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Parks and the outdoors in Cambridge

6 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Cambridge.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Parks and the outdoors in Cambridge

  1. Do

    Charles River Canoe & Kayak

    The best way to do this is to rent a boat and paddle upstream to Allston from Kendall Square. Vice-versa is great too, the river has no current to fight against. It'll take less than 2 hours and is amazing.

    8AM-10PM$15-20 per hour, $40-60 per day

  2. Do

    Charles Riverboat Company

    CambridgeSide

    Sightseeing, sunset, and architectural tours on the Charles River and Boston Harbor.

    May-Oct 10AM-7PM daily$10-28

  3. See

    Harvard Bridge

    The bridge connecting Cambridge to Boston across the Charles river. Located at the edge of MIT, not Harvard University. It's well known in the nerdy folklore of MIT: the distance across the bridge is marked in "smoots" (1 smoot = ) after Oliver Smoot, an MIT student who allowed himself to be laid end-to-end to measure the distance across the bridge, as part of a fraternity prank.

  4. See

    Harvard Museum of Natural History

    Drawing from the University's vast natural history collections, the HMNH displays the famous Blaschka 'Glass Flowers' collection, dinosaurs (the world's only mounted long Kronosaurus), minerals, meteorites, gemstones (a amethyst geode), and hundreds of 'stuffed' animals and birds. Fun for the whole family. It's an 8-minute walk across the historic Harvard Yard from Harvard Square (Red Line MBTA). Lectures & educational programs for all ages.

    9AM-5PM daily$12, student/senior $10, under 18 $8

  5. Eat

    Pinocchio's Pizza

    Well-known longtime spot for Sicilian pizza. Also known for steak and cheese subs. Has colorful mural of Pinocchio and other fables on walls of dining area. Located on a small street between Harvard Yard and JFK Park, just off JFK Street.

    Mon-Sat 11AM-1AM, Sun 1PM-midnightSlices are a few bucks, subs from $6

  6. See Not mapped

    African American Heritage Trail

    Twenty historic plaques across the city honor notable African Americans who were abolitionists, authors, educators, and office holders in Cambridge from 1840 to 1940.

    24 hours dailyFree

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Cambridge (CC BY-SA 4.0).