Alewife Brook Greenway to Mystic River Greenway
Featured Ride
This 7.1-mile ride takes you along the banks of Alewife Brook and the Mystic River as you cruise through the urban landscape of North Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford. Bookended by the Red Line at Alewife and the Orange Line at Wellington, the route is easily accessed by transit from most of the Boston Metro Area.
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Trail Description
This pair of urban trails follow two waterways that were once major economic engines for the region before their rebirth into the thriving ecosystems seen today. The trails connect vibrant recreational spaces along the corridor and offer an escape from the bustling city. The Alewife Brook Greenway was constructed in 2012 by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), completing Charles Eliot’s vision for a path alongside the Alewife Brook Parkway. The Mystic River Greenway follows the route of a former Boston and Maine railroad spur, primarily used by the riverside brick industry. It was constructed in segments beginning in the 1980s and recently completed to Wellington Station with the Clippership Connector, opened in August 2025.
Transportation
This trail is conveniently accessible by public transportation on the MBTA Red Line and Orange Line. Both Wellington Station and Alewife Station also have large parking facilities where you can park for a small fee. See the MBTA website for information about bringing your bike on the train.
MBTA Red Line
At one end of the trail is Alewife Station, easily accessible from Boston on the Red Line. It’s about a 20-minute ride from Downtown Boston to Alewife. If you’re coming by car from south of Boston, you can park at Quincy Adams or Braintree Station and ride the train 45 minutes to Alewife.
MBTA Orange Line
At the other end of the trail is Wellington Station, just an 11-minute ride from downtown Boston on the Orange Line subway. If you’re coming by car from the north, you can park at Oak Grove station and ride 2 stops to Wellington. If you’re coming from the south, you can park at Forest Hills Station and ride 25 minutes to Wellington.
MBTA Local Bus
Several buses serve Alewife and Wellington Stations, as well as stops along the trail. Check the MBTA website for details and see this page for information on bringing your bike on the bus.
MBTA Red Line
At one end of the trail is Alewife Station, easily accessible from Boston on the Red Line. It’s about a 20-minute ride from Downtown Boston to Alewife. If you’re coming by car from south of Boston, you can park at Quincy Adams or Braintree Station and ride the train 45 minutes to Alewife.
MBTA Orange Line
At the other end of the trail is Wellington Station, just an 11-minute ride from downtown Boston on the Orange Line subway. If you’re coming by car from the north, you can park at Oak Grove station and ride 2 stops to Wellington. If you’re coming from the south, you can park at Forest Hills Station and ride 25 minutes to Wellington.
MBTA Local Bus
Several buses serve Alewife and Wellington Stations, as well as stops along the trail. Check the MBTA website for details and see this page for information on bringing your bike on the bus.
Bikeshare
Bluebike
If you don’t have your own bike, there are Bluebike docks available at Alewife and Wellington Stations, as well as at several spots along the trail. Bikes can be rented using the Bluebike or Lyft app.
If you don’t have your own bike, there are Bluebike docks available at Alewife and Wellington Stations, as well as at several spots along the trail. Bikes can be rented using the Bluebike or Lyft app.
Connecting Trails
Alewife Station is a trail hub where you can conveniently extend your ride in several directions. You can head north on the Minuteman Bikeway, southeast through Alewife Linear Park to the Somerville Community Path, or west on the Fitchburg Cutoff, a section of the planned Boston to Northampton Mass Central Rail Trail (see MCRT: Sudbury to Hudson Section and MCRT: Wachusett Greenways Section). Note that Alewife Linear Park is closed for construction through Fall 2026, and you can follow posted on-street detours to the Community Path. You can also ride the path along Alewife Brook Parkway to the Fresh Pond Paths and the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway, which connects to the Charles River Greenway.
On the other end of the trail, you can continue past Wellington to the Northern Strand via the Woods Memorial Bridge, which has wide sidewalks you can ride on.
On the other end of the trail, you can continue past Wellington to the Northern Strand via the Woods Memorial Bridge, which has wide sidewalks you can ride on.
Trail Photos
Trail Attractions
Alewife Reservation Constructed Wetland (0 miles from start)
With a short ride down the Fitchburg Cutoff from Alewife Station, you can walk the trails and boardwalks around a constructed wetland, one of the largest in New England. Originally a low-lying, spongy remnant of the "Great Swamp" that once stretched from Fresh Pond in Cambridge to Arlington’s Spy Pond, this area was heavily disrupted by decades of industrialization, dredging, and urban development. In 2013, a massive collaborative effort between the City of Cambridge, the MWRA, and the DCR transformed the area into a massive biological filter to prevent stormwater and sewage overflow from directly entering Alewife Brook. Learn more on the City of Cambridge website.
