Foliage spotting in Boston: our guide

Kings Boston Teacher and Student Experience Coordinator, Benjamin Gross, shares some local insights into the best places to enjoy the famous New England foliage as the seasons change.

“Leaf-peepers” from all over the country make annual pilgrimage to rural New England towns where ash, birch, locust, and, most noble of the grove, maple grow abundant.

Students at Kings Boston are superbly located to witness the breath-taking beauty by train, bicycle or foot in the areas within and surrounding the capitol city.

Boston

Arnold’s Arboretum: Peter’s Hill, Bussey Hill

• Located in southern Jamaica Plain & accessible via the orange line at Forest Hills
• Enjoy a view of the high spine skyline framed in color

Franklin Park: Schoolmaster Hill

• Located in eastern Jamaica Plain & accessible via the orange line at Stony Brook
• Enjoy the view from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s old abode & park beyond

McLaughlin Park: Mission Hill

• Located in northern Jamaica Plain & accessible via the orange line at Roxbury Crossing or the green line E at Heath Street
• Enjoy stunning views of the city, harbor islands & leafy suburbs west of the city

Near Boston

Skyline Park

• Located in Brookline & accessible on the green line D at Chestnut Hill
• Enjoy the surrounding foliage from nearby golf courses & reservations

Middlesex Fells: Observation Tower

• Located in Medford & accessible via the orange line at Oak Grove
• Enjoy beautiful views of the City of Boston & surrounding forests (pictured above)

Blue Hills Reservation: Eliot Tower

• Located in Milton & accessible via the 716 bus or by taxi or bicycle
• Enjoy incredible views of the city & woods

Beyond

• North Adams, Massachusetts
• Woodstock, Vermont
• Acadia National Park, Maine (pictured above)

*You’ll need a car, bus or long-distance train for these.

Routes

• Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire
• Vermont’s Rt-100
• Maine Coastal Rt-1

**You’ll need a car for these.