Franklin Park

I grew up near this park. Now
I am going with my grandchildren. This could be a world class zoo but who leaves the trash bags so people see them when the park opens. It is beautiful with great playgrounds but the Sprinklers were broken on a hot day. A bottle of waters
Cost $ 3 so bring your your own. There should be water sprinkler so. Kids
Can stay cool. The exhibits are great but the young kids working there need to engage with the visitors.

Well I’m kind of disappointed with this park. It is pretty far from Boston but it’s really big, so it looked like a good plan for a Sunday.
When I first arrived there, there is an area with a lot of trees, some ruins and quiet. But the more I entered the mark the more a enormous golf course was appearing in the horizon.
There’s also a hospital just next to the park and a building for homeless people. One of the amazing things is the pond located in the south of the park. There are some geese inside and outside the pond near to the bridge.
The remaining part of the park is used by families to have lunch and dinner with their barbecues or just having fun.
There are not too many benches or fountains on the park, so you would better take them if you plan to be here.
Next to the park there is a Zoo, I didn’t entered the Zoo as I don’t support them.

There was once a love in my life that I dared not speak of. For years I kept it to myself. But I cannot burden my heart with the secret any longer. I must express how I feel about Kiki. Or maybe her name was Gigi. Even though I barely knew her name, she was the world to me.
But no one would understand… how could they? A man in love with a gorilla? Outrageous!
I know you would say that it was merely infatuation. But no! I tell you it was love! True love. The kind of love that goes beyond logic and boundaries, even species.
Many things made our love untenable. First, she was older than me. Also, she was a gorilla.
But had you just looked into her eyes you would have understood how I felt. You would have seen a pure, noble, sentient being so full of love and longing, who had waited a lifetime.
These things need no explanation.
Judge me if you must. I am a man in love with a girl gorilla. I don’t know if she has a mate. I don’t care anymore. I want the world to know! Even if he is a big burly silverback. Bring it on, worthy opponent. I would go to the very gates of Hell for her. She makes me want to be a better man.

Pretty good XC course, but anything over 5k and you start repeating loops over and over. It is very spectator friendly, at least! Since they redid the park last year, the grass for the first 200m is very, very soft, but even. The wilderness loop is much more hard packed dirt, and Bear Cage Hill really isn’t that steep, but the turning of it and the loose rocks the size of roasted potatoes is what really slows you down.
If you don’t show up early for a race, expect to park at least 0.25−0.5 miles away. Plenty of porta-​potties near the start on race day.

Ok, I love zoos.
But this place was not well maintained at all! I was sorely disappointed; it was not at all worth the $ 17 admission price. All the stalls were very stinky, even the petting zoo, where (presumably) children go to pet the animals!
I think the nicest (and most clean) area was the very colorful and large playground, full of tunnels and slides. I think parents would bring their toddlers to play here rather than view the animals.
There are zebras, ostriches, giraffes, reptiles, and birds. The gorilla exhibit is particularly large.
Free roaming peacocks were pretty.
I’d pick the New England Aquarium over this place any day.

I never had been to this zoo before… there was plenty to do and see… the bird cage was fun… the stench from the flamingo pit and watching gorillas eating their own vomit and feces wasnt…

This place is just ridiculous and I thought about literally kicking myself for never having come here until a few years ago.
I’d been reading about the Emerald Necklace and using my Boston bike map I put together a great ride around it which includes the Southern arc of the Circuit Drive up to the clubhouse for the golf course and out onto Columbia. There are lots of trees along that way, but then you get to the golf course and it’s like you’re at a course on Cape Cod what with the sawgrass and stuff. Neat!
The zoo is a great little zoo too, but that’s another rating for another day.

Go here if you need to convince yourself that Black people – and other folks of color – care about fitness. I have started running here more frequently because it’s a nice way to get in my long runs around some pretty scenery. Also, it’s empowering to be running/​walking/​renewing with so many people of color. I run on the early side, and people are always friendly and supportive.
Added bonuses: the sidewalks are uneven, so there are few strollers – a great alternative to the rage I can feel while running around the pond in JP; you can also step into the Clubhouse if you have to use the bathrooms and they won’t hassle you.
One loop around=2.2 miles.