Davis Square (off-trail)
Close to the trail is Somerville’s Davis Square, a lively urban neighborhood with numerous food, drink, and entertainment options. You can typically ride there completely on-trail via the Alewife Linear Park, however, the park is closed for construction through the fall. In the meantime, follow the signed on-street detour or take the Red Line one stop from Alewife.
Middlesex Canal Marker (2.1 miles from start)
Opened in 1803, the Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile engineering marvel that connected the Merrimack River in Lowell to Boston Harbor. This shortcut eliminated the need for cargo ships to follow the Merrimack all the way to Newburyport before moving goods by sea to Boston. This marker sits on the spot where the canal crossed the Mystic River before cutting through Somerville and Cambridge and emptying into the harbor near Charlestown.
Old Powder House (off trail)
Take a one-mile detour down Broadway towards Tufts University, you can visit the Old Powder House, the oldest stone structure in Massachusetts, and the site of an early Revolutionary episode in 1774. The structure was erected in 1703 as a windmill for grinding corn before being purchased by The Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1747 and converted into a powder magazine. In later years, it would see use as a pickle storage cellar, before its transformation into a park in the early 20th century. Learn more about the history of the park in the Dig Deeper section below.
Torbert MacDonald Park (5 miles from start)
Near the Wellington Station end of the Greenway, you can visit the 63-acre Torbert Macdonald Park. The park features paved multi-use paths, open lawn space, a playground, and wooden piers overlooking the river. The park was named for Torbert Macdonald, an 11-term United States Congressman and Harvard roommate of John F. Kennedy. Macdonald was a key advocate for the Clean Water Act and helped secure funds to clean up the Mystic River Watershed. For decades, the marshy banks of the Mystic were used as an unregulated dumping ground for industrial ash and debris. In the 1970s, the land on this site was capped with clean topsoil allowing trees and grass to finally take root. Learn more on the Mystic River Watershed Association website.
Amelia Earhart Dam (off trail)
The Amelia Earhart Dam is a crucial piece of infrastructure that transformed the lower Mystic River Watershed from its historic condition as a tidal estuary, into a carefully controlled freshwater body. You can see the dam as you round the point near Wellington Station, or you can head over the Fellsway Bridge and along the southern riverbank to get an up-close view. It was named after world-famous pilot, Amelia Earhart, who lived nearby at 76 Brooks St after moving to Medford at age 26 in 1924. Before her aviation career, she was a teacher and social worker at Denison House in the South End, a settlement house founded by Katherine Lee Bates, writer of America the Beautiful and after whom another MassTrails10 2026 trail, the Shining Sea Bikeway is named. Read more about the dam and the history of the Mystic River in the Dig Deeper section below.
With a short ride down the Fitchburg Cutoff from Alewife Station, you can walk the trails and boardwalks around a constructed wetland, one of the largest in New England. Originally a low-lying, spongy remnant of the "Great Swamp" that once stretched from Fresh Pond in Cambridge to Arlington’s Spy Pond, this area was heavily disrupted by decades of industrialization, dredging, and urban development. In 2013, a massive collaborative effort between the City of Cambridge, the MWRA, and the DCR transformed the area into a massive biological filter to prevent stormwater and sewage overflow from directly entering Alewife Brook. Learn more on the City of Cambridge website.
Davis Square (off-trail)
Close to the trail is Somerville’s Davis Square, a lively urban neighborhood with numerous food, drink, and entertainment options. You can typically ride there completely on-trail via the Alewife Linear Park, however, the park is closed for construction through the fall. In the meantime, follow the signed on-street detour or take the Red Line one stop from Alewife.
Middlesex Canal Marker (2.1 miles from start)
Opened in 1803, the Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile engineering marvel that connected the Merrimack River in Lowell to Boston Harbor. This shortcut eliminated the need for cargo ships to follow the Merrimack all the way to Newburyport before moving goods by sea to Boston. This marker sits on the spot where the canal crossed the Mystic River before cutting through Somerville and Cambridge and emptying into the harbor near Charlestown.
Old Powder House (off trail)
Take a one-mile detour down Broadway towards Tufts University, you can visit the Old Powder House, the oldest stone structure in Massachusetts, and the site of an early Revolutionary episode in 1774. The structure was erected in 1703 as a windmill for grinding corn before being purchased by The Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1747 and converted into a powder magazine. In later years, it would see use as a pickle storage cellar, before its transformation into a park in the early 20th century. Learn more about the history of the park in the Dig Deeper section below.
