This page describes an 8-mile loop beginning and
ending in Newton Center. It covers both aqueducts,
and makes the connection between them by walking along Quinobequin Road.
The entire route can be walked (or bicycled) in
either direction. A description of the clockwise direction starts below.
Click here to go to the description
of the counterclockwise direction.
Many shorter variations are also possible. Some
of them take advantage of the fact that the MBTA Green Line crosses
or is close to both aqueducts at the Newton Centre, Eliot, and Waban
stations.
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The Clockwise Route:
Sudbury Aqueduct, Quinobequin Road,
Cochituate Aqueduct
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| Begin the walk at
the corner of Centre Street and Tyler Terrace (opposite the fire
station) in Newton Centre. The Sudbury Aqueduct is pretty well hidden
in this area (it emerges for a block or so just east of here at
the corner of Willow, Lyman, and Sumner Streets, but our trip does
not go in that direction). So, we start by walking west on Tyler
Terrace. This "detour" is shown in yellow on the map. |
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| At the end of Tyler
Terrace, a gatehouse for the aqueduct is on the right. The aqueduct is mostly
under private property in this area, so our detour continues. Turn
right on Pleasant Street, and then left onto Bracebridge Road. Turn
right onto Hancock Avenue. |
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| The aqueduct is behind
the houses on your right, though the route is inaccessible. Continue
to the end of the block and turn right on Greenlawn Avenue. You'll
immediately see open land on both sides of the road. |
|
| You're now at the
spot where the two aqueducts run adjacent to each other. If you
do the entire loop, you'll come back here on your return. Turn left
onto the aqueduct. The Sudbury Aqueduct (your outbound route) is
on your left, slightly elevated from the Cochituate Aqueduct. |
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| Walk one block to
Beacon Street, and cross the street. Enter the driveway that veers
slightly to the right. |
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| A few steps down the
driveway, you'll see a wood fence. Stay to the right of the fence.
You're now on an obviously elevated portion of the aqueduct, with
the Whole Foods Market parking lot on your right. Continue to Walnut
Street. |
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| A short detour is needed
at Walnut Street. Turn left on Walnut, and then take the first right
onto Fisher Ave. Bear right on Kingman Rd, and turn left onto the
aqueduct. |
|
| Continue on the aqueduct
for about a half mile, crossing several streets, including the busy
Woodward Street. After one more street crossing, another detour
is needed to allow you to cross the MBTA tracks. When you see the
fence for the tracks ahead of you, bear left between some trees
to reach the end of Harrison Street. |
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| Walk one block down
Harrison, and turn right to enter the MBTA Eliot Station. |
|
|
Cross the tracks to the inbound platform,
and then walk through the opening in the fence to Meredith Avenue.
(A shorter, 6-mile walk, begins here and ends in Newton Centre.)
|
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| Turn right immediately
onto Canterbury Road. Continue as it turns left and becomes Cragmore
Road. Just at this point, turn right onto a path between two houses. |
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| The path climbs up
the embankment containing the aqueduct. Turn left. Continue on the
aqueduct to Arlo Road, where you need to ignore two fences and a
"No Trespassing" sign to continue. |
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| The aqueduct reaches
Route 9, crossing underneath this busy highway. |
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| Turn right onto the
sidewalk, and walk several blocks, passing what might be the smallest
single-family house in Newton. |
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| At Quinobequin Road,
our route turns right. However, you may want to take a short detour
to the left under Route 9 to explore Echo Bridge and Hemlock
Gorge, which begins just on the other side of the highway bridge.
|
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Walk along Quinobequin
Road for about 1.5 miles, being extremely careful with the traffic.
Although there is parkland on the left side for almost the entire
way, there is a path for only a short distance. There is no sidewalk.
A shortcut is possible here. It bypasses almost a mile of not particularly scenic territory. When you reach Carlton Road, turn right and walk uphill to Waban Avenue. The Cochituate Aqueduct runs in a woodsy strip between the two parts of the street. Turn right and proceed as described below. |
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| Just before Quinobequin
passes under Route 128, turn right onto East Quinobequin Road. At
this corner is an MWRA building. (Near here, the Cochituate Aqueduct enters
Newton via a bridge over the Charles River.) Turn right just past
the building, and walk up the hill. |
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|
The aqueduct crosses Varick Road, and then turns right, entering
a woodsy strip of land between the two roadways of Waban Avenue.
