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Castle Island Park
Castle Island Park
Robert Linsdell/Flickr

Boston waterfront parks: the 12 best ones, mapped

Many conveniently located near your office or home

By Tom Acitelli Updated
2 comments / new
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Castle Island Park
| Robert Linsdell/Flickr
By Tom Acitelli Updated
2 comments / new

Editor's note: This map was originally published in July 2016, and has been updated with the most recent information.

If Boston has one thing, it's waterfront. And along that waterfront are some fabulous parks. Here is a map of the 12 best. These include large swaths of national parkland, quiet(ish) alcoves amid the urban bustle, and expanses chock-a-block full of sports facilities.

A lot of these parks, too, are easily accessible, either a convenient distance from densely populated commercial and residential hubs or right off public transit.

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Langone Park

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Famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed this expanse in the North End, which includes a Little League baseball diamond, a playground, and three bocce courts. Together with Prince Street Park and the Puopolo athletic area, Langone forms one long, angling expanse of green on the Harbor.
542 Commercial St, Boston, MA 02109

Pilot House Park

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A spit of greenspace behind the Lewis Wharf Garage, Pilot House Park also connects to the much, much larger Harborwalk.
52 Eastern Avenue, Boston, MA 02110

Christopher Columbus Park

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This large park with a playground, spray springs for the kids, and public art is one of the more important greenspaces in Boston's history. Its 1970s development and design (by Sasaki Associates) represented a reclamation of part of the waterfront, a reuse that inspired similar efforts in Boston and beyond.
Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 02110
(617) 635-4505
(617) 635-4505

Also featured in:

Fan Pier Park

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This expanse in the fast-changing area puts visitors smack-dab amid the activity of Boston's waterside life, whether it's office workers catching a break or water taxis sluicing by. There are plenty of chairs and tables and a lookout terrace. Autumn brings a fire pit, too. Hot.
Boston, MA

South Boston Maritime Park

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This park was part of the state's redevelopment of the Southie waterfront and is meant to evoke the area's maritime past. More utilitarian is the lawn, the three-season cafe with outdoor seating, and the pair of pergolas. The expanse is also right across D Street from Eastport Park.
Boston, MA 02210

Marine Park

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This expanse includes lawns, a playground, and athletic fields; and is right next to the beachfront of Pleasure Bay. Get a photo with its famous bandstand.
William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA

Castle Island

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The five bastions of the old Fort Independence dominate this 22-acre state park. Explore it. There is also plenty of greenspace as well as a long run of the Harborwalk. Plus, Castle Island connects easily with the JFK library area via Marine Park and Carson Beach. On your bike.
Castle Island, Boston, MA 02127

Also featured in:

Joe Moakley Park

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This expansive park in the Southie-Dot borderlands is chock-a-block full of sports facilities, including batting cages, baseball and softball diamonds, and tennis and basketball courts. It's also right next to Carson Beach.
William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA 02127

UMass Harborwalk

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This recently spruced-up run of the Harborwalk hugs the University of Massachusetts-Boston campus and is a short distance from the JFK library. It is bang on the waterfront and has plenty of bench seating. The renovations were completed in 2015.
Boston, MA

Deer Island

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The peninsula is partly in Boston, partly in Winthrop, and is entirely a piece of a national park covering the Harbor Islands. There is a 2.6-mile pathway along the waterfront and a further 2 miles of trails on the hills farther inland. Deer Island also hosts a sizable wastewater treatment facility, which is open for tours.
Boston, MA

Piers Park

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This barely decade-old park offers fabulous views of the Boston skyline as well as the marine activity between that and East Boston. There is plenty of greenspace and usually plenty of music.
95 Marginal St, Boston, MA 02128

Paul Revere Park

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This Charlestown park includes a playground and a dog run, and offers great views of the Zakim Bridge.
Charlestown, MA 02129

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Langone Park

542 Commercial St, Boston, MA 02109
Famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed this expanse in the North End, which includes a Little League baseball diamond, a playground, and three bocce courts. Together with Prince Street Park and the Puopolo athletic area, Langone forms one long, angling expanse of green on the Harbor.
542 Commercial St, Boston, MA 02109

Pilot House Park

52 Eastern Avenue, Boston, MA 02110
A spit of greenspace behind the Lewis Wharf Garage, Pilot House Park also connects to the much, much larger Harborwalk.
52 Eastern Avenue, Boston, MA 02110

Christopher Columbus Park

Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 02110
This large park with a playground, spray springs for the kids, and public art is one of the more important greenspaces in Boston's history. Its 1970s development and design (by Sasaki Associates) represented a reclamation of part of the waterfront, a reuse that inspired similar efforts in Boston and beyond.
Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA 02110
(617) 635-4505
(617) 635-4505

Fan Pier Park

Boston, MA
This expanse in the fast-changing area puts visitors smack-dab amid the activity of Boston's waterside life, whether it's office workers catching a break or water taxis sluicing by. There are plenty of chairs and tables and a lookout terrace. Autumn brings a fire pit, too. Hot.
Boston, MA

South Boston Maritime Park

Boston, MA 02210
This park was part of the state's redevelopment of the Southie waterfront and is meant to evoke the area's maritime past. More utilitarian is the lawn, the three-season cafe with outdoor seating, and the pair of pergolas. The expanse is also right across D Street from Eastport Park.
Boston, MA 02210

Marine Park

William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA
This expanse includes lawns, a playground, and athletic fields; and is right next to the beachfront of Pleasure Bay. Get a photo with its famous bandstand.
William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA

Castle Island

Castle Island, Boston, MA 02127
The five bastions of the old Fort Independence dominate this 22-acre state park. Explore it. There is also plenty of greenspace as well as a long run of the Harborwalk. Plus, Castle Island connects easily with the JFK library area via Marine Park and Carson Beach. On your bike.
Castle Island, Boston, MA 02127

Joe Moakley Park

William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA 02127
This expansive park in the Southie-Dot borderlands is chock-a-block full of sports facilities, including batting cages, baseball and softball diamonds, and tennis and basketball courts. It's also right next to Carson Beach.
William J Day Blvd, Boston, MA 02127

UMass Harborwalk

Boston, MA
This recently spruced-up run of the Harborwalk hugs the University of Massachusetts-Boston campus and is a short distance from the JFK library. It is bang on the waterfront and has plenty of bench seating. The renovations were completed in 2015.
Boston, MA

Deer Island

Boston, MA
The peninsula is partly in Boston, partly in Winthrop, and is entirely a piece of a national park covering the Harbor Islands. There is a 2.6-mile pathway along the waterfront and a further 2 miles of trails on the hills farther inland. Deer Island also hosts a sizable wastewater treatment facility, which is open for tours.
Boston, MA

Piers Park

95 Marginal St, Boston, MA 02128
This barely decade-old park offers fabulous views of the Boston skyline as well as the marine activity between that and East Boston. There is plenty of greenspace and usually plenty of music.
95 Marginal St, Boston, MA 02128

Paul Revere Park

Charlestown, MA 02129
This Charlestown park includes a playground and a dog run, and offers great views of the Zakim Bridge.
Charlestown, MA 02129