Cambridge and Somerville are part of a new urban trail that roams more than 80 miles around the perimeter of Boston, which debuted Tuesday, May 12.
The trail is the brainchild of Miles Howard, an avid hiker and writer, who wanted to connect towns and people across arbitrary boundaries. The Boston perimeter trail, still to be named, includes every city and town that borders Boston — Quincy, Milton, Dedham, Needham, Newton, Watertown, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. Despite being an urban trail, it includes as much green space as possible — parks, gardens, bogs, woods — and it is accessible by public transit.
The loop has 12 sections, each five to eight miles long. There are 12 miles in Cambridge and Somerville, included in sections 7 and 8. He envisions people walking the trail in a clockwise loop beginning in downtown Boston and ending with a trip from East Boston by MBTA water taxi (the price of a subway fare). But people can travel it however they like.
“There are so many stressors in our daily lives, it’s good for the soul to touch grass,” Howard said.
Howard created the trail for walking because he believes walking is the best way to take in the surrounding environment. The trail rewards curiosity over efficiency. A walker on the Cambridge/Somerville portion of the trail starts at Fresh Pond, visits Alewife Reservation, the Alewife brook, the Linear Path (or its detour, until its expected re-opening in December), then along the Somerville Community Path through Davis Square to Union Square to South Street Farm. Back in Cambridge it wanders through Cambridge Crossing and North Point Park to Charlestown.
To connect landmarks, such as Fresh Pond and Alewife Reservation, for example, Howard looked for unlikely walkable connections. These links might be grittier, more urban or desolate, but he believes there is beauty in these spaces, too. These areas have a history and architectural details that tell the full story of a landscape.
Howard said he will release an updated interactive map and a name for the trail on June 1 of this year. That said, he expects some tweaks to be made this year as people walk the trail and have ideas for small enhancements, and it will probably not be completely final until 2027. He invited people to explore this new footpath and send him feedback, such as spots to add, such as a secret stairway, a fabulous garden or urban oasis, a unique mosaic or a rare tree. He encouraged comment through Bostontrails.org.
Howard previously put together two other walking trails in Boston: The Walking City Trail (27 miles from the Neponset River to the Bunker Hill Monument) and the City on the Hills Trail (31 miles from West Roxbury to South Boston). His Boston trails have some guerrilla signage, and he thinks that may happen here, too. Sometimes it is faster to read a sign than to consult your phone for a map detailing an intricate or hidden connection.
Howard isn’t technically blazing a new trail. All of the paths and streets and stairs that make up this new trail already exist. The trail only crosses spaces open to public use that don’t need permissions or permits. This trail took about a year to put together, visiting sites and walking routes to find the best trails and connections. His costs are nominal: $300 to $400 a year to host a website, some money for web design and making maps, but with the help of volunteers, it all gets done. The volunteers mostly learned about these trails by attending a day or a night hike he led.
Howard said urban hikers also want the experience of being outside in the elements and the pleasant scenery that draws traditional hikers. He acknowledged that urban hikers may have to work harder to find the beauty among the paved areas, broken glass, barbed wire or car exhaust. But cities also have sudden encounters with beauty: a hidden park as a quiet oasis in a bustling city or the story of the past that is present in our remaining gritty industrial areas. Walkers may find themselves redefining what beauty is.
Cities might not seem like good hiking locales, but Howard thinks they are. For one thing, urban hiking is more forgiving than traditional hiking. If the weather turns bad, you can hop on the subway or call an Uber to go home. You can linger if you find something you like, you can stop for a bite to eat at a quaint café, you can change your plans. In addition, since most people live in cities, urban hiking could reach more people — and it’s easier to get to without a car. Says Howard, “It’s strange that no one has connected the dots until now.”
Howard said many places that seem distant from each other (both physically and psychologically) are much closer than we think. Walking breaks down those barriers. He hopes to spur a regional interest in walking. Howard envisions a future network of trails that connects regions. He says, “People in places like Denver and Portland are known for their outdoor enthusiasm. It’s part of their identify. We don’t have that mentality in the greater Boston area yet, but in 50 years, we could.”
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