The Massachusetts Audubon Society put together a great wildlife sanctuary along the Indian Brook as it enters the Charles River. Broadmoor’s nine miles of walking trails ramblethrough a variety of field, woodland, and wetland habitats. The highlight is a quarter-mile boardwalk along the wetlands. It offers a great opportunity to look for turtles and frogs. [...]
With the rest of the state underwater, why has the City of Boston stayed dry? After all that same Charles River that runs along the Back Bay is the same river that has over-spilled its banks throughout Metro West. You would think that Storrow Drive, the Esplanade and the Hatch Shell would be under water. [...]
The Charles River is running very strong with all of the recent rain. I cam across this video of Cordingly Dam. I paddled in this area on the Charles River from the Hemlock Gorge section [Paddling in Hemlock Gorge] a few year ago when it was much calmer. I managed to get my kayak stuck [...]
The Boston Public Library has posted a collection of Newton post cards using Flickr. Several of the pictures show how the Charles River used to look in its run through Newton. This looks like the dam at Upper Falls (the Silk Mill Dam): You can compare this to my recent picture of the dam at [...]
The Boston Globe West has a story from the Newton History Museum at The Jackson Homestead focusing on the impact of the Charles River on Newton: Pages From Newton’s History. The City of Newton is defined by the Charles. It has the river on its borders in the south, west, and north, and it was [...]
The Bellingham Meadows are part of the Natural Valley Storage Project. The Army Corps of Engineers uses stategic areas of wetlands along the Charles River to slow the progress of flood waters headed to Boston. Sensibly, the Army Corp recognized the ability of wetlands to hold back flood waters and have preserved 7800 wetland acres [...]
It was another beautifully warm and sunny October day, so I went back to the Charles River. I put in just downstream from the South Natick Dam. A little way downstream, I came across the beautiful Cheney Bridge spanning the river. The Cheney bridge provides access to Elm Bank, a state-owned property with two miles [...]
Unlike the rather pristine Stop River Confluence area of the Charles River, the Hemlock Gorge section is more urban, passing houses, factories and highways. I launched from Nahanton Park in Newton. There was plenty of parking here. There was a dock at the park which made the launch very easy. This park is where the [...]
It has been a long time since I have been in the kayak. Given my current free time, I thought it would it would be a great activity on a beautiful fall day. I have read that the Stop River Confluence area between Millis and Medfield is a beautiful stretch of the river. It certainly [...]