The Charles River Bike Path is a

mixed-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It is named after the cardiologist Paul Dudley White, a prominent advocate of preventive medicine. His research led him to proclaim frequently "''I'd like to put everybody on bicycles.''" In 1955 White served as president Eisenhower's cardiologist and prescribed his famous patient bicycle therapy after his 1955 heart attack. The path follows both shores of the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...

from Boston, Massachusetts to

Norumbega Park Norumbega Park was a recreation area and amusement park located in " Auburndale-on-the-Charles" near Boston, Massachusetts. The associated Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for big bands touring during the ...

in Newton, passing through Watertown and Waltham. The path consists of several segments in the Charles River Reservation separated by road and bridge crossings and forms part of the planned

East Coast Greenway The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...

, the 3,000-mile trail system connecting cities from Maine to Florida.

Charles River Reservation

The Paul Dudley White Bicycle Path runs on both sides of the river within the Charles River Reservation. From the

Museum of Science, Boston The Museum of Science (MoS) is a science museum and indoor zoo in Boston, Massachusetts, located in Science Park, a plot of land spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, the museum features a number of live presentat ...

on the Charles River Dam Bridge, they run on sidewalk or striped asphalt path to

Watertown Square Watertown Square is the main square of Watertown, Massachusetts, located at the confluence of North Beacon Street and Main Street ( US-20), Mt. Auburn Street ( MA-16), Pleasant Street, Arsenal Street, and Charles River Road. The Armenian Library a ...

(Galen Street/ Route 16 bridge), a loop of . The paths run along the edge of Cambridge and Watertown on the north; and the West End, Back Bay, and Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston on the south side. Charles River Trail

Part of the path will be turned into a river boardwalk as part of the straightening of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The portion between the Longfellow Bridge and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

Boathouse on the Cambridge side was rebuilt in 2015-16. In 2019, DCR started soliciting public comments for a planned rebuild on the Cambridge side from the

Boston University Bridge The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss through arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting the Boston University cam ...

to the Eliot Bridge.

Upper Charles River Reservation

In 2004, a $9M master plan to extend the path westward from Watertown Square to

in Newton was completed. The path continues along the north side of the river from

to Bridge Street, there crossing back from Watertown to Newton. This segment was completed in 1997. The riverwalk then continues along the south bank, crossing back to the north bank at the Blue Heron Bridge, built 2004 just for the path, and continuing to Moody Street in Waltham, near the

Charles River Museum of Industry Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation is a museum of the American Industrial Revolution located on the Charles River Bike Path, near the intersection of the Charles River and Moody Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. It houses and displays ...

and

Waltham Common Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

. The route extends upstream with a combination of paths and streets, to Auburndale, the Newton neighborhood where

is located. There are plans to extend the path upstream along the curving river to Needham, Dedham, and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston.

Eastern connections

Bike recreation opportunities continue to the east with North Point Park in Cambridge, and Nashua Street Park on the Boston side. There are discontinuities near North Station and the

Zakim Bridge The Leonard P. Zakim () Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (also known as “The Zakim”) is a cable-stayed bridge completed in 2003 across the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a replacement for the Charlestown High Bridge, an older truss ...

before the

Boston Harborwalk Boston Harborwalk is a public walkway that follows the edge of piers, wharves, beaches, and shoreline around Boston Harbor. When fully completed it will extend a distance of from East Boston to the Neponset River. History The Harborwalk is a coo ...

continues on both sides of the harbor. The proposed extension of the Somerville Community Path would connect the Boston end of the Charles River Path to the network of mixed-use trails to the northwest.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Charles River Bike paths in Massachusetts East Coast Greenway Transportation in Boston Transportation in Cambridge, Massachusetts Watertown, Massachusetts Newton, Massachusetts Waltham, Massachusetts