Muddy River (Massachusetts)

The Muddy River is a series of brooks and ponds that runs through sections of Boston's Emerald Necklace, including along the south boundary of Brookline, Massachusetts (a town that went by the name of Muddy River Hamlet before it was incorporated in 1705). The river, which is narrower than most waterways designated as rivers in the United States, is a protected public recreation area surrounded by parks and hiking trails, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The river flows from Jamaica Pond through Olmsted Park's Wards Pond, Willow Pond, and Leverett Pond. It then flows through a conduit under Route 9 and into a narrow park called the Riverway, from which it flows through underground pipes to a gatehouse located at Brookline Avenue. At this point, some of the water runs north to drain into the Charles River, while some drains into the Back Bay Fens, which were formerly a saltwater marsh. The Muddy River continues from the Fens toward its connection with the Charles River via the Charlesgate area, running through a stone-paved channel surrounded by a narrow strip of parklands. In a series of stone bridges and tunnels, it passes under Boylston Street, Massachusetts Turnpike, Commonwealth Avenue, Storrow Drive, and a series of elevated connecting ramps (the Bowker Overpass).

In its natural state, the outlet of the Muddy River into the tidal Charles was much wider. It formed the eastern Brookline border with Boston and Roxbury (depending on the year), from Brookline's incorporation in 1705 until Boston's annexation of Allston–Brighton in 1873.

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