Continue on the aqueduct until the strip of woods ends at Nehoiden
Road. The aqueduct passes under roads and the MBTA tracks now,
so another detour is needed.
|
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| Continue on Waban
Avenue, then bear left next to the Union Church at the corner of
Beacon Street. |
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| Keep right on the
Beacon Street sidewalk, crossing the MBTA tracks. Turn right and
go down the stairs to the MBTA parking lot. |
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| Cross to the far corner
of the parking lot, and cross the street next to the Post Office.
The aqueduct resumes between the Post Office and an apartment building. |
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| After carefully crossing
Woodward Street, pick up the aqueduct as it enters a woodsy area
between houses. |
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| Continue, crossing
Chestnut Street (heavy traffic) and several other streets.After
crossing Beethoven Avenue, the aqueduct is in a trench dug into
a hillside. At one point, the path you follow rises sharply. At
the top of this rise, do not continue straight ahead (that path
ends shortly). Instead, turn right, and then turn left along the
edge of the trench. |
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|
The path soon drops down to join the aqueduct at Plymouth Road,
where it enters Cold Spring Park.Continue
straight along the aqueduct until you come to the driveway that
leads to the softball field. As you cross the driveway, do
not take the wide walking path that bears slightly to the
left and down off the aqueduct. Instead, go straight ahead as
the aqueduct continues on the flat, narrower path into the woods.
|
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| Follow the aqueduct
until it leads you onto a driveway. Walk down the driveway to Carthay
Circle. Turn right and walk a few steps to Walnut Street. A slight
detour is needed here, as the aqueduct passes under the Whole Foods
Market parking lot. |
|
| Walk along the Walnut
Street sidewalk to Beacon Street, and cross both streets to the
far corner. Your goal is to turn right onto the far (north) sidewalk
of Beacon Street. Walk down Beacon Street past Garland Road. The
aqueduct is in the grassy land on your left. Turn left onto it. |
|
The strip of land
you're walking on includes both aqueducts. When you get to the next
street, the aqueducts divide. After crossing the street, Greenlawn
Avenue, walk a few steps to your left and enter the woods.
|
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| You'll soon see on
your right a sign for the small Wilson Conservation Area. Just past
this sign, you need to take a detour onto private property
because the path on the aqueduct right of way is obstructed. Turn
right, and follow a path that goes over an old stone bridge. Stay
to the right around a meadow and up a hill next to the lawn of 15
Bracebridge Road. Admire the beautiful gardens, and treat them with
utmost respect. Bicyclists must walk their bikes. Turn right through the fence, and then left onto
Bracebridge. Turn left onto Pleasant Street. |
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| Just past the entrance
to the Mason Rice School parking lot, turn right onto the aqueduct.
Follow the aqueduct until you can see the soccer field of the Newton
Centre Playground on your right. The aqueduct is not walkable after
this point. Cross the playground to the corner of Centre Street
and Tyler Terrace, where the walk began. |
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| |
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The
Counterclockwise Route:
Cochituate Aqueduct, Quinobequin Road,
Sudbury Aqueduct
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| Begin the walk at
the corner of Centre Street and Tyler Terrace (opposite the fire
station) in Newton Centre. Walk down the paved path into the playground.
Walk between the tennis courts and the basketball court. |
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| Cross a small stream,
and then to the left of the little league field onto the soccer
fields. Near two light poles in the middle of the soccer field,
turn right and walk up an embankment to the aqueduct. |
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| Turn left onto the
aqueduct, and enter the woods. The woods end as the trail reaches
Pleasant Street. The aqueduct crosses the street here, but the route
is impassible. So, a detour (marked in yellow on the
map) is needed. |
|
Turn left on Pleasant
Street and then right on Bracebridge Road. Walk along the road to
the second gap in the fence bordering 15 Bracebridge Road.
Note to bicyclists:
The route described below goes through private property. You must stay on the path and walk your bike.
|
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| The detour enters private property here. As you walk across the lawn, keep to the extreme left. |
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| Admire the beautiful gardens, and treat them with
utmost respect. At the end of the lawn, make a sharp left onto a
trail that goes around the site of a filled-in pond. |
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| Walk across a bridge,
onto a trail that rejoins the aqueduct in the woods. |
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| As the aqueduct reaches
Greenlawn Avenue, it is adjacent to the Sudbury Aqueduct. You'll
revisit this spot on your return. |
|
| At Beacon Street,
a detour is needed as the aqueduct goes under the Whole Foods Market
parking lot. Turn right on the Beacon Street sidewalk, and continue
to Walnut Street. Cross both Beacon and Walnut Streets, to the far
corner. Turn left (south) on Walnut Street. Take the first right
on Carthay Circle. |
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| Take the second driveway,
made of gravel, on the left side of Carthay Circle. At the end of
the driveway, bear right around a fence and a bush to find the aqueduct
trail. |
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| The trail joins the
Cold Spring Park exercise trail.
