1
Arnold Arboretum
Managed by Harvard University
284 acres9.1 mi of trail
Conifer PathWillow PathBlackwell FootpathOak PathBeech Path
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Boston
Boston, MA parks, trails & bike paths
About 9.9% of Boston is conserved land, roughly 5,641 acres. There are about 91 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Arnold Arboretum (9.1 mi), Franklin Park (8.2 mi), and Spectacle Island (5.3 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Boston, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Boston outdoors
Conserved land
9.9%
5,641 of 57,026 acres
Trails
91 mi
1 mi per sq mi · 61 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
267
8 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
237.8 mi
105.5 mi lanes · 88.3 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Franklin Park
Park
488 acres8.2 mi of trail
Tropical ForestRobeson Footpath
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo Public Employee Car Park
3
Spectacle Island
Managed by City of Boston
92 acres5.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trail sign
4
Allandale Woods
Managed by City of Boston Conservation Commission
92 acres2.9 mi of trail
West Loop TrailAllandale TrailCarriage PathSpring House TrailWeld Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trailhead
5
Harambee Park
Park
47 acres1.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Stony Brook Reservation
Nature preserve
562 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Boston Nature Center
Managed by Mass Audubon
63 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowedTypical for Audubon sanctuaries. Check posted rules
8
Olmsted Park
Managed by City of Boston and Town of Brookline
50 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 60 parks & preserves
- Almont Park18 ac · 1.2 mi trail · Directions
- Brook Farm147 ac · 1.1 mi trail · Directions
- Lovells Island52 ac · 1.1 mi trail
- Belle Isle Marsh Reservation146 ac · 1 mi trail · Directions
- Charles River Esplanade72 ac · 0.9 mi trail · Directions
- Pope John Paul II Park50 ac · 0.9 mi trail · Directions
- Joe Moakley Park60 ac · 0.8 mi trail · Directions
- Hancock Woods45 ac · 0.8 mi trail · Directions
- Georges Island41 ac · 0.8 mi trail
- Medal of Honor Park6 ac · 0.8 mi trail · Directions
- Deer Island Park79 ac · 0.7 mi trail · Directions
- Shipyard Park10 ac · 0.7 mi trail · Directions
- Jamaica Pond103 ac · 0.6 mi trail · Directions
- Back Bay Fens71 ac · 0.6 mi trail · Directions
- Charlestown Navy Yard31 ac · 0.6 mi trail · Directions
- Herter Park54 ac · 0.5 mi trail · Directions
- Ryan Playground14 ac · 0.5 mi trail · Directions
- Piers Park10 ac · 0.5 mi trail · Directions
- Noyes Playground7 ac · 0.5 mi trail · Directions
- Chestnut Hill Reservation112 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Southwest Corridor Park45 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Castle Island27 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- UMass Harborwalk16 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Washington/Malcolm X Park14 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Mattahunt Woods10 ac · 0.4 mi trail
- Roslindale Wetlands10 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Francis D. Martini Memorial Shell Park6 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Fidelis Way Park4 ac · 0.4 mi trail · Directions
- Dorchester Park29 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- Ross Playground12 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- McLaughlin Playground12 ac · 0.3 mi trail
- Neponset Park7 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- Victory Road Park6 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- Walker Playground6 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- William H. Garvey Playground6 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- Ceylon Park5 ac · 0.3 mi trail
- Thomas Park3 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- Doherty Playground3 ac · 0.3 mi trail
- Horatio Harris Park3 ac · 0.3 mi trail · Directions
- Millennium Park91 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Gallagher Memorial Park20 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Dorchester Shores Reservation14 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Edmund A. Connell Fields12 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Savin Hill Park8 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Paul Revere Park8 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Rogers Park7 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Fallon Field7 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Carter Playground7 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Hynes Playground6 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Christopher Lee Playground6 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- Hemenway Playground4 ac · 0.2 mi trail · Directions
- West Link Park4 ac · 0.2 mi trail
Who protects the land
5,641 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 296 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 25 of 660 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes105.5 mi
- Off-road bike paths88.3 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes44.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball167
- Tennis156
- Baseball123
- Soccer77
- Pickleball20
- Football19
- Softball17
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Next door
Boston and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Boston's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 52.8-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.