Franklin Park

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Parks & Nature

Official Website: Franklin Park
Location: Blue Hill Drive, Boston, MA directions
Phone:(617) 282-2881
Ages: Infants, Toddlers, Kids, Teens, Adults
In/Outdoor: Outdoor
Cost: Free see below

Others to Consider: Francis William Bird Park, Fruitlands Museum Walking Trails, Boston Common, The Plant Depot, DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park

Franklin Park is home to Boston's largest forest. It boasts an 18-hole public golf course, tennis courts, baseball fields, old stone ruins, and New England's largest Zoo.

Come spend the day! You can lunch at the golf clubhouse, watch a Sunday afternoon cricket game, and walk the 2.5 mile loop path through woods, over old stone bridges, and past a picturesque pond. From golfing and basketball to biking and walking, there are activities in Franklin Park for everyone.

Get involved! The Franklin Park Coalition (FPC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving this 'gem' of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace and the city's largest park.

Cost

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Free

Location

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Blue Hill Drive, Boston, MA map

Blue Hill Avenue Entrance:
From Mattapan Square, drive up Blue Hill Avenue (Rte 28) towards downtown, pass Franklin Field and Talbot Ave on your right. Go through light at edge of park (intersection with American Legion Highway) and stay on Blue Hill Ave. Next light at Columbia Road intersection, turn left into the park.

From Roxbury and Grove Hall, take Blue Hill Avenue, through the light at Seaver Street. At next light turn right into the park.

Forest Hills Entrance:
From Roslindale & Hyde Park, drive up Hyde Park Avenue towards downtown. Just past Forest Hills T stop, turn right onto the Arborway service road underneath the overpass. Go past courthouse, old stone church, and brick apartment buildings to the traffic circle... continued below

From Fenway & Jamaica Plain, take the Riverway, Jamaicaway – past the Jamaica Pond boathouse, and stay straight as you go around two traffic circles. Pass the Arnold Arboretum on your right. Just past the Arboretum take left hand lane to be on the overpass. Stay straight and go into the traffic circle as you come down from the overpass. Go about 2/3 around the circle to the entrance of the park – marked with a large wooden sign – and turn right into the park onto Circuit Drive.

From the south, take 203 and when it turns into Morton Street, you'll come to a rotary; turn right at the Rotary (you'll see signs for the park) and you'll now be going up Circuit Drive, which runs through the park.

MBTA
Orange Line to Green Street stop, exit out front doors of station and walk right on Green Street. Cross Amory Street at the light, stay straight, cross Washington Street at the light (Green becomes Glen Road), continue up the hill past houses till Glen Road dead ends in the park. Walk into the park along wide, grassy strip, bear to left and you’ll see beginning of the Overlook stone ruins and further along White Stadium. Bear to the right to go to the Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park, back entrance of the Zoo, Playstead for sports and the festivals, Circuit Drive-the main park road (just to the right after you get to the road you will see Valley Gates Parking Lot - gathering spot for volunteer days), and the golf course walking loop that leads to the Golf Clubhouse, Shattuck Hospital, and Scarboro Pond.