Mystic River Reservation

Nature reserve in Massachusetts

Mystic River Reservation

A view of the park and the Mystic Valley Parkway in Arlington

Location in Massachusetts

Location| Winchester, Arlington,
Medford, Somerville,
Everett, Chelsea, Middlesex, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates| 42°24′13″N 71°05′36″W﻿ / ﻿42.40361°N 71.09333°W﻿ / 42.40361; -71.09333[1]
Area| 329 acres (133 ha)[2]
Elevation| 10 ft (3.0 m)[1]
Established| 1893
Operator| Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Website| Mystic River Reservation
A walking path (a dry section of the former Middlesex Canal) near Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Memorial Beach (formerly Sandy Beach) in Winchester

The Mystic River Reservation is a publicly owned nature preserve with recreational features located along the Mystic River in the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea in eastern Massachusetts. The reserve is part of the nearly 76-square-mile (200 km2) Mystic River watershed.[3] It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.[4]

## History

[edit]

The reservation was established in 1893 by the newly formed Metropolitan Parks Commission (later renamed the Metropolitan District Commission),[5] making it one of the first official nature preserves in Massachusetts, and one of five designed by the commission in that year.[6] Of these five, three were planned as woodland river reservations: the Mystic River Reservation, Charles River Reservation, and Neponset River Reservation.[5] The Mystic River Reservation originally comprised a little over 250 acres (100 ha) of land.[6] By the early 20th century, most of the land along the Mystic River in Medford, Arlington, and Somerville had become public (i.e. state-owned) land.[3][5]

In 2010, the DCR unveiled a plan for restoring and preserving the reservation, called the Mystic River Master Plan. Proposed projects included a partnership between the DCR and the City of Medford to restore the Condon Shell (an outdoor amphitheater located just outside Medford Square); restoration of the Amelia Earhart Dam basin parklands; and a $3.6 million federally funded link between the reservation, the Minuteman Bikeway, and the Alewife "T" Station.[3] The lower parkland is being redeveloped as part of Assembly Square construction.

In 2019, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts funded a feasibility study for the Mystic to Charles Connector Path linking the southern end of the bicycle and pedestrian paths in the reservation (near Sullivan Square) to the Somerville Community Path, for connections to the Charles River Bicycle Path and downtown Boston.[7] Reconstruction of Draw Seven Park is expected to last from late summer 2024 to 2026.[8]

## Activities and amenities

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Facilities for field sports, picnicking, cycling, and sailing are found at four riverside parks: Draw Seven Park in Somerville, Torbert MacDonald Park in Medford, the Mystic Lakes in Winchester, Arlington, and Medford, and Mary O'Malley Waterfront Park in Chelsea.[4]

View of Mystic River from Mystic River Reservation

## References

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* Massachusetts portal

1. ^ a b "Mystic River Reservation". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. ^ "2012 Acreage Listing" (PDF). Department of Conservation and Recreation. April 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
3. ^ a b c "Mystic River Master Plan" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. November 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
4. ^ a b "Mystic River Reservation". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
5. ^ a b c "Division of Urban Parks and Recreation History". Department of Conservation and Recreation. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
6. ^ a b A history and description of the Boston metropolitan parks. Published under the authority of the Metropolitan Park Commissioners by the Board of Paris Exposition Managers. 1900. p. 20. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
7. ^ MassTrails 2019 grants
8. ^ Draw Seven Park Renovations Project

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mystic River Reservation.

* Mystic River Reservation Department of Conservation and Recreation
* Mystic River Reservation Map Department of Conservation and Recreation
* Mystic River Reservation Bike Path Map Department of Conservation and Recreation

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

| National Historical Parks|

* Adams
* Blackstone River Valley
* Boston
* Lowell
* Minute Man
* New Bedford Whaling

|

National Historic Sites|

* Boston African American
* Frederick Law Olmsted
* John Fitzgerald Kennedy
* Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters
* Salem Maritime
* Saugus Iron Works
* Springfield Armory

Other National Park Service units|

* Appalachian National Scenic Trail
* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
* Cape Cod National Seashore

