Just North of Downtown Boston: Mystic Lakes, Northern Strand Trail, Middlesex Fells

Just north of downtown, there are some pleasant, and recently improved running options. Here are our recommendations.

Mystic River Reservation. In the area around Medford/Somerville/Malden, just north of downtown, there are pleasant and recently improved trails along the Mystic River. Mainly paved, through a series of parks, with some nice water views. These trails are now connected to the burgeoning Assembly Row office & retail complex. It’s possible to put together a 5-6 mile loop around here. There are kiosks with maps. ROUTE MAP Note: there are additional trails that can be connected to in this area and lots of plans for improvements and additional connectors.

• Can also connect to trails along the Malden River. Best accessed from the Wellington Orange Line station. Can also connect to the Northern Strand trail (below), using the Alford Bridge.

Northern Strand Community Path. This long-distance multi-use trail runs from Everett to Lynn has been built in stages over the years, and is now complete! The southern terminus is at the Encore Boston Casino in Everett, where there’s a lovely path through gorgeously landscaped gardens and some nice water views, and then the paved trail continues for nearly 11 miles to Lynn. Some sections are more industrial, while there are some very scenic sections in Saugus around Rumney Marsh. ROUTE MAP

• Note: From the northern terminus in Lynn, it’s 1.5 miles to our waterfront route in Swampscott.

Middlesex Fells Reservation. A large state park just north of Boston in Stoneham. There are 100 miles of mixed-use trails. Some are wider, easier fire roads, and others are narrower, more rugged single track trails. The Fells is also a popular mountain biking area. This excellent trail map has detailed information and numerous suggested loop options.  INFORMATION.  NOTE: Easy to get lost — take a picture of one of the kiosk maps.