New Connections Coming to Mystic Greenways

By Isaiah Johnson

It’s a great time to enjoy Greater Boston’s parks and paths as we head into the middle of summer. Whether you walk, bike, or run, the Mystic Greenways are great places to get outside and enjoy fresh air. At the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), we are excited to see the path network along the Mystic River grow more connected every year, linking parks and greenways from the Mystic Lakes to Boston Harbor.

The vision behind the Mystic Greenways is to connect 25 miles of paths, improve hundreds of acres of parklands, and engage thousands of community members. A high-quality network of greenways for active transportation and recreation will enhance climate resiliency, provide sustainable mobility, and improve physical and mental health outcomes for the more than 600,000 residents of the watershed, which connects 21 cities and towns, including Belmont. The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) is leading this vision and creating a roadmap to transform these waterfront parklands with full participation from area residents.

“High-quality parks and connected paths are not luxuries but essential infrastructure for 21st-century cities. They improve community health and well-being, mitigate climate impacts, and encourage active mobility,” says Karl Alexander, Greenways program manager for the Mystic River Watershed Association. “With every improvement, we are helping create this critical infrastructure in partnership with area residents.”

What’s new along the greenways?

Construction of the Clippership Connector is underway in Medford. The Clippership Connector will be a half-mile waterfront path linking Medford Square with the Andrews/McGlynn Schools and Riverbend Park. The path will connect 10 miles of contiguous trails and will allow people to walk, run, bike, and push strollers along a section of the river that, to date, has been blocked from public access.

In Charlestown, much-needed improvements will begin soon at the Little Mystic Channel. The Little Mystic Channel is a long-forgotten corner of Boston’s waterfront on the Lower Mystic River. In partnership with the Charlestown community, the city of Boston, and Massport, MyRWA is working on a vision for how a high-quality park along the Little Mystic Channel can provide better opportunities for recreation, access to nature, social gatherings, and climate resiliency in an area that has been characterized by years of deferred maintenance and a lack of open space amenities. A new heat-resilient plaza and a pollinator garden are expected to break ground within the next year, and a new connection from Barry Field to Chelsea Street is open and now connects the channel to the Charlestown Navy Yard.

In Winchester and Medford, preliminary designs have just been completed for the Mystic Lakes Path. The Mystic Lakes Path is a three-mile path that runs along the eastern shoreline of the Mystic Lakes. The path is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and throughout the fall and spring, MyRWA worked with community members to produce conceptual designs for improvements to the path, aiming to make it more accessible and to enhance the ecological health of the lakes and their shoreline.

All of these projects are important steps along the way toward a more beautiful and connected Mystic River, adding to the existing network of parks and paths from the Alewife Reservation to Horn Pond to Belle Isle Marsh.

Everyone deserves access to safe, fun, and green outdoor spaces when the weather is warm and the sun is shining. With continued progress to the parks and paths along the Mystic River, there are many ways to have fun in the sun! You can learn more about all of the ways you can explore the Mystic River at mysticriver.org/explore.

Isaiah Johnson is the outreach and media manager for the Mystic River Watershed Association