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Assabet River
* Great Meadows
* Mashpee
* Massasoit
* Monomoy
* Nantucket
* Nomans Land
* Oxbow
* Parker River
* Silvio O. Conte
* Thacher Island

Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Assabet
* Concord
* Sudbury
* Taunton
* Westfield

Other protected areas|

* Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
* Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
* West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

| Parks|

* Alewife Brook
* Ames Nowell
* Ashland
* Bash Bish Falls
* Blackstone River and Canal Heritage
* Borderland
* Boston Harbor Islands
* Bradley Palmer
* C. M. Gardner
* Callahan
* Castle Island State Park
* Chicopee Memorial
* City Square
* Clarksburg
* Cochituate
* Connecticut River Greenway
* Demarest Lloyd
* Dighton Rock
* Dunn
* Ellisville Harbor
* Fall River Heritage
* Gardner Heritage
* Governor Thomas Dudley
* Great Brook Farm
* Greycourt
* Halibut Point
* Hampton Ponds
* Holyoke Heritage
* Hopkinton
* Lake Lorraine
* Lake Wyola
* Lawrence Heritage
* Lowell Heritage
* Lynn Heritage
* Massasoit
* Maudslay
* Moore
* Mount Holyoke Range
* Natural Bridge
* Nickerson
* Pearl Hill
* Pilgrim
* Quinsigamond
* Robinson
* Roxbury Heritage
* Rutland
* Skinner
* South Cape Beach
* Wahconah Falls
* Webb Memorial
* Wells
* Western Gateway Heritage
* Whitehall
* Wompatuck

|

Reservations|

* Beaver Brook
* Belle Isle Marsh
* Blue Hills
* Breakheart
* Charles River
* Chestnut Hill
* Cutler
* Dorchester Shores
* Elm Bank
* Fort Phoenix
* Hammond Pond
* Hemlock Gorge
* Horseneck Beach
* Jug End
* Lynn Shore
* Middlesex Fells
* Mount Everett
* Mount Greylock
* Mount Sugarloaf
* Mount Tom
* Myles Standish
* Mystic River
* Nahant Beach
* Nantasket Beach
* Nasketucket Bay
* Neponset River
* Pope John Paul II
* Purgatory Chasm
* Quincy Quarries
* Quincy Shore
* Revere Beach
* Rumney Marsh
* Salisbury Beach
* Sandy Point
* Scusset Beach
* Stony Brook
* Upper Charles River
* Wachusett Mountain
* Walden Pond
* West Island
* Weymouth
* Wilson Mountain

Other|

* Appalachian Trail
* Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
* Cape Cod Rail Trail
* Fort Revere
* Lake Dennison Recreation Area
* Lower Neponset River Trail
* Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside
* Nashua River Rail Trail
* Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail
* Quabbin Reservoir
* Southwest Corridor Park
* Squantum Point Park
* Streeter Point Recreation Area
* Sudbury Reservoir
* Wachusett Reservoir
* Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

* Barnstable
* Beartown
* Berkley
* Billerica
* Brimfield
* Chester-Blandford
* DAR
* Douglas
* Erving
* F. Gilbert Hills
* Federated Women's Club
* Franklin
* Freetown-Fall River
* Georgetown-Rowley
* Gilbert A. Bliss
* Granville
* Harold Parker
* Kenneth Dubuque Memorial
* Leominster
* Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro
* Manuel F. Correllus
* Mohawk Trail
* Monroe
* Mount Grace
* Mount Washington
* Myles Standish
* October Mountain
* Otter River
* Pittsfield
* Sandisfield
* Savoy Mountain
* Shawme-Crowell
* South River
* Spencer
* Tolland
* Upton
* Warren H. Manning
* Wendell
* Willard Brook
* Willowdale
* Windsor

