May 2016) described many opportunities to “take to the water,” on the Charles River, including the availability of canoe and kayak rentals at the historic Norumbega* boathouse in Newton. You may also want to walk around the adjoining thirteen-acre Norumbega Park, managed by the Newton Conservators. In the late 1800s, […]
If you have ever had the experience of participating in the Fourth of July celebration at the Hatch Shell by the Charles River in Boston, you know how exciting that can be with the Boston Pops playing from the band shell, fireworks reflected over the water, flag-waving crowds, and cannons fired during the climactic moments […]
While April brings back the sailboats at Community Boating in Boston, May marks the beginning of the paddling season, with the opening of Charles River Canoe and Kayak in Cambridge, Brighton/Allston, Waltham, and Newton and the training of new scullers and crew teams at Community Rowing in Brighton. Both of these opportunities are described in the […]
After years of industrial growth and expansion, fueled by world wars, the 1960s was a period of growing awareness and concern about our environment. Marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson who published Silent Spring in 1961 had already written Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the Sea, all with the awareness of our interdependent relationship […]
“Sailing for All” has drawn people of all ages to Boston’s Community Boating, Inc., docks to learn about rigging a sail, “heading up into the wind,” and tacking across the ever-changing winds that blow across the water from the wind tunnels created by the buildings of Boston’s skyline. From April to November the staff at […]
Our earliest visit to Mount Auburn Cemetery was on a beautiful spring day when the trees had burst into bloom – pink, yellow, crimson, and white, with the sun illuminating the new green of the trees. We walked with our four-month-old son in his stroller along winding lanes past intricately carved monuments, bordered by ponds and pathways with botanical names […]
We recently spent time at the Mt. Auburn Hospital and found ourselves in a room with a scenic view of the Charles River along Memorial Drive. An occasional sculler glided along the Charles in the early morning, a walker or runner followed the path by the river on some of the milder days, and we could […]
Take a self-guided walking tour from Boston or Cambridge through history and today’s active city. If you are in Boston for a short time, begin in front of North Station (MBTA) on Causeway Street that was once a walkway for Native Americans and then Colonists during low tide. Get a close-up view of the Zackim […]
While the Charles River is the setting for many activities from spring through summer, you may enjoy taking part in the following events in September and October as we did recently: Riversing On a beautiful Sunday September afternoon at summer’s end, a large, diverse crowd at the Weeks Footbridge awaited the arrival of Revelers* parading from […]
The Charles River travels eighty miles from its source through twenty-three towns and cities, shaped by human activity all along the way, some of that harmful to the health of the river – such as the construction of dams that have slowed the water’s flow and factories (and even an abbatoir) that have dumped their […]
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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