Continue on the aqueduct until it leaves the park at Plymouth Street. |
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| The aqueduct is in
a large trench. |
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| The trail climbs to
the left, and proceeds along the edge of the trench. At your first
opportunity, take a sharp right on an earthen "bridge"
across the trench. (Another trail continues straight ahead at this
point.) Then take a sharp left, and walk down a steep slope to the
aqueduct. |
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| The aqueduct crosses
several streets, including busy Chestnut Street. At Chestnut, enter
a small pathway, marked by stepping stones just to the left of a
driveway. Keep to the right edge of the lawn until reaching the
trail. |
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| Continue, crossing
busy Woodward Street, through a gap in a white fence. |
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| When you reach the
Waban MBTA station parking lot, another detour is needed here. |
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| Cross to the far corner
of the parking lot, then walk up the steps to Beacon Street. |
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| Turn left on the sidewalk
across the MBTA tracks. Bear left on Collins Road, then immediately
bear right onto Waban Avenue. |
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After a block, the
aqueduct resumes in a woodsy strip between the two roadways of Waban
Avenue.
A shortcut is possible here. It bypasses almost a mile of not particularly scenic territory. When you reach Carlton Road, turn left and walk downhill to Quinobequin
Road. Cross to the far side of the road, turn left, and proceed as described below. |
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| Continue until the
woodsy Waban Avenue median ends at Varick Road. As it crosses Varick
Road, the aqueduct takes a left turn onto a grassy area to the right
of a long hedgerow. |
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| Walk along the grassy
area, and then down a steep hill to East Quinobequin
Road, where there is an MWRA building. Turn left, and left again
onto Quinobequin Road. You leave the Cochituate Aqueduct here. |
|
| Walk along Quinobequin
Road for about 1.5 miles, being extremely careful with the traffic.
Although there is parkland on the right side for almost the entire
way, there is a path for only a short distance. There is no sidewalk. |
|
| At the frontage road
to Route 9, our route turns left. However, you may want to take
a short detour straight ahead under Route 9 to explore Echo Bridge
and Hemlock Gorge, which begins just
on the other side of the highway bridge. |
|
| Turn left onto the
sidewalk of Route 9. |
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| Continue past what
might be the smallest single-family house in Newton. |
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| Turn left onto a grassy
area where the Sudbury Aqueduct meets Route 9. |
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| Continue on the aqueduct
to Arlo Road, where you need to ignore two fences and a "No
Trespassing" sign to continue. |
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| As you near the MBTA
tracks, another detour is needed. Turn right down a well-worn path
that crosses the aqueduct. |
 |
|
Turn left on Cragmore Road, which
immediately becomes Canterbury Road. Follow Canterbury until it
reaches Meredith Avenue. Turn left and enter the Eliot MBTA station.
(A shorter, 2-mile walk, begins here and ends in Newton Centre.)
|
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| Cross the tracks and
the station parking lot, and turn left onto Harrison Road. At the
end of Harrison, turn right and rejoin the aqueduct. |
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| Cross several roads
(including busy Woodward Street).When the aqueduct reaches Kingman
Road, it appears to continue. But it quickly dead-ends in a private
back yard. So, another detour is needed. Turn right on Kingman. |
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| Cross Walnut Street
and turn left on the sidewalk. Turn right onto the aqueduct just
after passing a row of pine trees. |
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| Continue as the aqueduct
turns into a driveway and reaches Beacon Street. Cross Beacon, and
continue on the grassy area that contains both aqueducts. |
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| At Greenlawn Avenue,
another detour is needed. Turn right, and then immediately left
on Hancock Avenue. |
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| Turn left on Bracebridge
Road, right on Pleasant Street, and left on Tyler Terrace. At this
corner is a gatehouse for the aqueduct. |
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| Continue down Tyler
Terrace to Centre Street, where the walk began. |
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