Torbert MacDonald Park (5 miles from start)
Near the Wellington Station end of the Greenway, you can visit the 63-acre Torbert Macdonald Park. The park features paved multi-use paths, open lawn space, a playground, and wooden piers overlooking the river. The park was named for Torbert Macdonald, an 11-term United States Congressman and Harvard roommate of John F. Kennedy. Macdonald was a key advocate for the Clean Water Act and helped secure funds to clean up the Mystic River Watershed. For decades, the marshy banks of the Mystic were used as an unregulated dumping ground for industrial ash and debris. In the 1970s, the land on this site was capped with clean topsoil allowing trees and grass to finally take root. Learn more on the Mystic River Watershed Association website.
Amelia Earhart Dam (off trail)
The Amelia Earhart Dam is a crucial piece of infrastructure that transformed the lower Mystic River Watershed from its historic condition as a tidal estuary, into a carefully controlled freshwater body. You can see the dam as you round the point near Wellington Station, or you can head over the Fellsway Bridge and along the southern riverbank to get an up-close view. It was named after world-famous pilot, Amelia Earhart, who lived nearby at 76 Brooks St after moving to Medford at age 26 in 1924. Before her aviation career, she was a teacher and social worker at Denison House in the South End, a settlement house founded by Katherine Lee Bates, writer of America the Beautiful and after whom another MassTrails10 2026 trail, the Shining Sea Bikeway is named. Read more about the dam and the history of the Mystic River in the Dig Deeper section below.
Trail Artwork
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Wildlife of the Trail
This pair of greenways follows a managed urban riverine corridor, transitioning from the narrow, freshwater wetlands of Alewife Brook to the broader parklands and industrial edges along the Mystic River. The mosaic of habitats, including riverbanks, hardwood forest fragments, and shallow estuaries, acts as a vital wildlife corridor within a densely developed setting. The system is especially notable for its annual anadromous fish runs, which support a variety of raptors and resident waterbirds.
Resident species include osprey, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, tree swallows, red-winged blackbirds, alewife and herring, eastern painted and snapping turtles, muskrats, squirrels, eastern cottontails and raccoons.
eBird
Check out the eBird hotspots along the trail to see what bird species have been spotted recently in the area. You can also report any interesting birds you see on your ride. There are hotspots near Alewife Station, at Veterans Memorial Park, Riverbend Park, Torbert MacDonald Park and near the Mystic Valley Parkway See this page for more information about eBird.
Resident species include osprey, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, tree swallows, red-winged blackbirds, alewife and herring, eastern painted and snapping turtles, muskrats, squirrels, eastern cottontails and raccoons.
eBird
Check out the eBird hotspots along the trail to see what bird species have been spotted recently in the area. You can also report any interesting birds you see on your ride. There are hotspots near Alewife Station, at Veterans Memorial Park, Riverbend Park, Torbert MacDonald Park and near the Mystic Valley Parkway See this page for more information about eBird.
Dig Deeper
Alewife Brook Parkway and its Long Overdue Greenway
Unlike most of the trails included in the MassTrails10, the Alewife Brook Greenway wasn’t built along a former railroad, rather, it was a long-delayed component of the Alewife Brook Parkway. In an 1894 report for the newly formed Metropolitan Parks Commission (MPC), landscape architect Charles Elliot, protégé of Frederick Law Olmsted, identified Alewife Brook as a missing link in an envisioned regional park system. This park network would be connected by parkways, “pleasure ways,” allowing people to travel by foot, carriage, or bicycle (and later automobile) through a continuous belt of nature from Cambridge’s Fresh Pond all the way to the Mystic Lakes in Medford. Alongside Alewife Brook, Elliot imagined a footpath beside a carriageway. However, he tragically died in 1897 at just 37, and never saw the project completed.
By the early 1900s when construction got underway, the brick industry had ravaged Alewife Brook, stripping it of vegetation and leaving deep craters that filled with stagnant water and frequently caused flooding. This required MPC engineers to dig a new, straightened canal for the Brook, and construct a large embankment along the waterway for the parkway to run atop of. Unfortunately, the parkway that opened in 1912 prioritized the movement of car traffic over pleasure, omitting the footpath while the brook was hidden behind fences and invasive knotweed. Finally, in 2012, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), realized Elliot’s long overdue vision, constructing the shared-use path seen today to connect the Mystic River Greenway with Alewife Station and Fresh Pond.
