Charles River Bike Path

Charles River Bike Path
Charles River at night, with the Cambridge bike path on the left side of roadway
Length	23 mi (37 km)
Location	Boston, Massachusetts to Auburndale, Massachusetts
Trailheads	Boston Science Museum, Norumbega Park
Use	Bicycling, inline skating, walking, paddling, rowing
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	easy
Season	year round, some parts not plowed in winter
Hazards	street crossings, narrow passing

The Charles River Bike Path is a mixed-use path in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It follows both shores of the Charles River from Boston, Massachusetts to Norumbega Park in Newton, passing through Watertown and Waltham. The path consists of several segments in the Charles River Reservation separated by road and bridge crossings and forms part of the planned East Coast Greenway, the 3,000-mile trail system connecting cities from Maine to Florida.

The Paul Dudley White Bicycle Path runs on both sides of the river within the Charles River Reservation. From the Museum of Science, Boston on the Charles River Dam Bridge, they run on sidewalk or striped asphalt path to Watertown Square (Galen Street/Route 16 bridge), a loop of 17.1 miles (27.5 km). The paths run along the edge of Cambridge and Watertown on the north; and the West End, Back Bay, and Allston-Brighton neighborhoods of Boston on the south side.

In 2004, a $9M master plan to extend the path westward from Watertown Square to Norumbega Park in Newton was completed.

The path continues along the north side of the river from Watertown Square to Bridge Street, there crossing back from Watertown to Newton. This segment was completed in 1997.

The riverwalk then continues along the south bank, crossing back to the north bank at the Blue Heron Bridge, built 2004 just for the path, and continuing to Moody Street in Waltham, near the Charles River Museum of Industry and Waltham Common. The route extends upstream with a combination of paths and streets, to Auburndale, the Newton neighborhood where Norumbega Park is located.