A Bicycle Ride along Mother Brook
(or Down by the Old Mill Stream)
10:00 am, Saturday, November 17, 2007

Mother Brook is the oldest industrial canal in North America. A tributary of the Neponset River, its headwaters were connected to the Charles River in Dedham in 1650, and the additional volume was used to power some of the earliest mills in Massachusetts. We'll start at the Bajko Rink parking lot in Stony Brook Reservation, off the Turtle Pond Parkway in Hyde Park. First, we'll ride downstream to the confluence of Stony Brook and the Neponset River. Then we'll head upstream past one of the most beautiful old mills around Boston in East Dedham turning around at the dam on the Charles across the VFW Parkway from the Dedham Mall where Mother Brook begins. On the way back to the starting point, we'll check out a possible rail trail in Dedham and use one of the lesser known paved paths through Stony Brook Reservation.

Map to starting point

Click on map to pan and zoom around the starting location

Details

Map and Cue Sheet

Getting There

Bicycle

From the north, take the West Roxbury Parkway (22-foot lanes) to its intersection with Washington St. and continue straight on Enneking Parkway past the stop sign at Dedham Parkway. The pool and rink will be on your left.
A flatter route would be to take Hyde Park Ave. to Cleary Square in Hyde Park and go upstream on River St. to Turtle Pond Parkway, where a right turn will bring you to the rink and pool on your right.

MBTA

You can take your bike on the Orange Line and bike from there on either Washington St. through Roslindale Square (a 200-foot climb) or brave faster traffic on the flatter Hyde Park route given above. T details are on the MBTA website.

Car

From Route 128, take the North exit at US 1 (Providence Highway) and follow that to Washington St. Turn right and drive to the top of the hill where you'll have a great view of Boston. Turn right on the Enneking Parkway and follow it to the parking lot, on your left a bit past the stop sign at Dedham Parkway.