History of the Mystic River Greenway
The development of the Mystic River Greenway section, stretching from the Mystic Valley Parkway to Wellington Station, represents a decades-long transition from a heavily industrialized tidal basin into waterfront public parkland. For over a century, the riverbank was dominated by clay pits and massive brickmaking operations (see more below). The foundational framework for the Greenway was established in the 2009 DCR Mystic River Master Plan, which identified several sections of the waterfront as missing links needed to tie together isolated pieces of existing park and trail infrastructure. In subsequent years, these gaps have been gradually filled in, culminating in the August 2025 grand opening of the Clippership Connector, which connected the Greenway to Wellington Station.
The Brick Industry of Somerville and North Cambridge
As you ride along the Mystic River, you’re following in the footsteps of hundreds of millions of bricks that were made along the riverbanks and shipped out across New England. The local brickmaking industry was the financial engine of Somerville and North Cambridge, tapping enormous deposits of the famed Somerville Blue clay, dug from the banks of the Mystic River and Alewife Brook. Most brickmaking was done on-site, with harvested clay loaded into riverside kilns before finished bricks were shipped out via canal and later railroad. This local brick industry literally built New England, as bricks shipped north to construct mill towns like Lowell and Lawrence, and South to a rapidly growing Boston. The brick industry exploded after Boston’s Great Fire of 1872, which led the city to adopt strict building codes banning wooden construction in many “Fire Districts.” Throughout the 19th century, the local brick industry was dominated by Charles Tufts, who operated several massive brickyards at the base of Winter Hill and along the Mystic River. Charles would go on to donate over 100 acres overlooking his clay pits to found Tufts University.
The Transformation of the Mystic River
Today’s Mystic River is the product of more than a century of engineering that transformed it from a saltwater tidal body into a freshwater basin. In its original tidal form, the river was essential to the growth of Medford’s shipbuilding industry, allowing large ships to be lifted off drydocks by the rising tide. The river’s banks were also covered in Spartina, saltwater hay, that was prized as winter food for cattle and horses because it didn’t rot unlike regular hay. The river was a major alewife run, meaning every spring, millions of alewives, a type of herring, would swim up the stream to spawn in fresh water. As industrial development continued along the waterway, the river’s path was modified to make way for railroads and clay pits. When I-93 was constructed in the early 1950s, a large section of the river was moved and channelized to accommodate the roadway. At this time, the river remained tidal, posing a flood risk to the new highway and emanating an unpleasant stench at low tide that could be smelled for miles. To address these issues, the Amelia Earhart Dam was constructed in 1966, equipped with a major pumping station to control water levels during a storm.
Old Powder House and Nathan Tufts Park
This storied park gained notoriety for an early revolutionary confrontation that ensued in September 1774. Under orders from British General Thomas Gage, approximately 260 British regulars rowed up the Mystic River from Boston in the early morning and covertly seized 250 half-barrels of gunpowder and several cannons. Rumors quickly spread through surrounding communities that the British had fired on colonists, and by the next morning, an estimated 20,000 militiamen from across New England had begun marching towards Boston. While no shots were fired that day, this event is often referred to as a dress rehearsal for confrontations at Concord and Lexington less than a year later. It prompted Patriots to move their remaining military supplies to towns further inland and led to the establishment of a more formal communication network, including riders like Paul Revere, to ensure the colonists weren’t caught off guard again.
In the early 1800’s, Nathan Tufts, a tanner and member of the wealthy Tufts industrialist family, acquired the land around the Powder House and converted it into a large farm covering much of what is now Somervile. In the 1870s, part of the farm was leased to a pickle and condiment manufacturer, who built a pickle factory nearby and used the Old Powder House as cold storage for barrels of pickles. In the 1890s, the land was donated to Somerville to create Nathan Tufts Park, and in 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the park’s field house, built with stones from the old Highland Railroad Station, once located just South along what is now the Somerville Community Path.
Unlike most of the trails included in the MassTrails10, the Alewife Brook Greenway wasn’t built along a former railroad, rather, it was a long-delayed component of the Alewife Brook Parkway. In an 1894 report for the newly formed Metropolitan Parks Commission (MPC), landscape architect Charles Elliot, protégé of Frederick Law Olmsted, identified Alewife Brook as a missing link in an envisioned regional park system. This park network would be connected by parkways, “pleasure ways,” allowing people to travel by foot, carriage, or bicycle (and later automobile) through a continuous belt of nature from Cambridge’s Fresh Pond all the way to the Mystic Lakes in Medford. Alongside Alewife Brook, Elliot imagined a footpath beside a carriageway. However, he tragically died in 1897 at just 37, and never saw the project completed.