Wildlife management areas

| Wildlife
management areas|

* Agawam Lake
* Agawam Mill Pond
* Ashby
* Ashfield Hawley
* Attitash
* Ayer Game Farm
* Baddacook Pond
* Bakers Pond
* Bay Circuit Trail
* Bearse Pond
* Becket
* Bennett
* Birch Hill
* Black Brook
* Blackstone / West River
* Bolton Flats
* Boxboro Station
* Brayton Point Salt Marsh
* Breakneck Brook
* Brewer Brook
* Bullock Ledge
* Burrage Pond
* Canoe River
* Catamount
* Chalet
* Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh
* Childs River
* Chockalog Swamp
* Church Homestead
* Clapps Pond
* Clinton Bluff
* Concord River
* Connecticut River
* Cook Pond
* Copicut
* Coy Hill
* Crane Pond
* Cummington
* Cusky Pond
* Dartmoor Farm
* Darwin Scott Memorial
* Day Mountain
* Deerfield River
* Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal
* Dolomite Ledges
* Dunstable Brook
* E. Kent Swift
* Eagle Island
* East Mountain
* Eastham Salt Marsh
* Elbow Meadow
* English Salt Marsh
* Eugene D. Moran
* Facing Rock
* Fairfield Brook
* Farmington River
* Fish Brook
* Fisherville Pond
* Fisk Forestdale Lot
* Fisk Meadows
* Five Mile River
* Flagg Swamp
* Flint Pond
* Four Chimneys
* Fox Den
* Fox Island Salt Marsh
* Frances A. Crane
* George L. Darey Housatonic Valley
* Glen Echo Lake
* Gosnold
* Grassy Pond (Dennis)
* Grassy Pond (Plymouth)
* Green River Access (Franklin County)
* Green River (Berkshire County)
* Greenfield River
* Halfway Pond
* Hamilton
* Hancock
* Harlow / Cooks Pond
* Haskell Swamp
* Hauk Swamp
* Hawksnest State Park
* Hawley
* Head Of The Plains
* Herman Covey
* High Ridge
* Hinsdale Flats
* Hiram H. Fox
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hog Pond Lot
* Honey Pot
* Hoosatonic River
* Hoosic River
* Hop Brook
* Housatonic River
* Hubbard Brook
* Hunting Hills
* Hyannis Ponds
* Ipswich River
* John J. Kelly
* Joint Base Cape Cod
* Jug End
* Jug End Fen
* Kampoosa Fen
* Katama Plains
* Knops Pond
* Konkapot River
* Lackey Pond
* Lake Lorraine
* Lake Rohunta
* Lake Snipatuit
* Lake Warner
* Lanesboro
* Lawrence Brook
* Lawrence Pond Lot
* Leadmine
* Leyden
* Lilly Pond
* Little Alum Pond
* Long Sought For Pond
* Maple Hill
* Maple Springs
* Martha Deering
* Martin H. Burns
* Mascuppic Lake
* Mashpee Pine Barrens
* Mashpee Pond Lot
* Mashpee River
* Mckinstry Brook
* Meetinghouse Swamp
* Merrill Pond
* Miacomet Heath
* Mill Brook Bogs
* Mill River
* Millers River
* Mine Brook
* Montague
* Montague Plains
* Moose Brook Access
* Moose Brook
* Moose Hill
* Mossy Pond
* Mount Watatic Reservation
* Mt. Esther
* Mt. Toby Highlands
* Mt. Toby
* Mt. Tom
* Muddy Brook
* Muddy Pond
* Mulpus Brook
* Nashua River
* Natty Brook
* Nemasket River
* Nissitissit River
* Noquochoke
* Nordeen Marsh
* North Brookfield
* North Shore Salt Marsh
* Northboro
* Oakham
* Olivers Pond
* Orange
* Otis
* Packard Pond
* Palmer
* Pantry Brook
* Pauchaug Brook
* Peru
* Peterson Swamp
* Phillipston
* Podunk Marsh
* Poland Brook
* Popple Camp
* Popponesset Spit
* Poutwater Pond
* Powell Brook
* Prince River
* Provincetown Route 6 Corridor
* Purchade Brook
* Quaboag
* Quacumquasit
* Quag Pond Bog
* Quashnet River
* Quashnet Woods State Reservation
* Quinapoxet River
* Quinsigamond Marsh
* Quisset
* Raccoon Hill
* Rainbow Beach
* Red Brook
* Richardson
* Robbins Pond
* Rochester
* Rocky Gutter
* Rowe
* Salisbury Salt Marsh
* Salisbury Salt Marsh WMA
* Sandwich Game Farm
* Sandy Pond
* Satan's Kingdom
* Savage Hill
* Savoy
* Sawmill River
* Scorton Creek Coastal
* SE Mass Bioreserve
* Sevenmile River
* Shattuck Brook
* Sheperds Island
* Shubael Pond
* Sibley Brook
* Sly Pond
* South Barrier Beach
* South Meadow Pond
* South Shore Salt Marsh
* South Triangle Pond
* Southampton
* Southwick
* Spectacle Pond
* Springhill Lot
* Sputtermill Pond
* Squannacook River
* Stafford Hill
* Sudbury River
* Sunderland Islands
* Taconic Mountain
* Taunton River Access
* Taunton River
* Tekoa Mountain
* Thad Ellis
* Thayer Pond
* Three Mile Pond
* Townsend
* Townsend Hill
* Trapfall Brook
* Triangle Pond
* Tully Brook
* Tully Mountain
* Tully River
* Wakeby Pond
* Wales
* Walnut Hill
* Ware River
* Warwick
* Wendell
* West Meadows
* Westboro
* Westfield River
* Westfield
* Weymouth Back River
* Whately Great Swamp
* Whately Ponds
* Whately
* Wilbraham Game Farm
* William Forward
* Williams River
* Williamsburg
* Winimusset
* Wolf Swamp

