The Minuteman Trail is north of Boston.
It is a Rail-Trail Hall of Fame trail. The 11 miles paved trail is often
included in the top 10 bike rides in the Boston area. It roughly follows the
route taken by Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride.
I rode the trail the beginning of May,
2022. There is garage parking at the southern end of the trail. I instead parked
at 42.40069588271775, -71.14513804643462. This is a surface lot at a public
park a very short distance up the trail. There is a 2 hour limit for parking
which is free. I was a bit longer and didn’t have any issues.
The trail itself was asphalt paved
making for a generally smooth ride. Just a few tree root bumps here and there
to watch for. Mile markers were signs attached to granite posts. Unfortunately,
vandals removed these signs on a couple of the posts. Similar signs were
apparently added later to indicate half miles. These are mounted on steel
posts. There are bike shops, eateries, and visitor centers right on the trail.
As with most urban trails there were a fair number of users especially on the
south end near Boston. I rode midday, I would guess it gets even busier in the
morning and afternoon commute times. The south end of this trail ends as the
Alewife mass transit station.
The trail is just a few miles from
Logan airport so you will see and hear planes passing over the trail. You are
still far enough that the planes are already high enough to not create
significant noise.
If you are interested in history this
trail oozes it in spades. Not just railroad history (is also has that) but
American history. A history buff could spend all day just in Lexington.
To see a video of my ride visit Mark's Bike Tock on YouTube. For more information visit the bikeway website: minutemanbikeway.org
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