By the early 1900s when construction got underway, the brick industry had ravaged Alewife Brook, stripping it of vegetation and leaving deep craters that filled with stagnant water and frequently caused flooding. This required MPC engineers to dig a new, straightened canal for the Brook, and construct a large embankment along the waterway for the parkway to run atop of. Unfortunately, the parkway that opened in 1912 prioritized the movement of car traffic over pleasure, omitting the footpath while the brook was hidden behind fences and invasive knotweed. Finally, in 2012, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), realized Elliot’s long overdue vision, constructing the shared-use path seen today to connect the Mystic River Greenway with Alewife Station and Fresh Pond.
History of the Mystic River Greenway
The development of the Mystic River Greenway section, stretching from the Mystic Valley Parkway to Wellington Station, represents a decades-long transition from a heavily industrialized tidal basin into waterfront public parkland. For over a century, the riverbank was dominated by clay pits and massive brickmaking operations (see more below). The foundational framework for the Greenway was established in the 2009 DCR Mystic River Master Plan, which identified several sections of the waterfront as missing links needed to tie together isolated pieces of existing park and trail infrastructure. In subsequent years, these gaps have been gradually filled in, culminating in the August 2025 grand opening of the Clippership Connector, which connected the Greenway to Wellington Station.
The Brick Industry of Somerville and North Cambridge
As you ride along the Mystic River, you’re following in the footsteps of hundreds of millions of bricks that were made along the riverbanks and shipped out across New England. The local brickmaking industry was the financial engine of Somerville and North Cambridge, tapping enormous deposits of the famed Somerville Blue clay, dug from the banks of the Mystic River and Alewife Brook. Most brickmaking was done on-site, with harvested clay loaded into riverside kilns before finished bricks were shipped out via canal and later railroad. This local brick industry literally built New England, as bricks shipped north to construct mill towns like Lowell and Lawrence, and South to a rapidly growing Boston. The brick industry exploded after Boston’s Great Fire of 1872, which led the city to adopt strict building codes banning wooden construction in many “Fire Districts.” Throughout the 19th century, the local brick industry was dominated by Charles Tufts, who operated several massive brickyards at the base of Winter Hill and along the Mystic River. Charles would go on to donate over 100 acres overlooking his clay pits to found Tufts University.
The Transformation of the Mystic River
Today’s Mystic River is the product of more than a century of engineering that transformed it from a saltwater tidal body into a freshwater basin. In its original tidal form, the river was essential to the growth of Medford’s shipbuilding industry, allowing large ships to be lifted off drydocks by the rising tide. The river’s banks were also covered in Spartina, saltwater hay, that was prized as winter food for cattle and horses because it didn’t rot unlike regular hay. The river was a major alewife run, meaning every spring, millions of alewives, a type of herring, would swim up the stream to spawn in fresh water. As industrial development continued along the waterway, the river’s path was modified to make way for railroads and clay pits. When I-93 was constructed in the early 1950s, a large section of the river was moved and channelized to accommodate the roadway. At this time, the river remained tidal, posing a flood risk to the new highway and emanating an unpleasant stench at low tide that could be smelled for miles. To address these issues, the Amelia Earhart Dam was constructed in 1966, equipped with a major pumping station to control water levels during a storm.
Old Powder House and Nathan Tufts Park
This storied park gained notoriety for an early revolutionary confrontation that ensued in September 1774. Under orders from British General Thomas Gage, approximately 260 British regulars rowed up the Mystic River from Boston in the early morning and covertly seized 250 half-barrels of gunpowder and several cannons. Rumors quickly spread through surrounding communities that the British had fired on colonists, and by the next morning, an estimated 20,000 militiamen from across New England had begun marching towards Boston. While no shots were fired that day, this event is often referred to as a dress rehearsal for confrontations at Concord and Lexington less than a year later. It prompted Patriots to move their remaining military supplies to towns further inland and led to the establishment of a more formal communication network, including riders like Paul Revere, to ensure the colonists weren’t caught off guard again.
In the early 1800’s, Nathan Tufts, a tanner and member of the wealthy Tufts industrialist family, acquired the land around the Powder House and converted it into a large farm covering much of what is now Somervile. In the 1870s, part of the farm was leased to a pickle and condiment manufacturer, who built a pickle factory nearby and used the Old Powder House as cold storage for barrels of pickles. In the 1890s, the land was donated to Somerville to create Nathan Tufts Park, and in 1935, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the park’s field house, built with stones from the old Highland Railroad Station, once located just South along what is now the Somerville Community Path.
Photo Credits
Mystic River Greenway near Riverbend Park, Photo by Karl Alexander
Constructing Alewife Brook Parkway c. 1916, Massachusetts Archives via Digital Commonwealth
Constructing Alewife Brook Parkway c. 1916, Massachusetts Archives via Digital Commonwealth