|

Wildlife
sanctuaries|

* Billingsgate Island
* Carr Island
* E. Howe Forbush
* Egg Rock
* Grace A. Robson
* J.C. Phillips
* Knight
* Penikese Island
* Ram Island (Mattapoisett)
* Ram Island (Salisbury)
* Susan B. Minns
* Tarpaulin Cove
* Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

* Black Pond Bog
* Boat Meadow
* Francis Newhall Woods
* Grassy Pond
* Greene Swamp
* Halfway Pond Island
* Hawley Bog
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hoft Farm
* Homer-Watcha
* Katama Plains
* McElwain-Olsen
* Miacomet Moors
* Reed Brook
* Roger and Virginia Drury
* Sandy Neck
* David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail
* Stacy Mountain
* Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

* Governor Oliver Ames Estate
* Appleton Farms
* Ashintully Gardens
* Bartholomew's Cobble
* Bear Swamp
* Bear's Den
* Boston Community Gardens
* The Brickyard
* Bullitt
* Chestnut Hill Farm
* Colonel John Ashley House
* Dunes' Edge Campground
* Francis William Bird Park
* Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
* Bridge Island Meadows
* Brooks Woodland
* William Cullen Bryant Homestead
* Cape Poge
* Cedariver
* Castle Hill
* Chapel Brook
* Charles River Peninsula
* Chase Woodlands
* Chesterfield Gorge
* Coolidge
* Copicut Woods
* Cormier Woods
* Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge
* Crane Beach
* Crane Wildlife Refuge
* Crowninshield Island
* Dexter Drumlin
* Dinosaur Footprints
* Doane's Falls
* Doyle
* Dry Hill
* East Over
* Elliott Laurel
* Farandnear
* FARM Institute
* Field Farm
* Fruitlands Museum
* Fork Factory Brook
* Glendale Falls
* Goose Pond
* Greenwood Farm
* Hales Brook and Sippican River
* Halibut Point
* Hamlin
* Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens
* Holmes
* Governor Hutchinson's Field
* Jacobs Hill
* Little Tom Mountain
* Land of Providence
* Leatherbee Woods
* Long Hill
* Long Point
* Lowell Holly
* Lyman
* Malcolm
* Mashpee River
* McLennan
* Medfield Meadow Lots
* Medfield Rhododendrons
* Menemsha Hills and The Brickyard
* Misery Islands
* Mission House
* The Monoliths
* Monument Mountain
* Moose Hill Farm
* Moraine Farm
* Mount Ann
* Mount Warner
* Mountain Meadow
* Mytoi
* Naumkeag
* Noanet Woodlands
* Noon Hill and Shattuck
* Norris
* North Common Meadow
* Norton Point Beach
* Notchview
* Old Manse
* Old Town Hill
* Peaked Mountain
* Pegan Hill
* Peters
* Petticoat Hill
* Pierce
* Pine and Hemlock Knoll
* Powisset Farm
* Questing
* Quinebaug Woods
* Ravenswood Park
* Redemption Rock
* Rock House
* Rocky Narrows
* Rocky Woods
* Royalston Falls
* Shattuck
* Signal Hill
* Slocum's River
* Stavros
* Stevens-Coolidge
* Swift River
* Tantiusques
* Tully Lake Campground
* Two Mile Farm
* Tyringham Cobble
* Ward
* Wasque
* Weir Hill
* Weir River Farm
* Westport Town Farm
* Whitney and Thayer Woods
* World's End

