Somerville | MassCentralRailTrail

MCRT: Somerville

About MCRT Somerville

Somerville, North of Cambridge between the Charles and Mystic rivers, and originally the home of the Mystic Tribe of the Naumkeag people, was first settled by Puritans as part of Charlestown in 1629 (even before Boston).

For ~ 2 centuries, Somerville was farmland, used for grazing and orchards. Somerville was home to one of the first hostile acts of the American Revolutionary War and Paul Revere’s famous horseback ride. The first American flag was raised in Somerville on Prospect Hill and the 27-mile Middlesex Canal, one of the first canals in the US, began in Somerville and linked Boston harbor to the Merrimac river in Lowell.

As the industrial revolution got underway, Somerville separated from Charlestown (in 1842) and rapidly developed into an industrial and residential streetcar suburb of Boston. By the turn of the century, it had 8 railroad stations and 6 trolley lines. Its population grew from only 1,000 to 40,000 in 50 years, and reached a maximum of 104,000 in 1930. After declining from urban white flight, Somerville has become a highly desirable place to live, increasing for the last 35 years to 82,000 residents, and at only 4 square miles, is the densest municipality in New England.

The MCRT in Somerville

The 3.0 miles of MCRT in Somerville is called the Somerville Community Path, partially above the MBTA’s Red Line subway, a rail-trail along the abandoned Central Mass Railroad right-of-way and the remainder along the active rail line from Boston to Lowell and Maine (i.e., rail w/trail). It was built in 5 stages from 1986 to 2023 (see map). It may be the most used rail trail in the USA with an estimated 1.6 million users per year.

Along with the other few miles in Cambridge, this is the most urban section of the MCRT. The trail actually intersects two Red Line subway stations, an Orange Line station and 4 new Green Line stations! The MCRT can be reached without a car at any of these stations. Numerous new residential and commercial developments have been built along the Path and real estate listings advertise their proximity to the Path. The last 1.9-mile section of the Path, that opened in June, 2023, with a long, elevated section cost an estimated $45 million and was built as part of the Green Line (Light Rail) extension to Tufts University in Somerville. See this article about the project with good construction photos. And here’s a video taken on the opening day by a cyclist.

Visiting the MCRT in Somerville

Access Points:

There are numerous access points since the Path crosses many City streets.
For those driving in from out-of-town, parking is not easy as all small streets are resident-only parking from Monday-Saturday (visit on Sunday?). Other than finding metered parking on the larger city streets, visitors can find parking near the MCRT at these locations:

Municipal parking lots in Davis Square, Somer on Day and Buena Vista streets.
Alewife station garage in Cambridge and:
In East Cambridge at 189 Cambridge St. and the 222 Jacobs Street Garage

There are also 17 Blue Bike (metro Boston’s share bike system) stations all along the MCRT route in Somerville, including at all the MBTA subway stations. So come by the T and bike the route!

Nearby sights: Harvard Univ., MIT, Tufts University, Boston Science Museum, Somerville Museum, Charlestown Navy Yard and all the sites in Boston of course.

There are numerous places to get food and drink along the Path in Davis Square, Somerville.

Additional Resources

MassTrailTracker - Shows the MCRT segment through Somerville (and Cambridge on both ends). This includes a temporary detour for the “Linear Path” West of Somerville where this part of the MCRT route is being rebuilt in 2026.
Ride with GPS

Connecting Trails:

There are no existing connecting (off-road) routes in Somerville but many being planned and/or designed.

RideWithGPS Route - https://ridewithgps.com/routes/53661093

Trail Guide (West to East)

Mile
0.0 mi – The route starts a block east of Massachusetts Ave. and Cameron Ave. in Cambridge, where the Cambridge Linear Path (now under re-construction) becomes the Somerville Community Path. You are now traveling over the Red Line subway and may hear the rumblings of trains as you pass ventilation grates. The red bricks in the Path indicate crossing the City line.

0.2 mi - Enter Davis Square business district: many stores and restaurants adjacent to the Path, and the Red Line subway to Boston. The MCRT route continues around either side of the Red Line subway entrance, crossing Holland St. and Davis Square park, then crossing College Ave., continuing straight ahead east along a busway. The absence of a designated separated bike path requires cyclists to walk on sidewalks to follow this route.

0.3 mi - walk along sidewalk of busway, and through a parking lot, with a gym on the right

0.45 mi - with a community garden on the left, continue east on the most used part of the Somerville Community Path.

0.8 mi - pass Lexington playground on your right. If you look at the play structure, you’ll know what used to be in this place: the granite RR station in this photo.

Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 3.41.08 PM 1.jpg

1.2 mi - At Lowell Street, with a switchback and underpass, the Path joins the MBTA Green Line corridor as a rail w/trail. The Magoun Square Green Line light rail station is here.

Screenshot 2026-01-12 at 3.42.20 PM 1.jpg

1.4 mi - Before crossing Central Street, stop at the brand new Somerville Jct. Park and look for the granite stairs that once descended to this station that the park was named after. Stay and watch light rail cars, the Amtrak Northeaster and commuter rail trains pass by.

1.9 mi - After School St. travel between the Gilman Sq. Green Line station on your left and the brand-new Somerville High School on your right.

2.8 mi - Crossing above Washington Street, pass the East Somerville Green Line station to begin the elevated portion of Somerville Community Path - 40 ft high bridge over the MBTA commuter rail and Green Line trolley tracks with excellent views of Boston from the viaduct.

3.1 mi - As the ramp over the RR tracks comes back down to grade, the MCRT re-enters Cambridge, and travels through a large new development (that was once a huge rail yard) called Cambridge Crossing (restaurants, “Central Park”, parking, Orange and Green Line stations).

Now, you are less than a mile from the end of the MCRT at North Station, Boston; this is a good place to end your tour. Alternatively, you could continue over the North Bank bridge to Paul Revere Park in Charlestown or cross the Charles River lock to North Station. (See the Cambridge page for this last mile of the MCRT in Cambridge and Boston.)

Current MCRT Projects in Somerville

Connecting the Community Path to the Grand Junction (rail w/trail) Path in Cambridge and the Mystic River paths (see 2020 Feasibility Study).

The Mystic River Bike/Ped bridge to connect Somerville to Everett and the Northern Strand trail to Lynn (under design).
Improving way-finding through confusing and congested Davis Square.

A Brief History of the MCRT in Somerville

One of the oldest railroads in the USA and Massachusetts was the Boston and Lowell Railroad that started operations in 1835 and passed through Somerville, replacing the Middlesex Canal for travel to the north. The MCRT rail w/trail section is along this railroad corridor. The next section of the MCRT westbound in Somerville follows the Fitchburg railroad that began operating in 1843 and joined the Boston and Lowell RR in the middle of Somerville at Lowell St. The Mass Central RR tracks were merged with the Fitchburg railroad tracks in Somerville in the 1940s.

The Somerville Community Path would not have been built without decades of advocacy by The Friends of Community paths. They continue to advocate for a more interconnected system of bike and pedestrian paths in this area.