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

* Allens Pond
* Arcadia
* Ashumet Holly
* Attleboro Springs
* Barnstable Great Marsh
* Blue Hills Trailside Museum
* Boston Nature Center
* Broad Meadow Brook
* Broadmoor
* Burncoat Pond
* Canoe Meadows
* Daniel Webster
* Drumlin Farm
* Eagle Lake
* Eastern Point
* Endicott
* Felix Neck
* Flat Rock
* Graves Farm
* Great Neck
* Habitat
* High Ledges
* Ipswich River
* Joppa Flats
* Kettle Island
* Lake Wampanoag
* Laughing Brook
* Lime Kiln Farm
* Lincoln Woods
* Long Pasture
* Lynes Woods
* Marblehead Neck
* Moose Hill
* Museum of American Bird Art
* Nahant Thicket
* Nashoba Brook
* North Hill Marsh
* North River
* Oak Knoll
* Pierpont Meadow
* Pleasant Valley
* Poor Farm Hill
* Richardson Brook
* Road's End
* Rough Meadows
* Rutland Brook
* Sampsons Island
* Sesachacha Heathlands
* Skunknett River
* Stony Brook
* Wachusett Meadow
* Waseeka
* Wellfleet Bay
* Wildwood Camp

Other

* Concord Land Conservation Trust
* Harvard Forest
* Lincoln Land Conservation Trust
* Lloyd Center for the Environment
* Lynn Woods Reservation
* Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
* Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

* Category
* Boston
* Emerald Necklace
* Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston

Coastal reservations|

* Belle Isle Marsh
* Boston Harbor Islands
* Castle Island
* Dorchester Shores
* Fort Revere
* Lynn Shore
* Nahant Beach
* Nantasket Beach
* Quincy Shore
* Revere Beach
* Rumney Marsh
* Webb Memorial
* Weymouth Back River

River reservations|

* Alewife Brook
* Charles River
* Chestnut Hill
* Cutler
* Elm Bank
* Hemlock Gorge
* Mystic River
* Neponset River
* Pope John Paul II
* Squantum Point Park
* Upper Charles River

Woodland reservations|

* Beaver Brook
* Blue Hills
* Breakheart
* Hammond Pond
* Middlesex Fells
* Quincy Quarries
* Southwest Corridor
* Stony Brook
* Wilson Mountain

Heritage state parks|

* Lynn
* Roxbury

Parkways and roads|

* Alewife Brook
* Arborway
* Blue Hills
* Blue Hills Reservation
* Charles River Reservation
* Day Boulevard
* Fellsway
* Fellsway East
* Fellsway West
* Fenway
* Fresh Pond
* Furnace Brook
* Hamond Pond
* Hull Shore Drive
* Jamaicaway
* Lynn Fells
* Lynnway
* Memorial Drive
* Morrissey Boulevard
* Mystic Valley
* Nahant Beach Boulevard
* Nantasket Avenue
* Park Drive
* Quincy Shore Drive
* Revere Beach
* Riverway
* Soldiers Field Road
* Stony Brook
* Storrow Drive
* Truman
* VFW
* West Roxbury
* Winthrop
* Winthrop Shore Drive

* Department of Conservation and Recreation
* Greater Boston
* List of Massachusetts State Parks

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