Great local trails for walking, biking or jogging!

this is one of my favorite parks in MA. Very beautiful. We went there with my friend and spend walking like 3 hours and didn’t get tired. It’s so awesome you just walk and enjoy beauty and can’t stop :) There’s no words for me to describe how nice this place is. So peaceful.
This park is huge and has wonderful small road that goes into the wood. I love the small roads with stones on side. Love that.
And there’s one more good thing especially for families with kids: they have bathrooms and water on roads. It’s fantastic!
There’s always a tour that runs during the summer. So if you are interesting in historic then it’s a good opportunity.
Lot’s of other people there having a good time so the atmosphere was great.
Parking can be a challenging.
I guarantee that in one visit you will be in love with this place and it will become your favorite place in Boston.

I have lived in the area my entire life and, excluding a few visits to the zoo, the extent of my visits to Franklin Park has consisted of driving through and a couple of races (Doyle’s and the BAA Half Marathon). Yesterday, I went for a long run all through Franklin Park and was very impressed. There are lots of great trails to run on through the woods and interesting remnants of buildings as well.
The only reason it doesn’t get a full 5 stars is the presence of litter in some areas. Also, visitors should be aware that the park abuts a few pretty rough neighborhoods. After-​dark visits are not advisable.

This park is seriously huge, and I haven’t really spent much time in it, but I think it would be cool to explore some day. All the time I’ve spent here so far is during the BAA Half Marathon, which I’ve run 4 times. It spends a decent amount of mileage in Franklin Park so I feel like I’ve seen the park even though I’m sure I haven’t seen much.
There’s a lot to do here, there’s a zoo and golf course, so whatever you’re into I’m sure you’ll find it.

Franklin Park: Not as stabby as you think!
Not the best tagline, but it would work. It’s got a bad rep, but really, it’s the largest greenspace in Boston, it has a lot of wildlife for being in the city (especially birds), and there are a decent array of events and tours going on if you know where to look. Most importantly, unlike most of the more popular parks in Boston, it has a legit wilderness, not an array of carefully-​planted trees surrounded by meticulously-​cut grass and flowerbeds. That alone makes it worth visiting.

Having such a large urban greenspace is fantastic. Franklin Park is fun and provides a safe environment for sports, music, golfing, running, etc. It’s also the only park in Boston you can BBQ in! People think its a bad park, but its not anymore scary than walking in Boston at night.
Best part is the performances that go on every year. absolutely love it.

The idea of a large rural park to serve Boston came about in the years after the Civil War, after the short-​lived Town of West Roxury was annexed to Boston (1874). The park itself formed the northeast corner of West Roxbury, with Roxbury across Seaver street to the north and Dorchester across Blue Hill ave. to the east. For years, the cost held up action, and representatives of distant parts of Boston saw no value to their constituents.
The 1880s began the work of taking land and designing and constructing the park, called West Roxbury Park at the time. There were few houses on the land, but farms did form the southern edge near Forest HIlls, and plans had been made to develop streets and build houses, so not all landowners were happy to have their land taken by the city. Frederick Law Olmsted was brought in to design the park, and it became one of his biggest projects. Olmsted saw the park as a rural retreat, where immigrant tenement-​dwellers would excape the slums of the North and South End and have their spirits uplifted by the magic of clean air and green open spaces. Olmsted’s park included open rolling meadows — today’s golf course — wooded «wild» land, still remaining along Forest HIlls st, and a more ordered promenade along Seaver st. Before the park was even finished, thousands did come on Sundays — the only «weekend» day at the time — to picnic and see and be seen. However, things did not go as Olmsted planned.
The value of rural retreats for the downtrodden masses was a much-​discussed subject for the better kind of people of the day, but those massed themselves preferred to actually do something with their time. Against Olmsted’s wishes, people began playing baseball at the park in large numbers. There was a great bicycle craze during the late 1800s, and the park was filled with «wheelmen.» In an effort to keep the ballplayers out, Franklin Field was built along Blue Hill ave, but still people refused to commune with rural nature. Ponds were demanded, so the city dug out the Scarboro ponds, directly against Olmsted’s wishes. And against Olmsted’s express demands, in the early 1900s, a zoo was added to the park. Olmsted wanted no active use — no sports, no ponds, and especially no zoo. By the First World War, the park consisted of a zoo, ballfields, ponds, and a golf couse! When a carriage road bisecting the park was opened to automobiles, the park was cut in half from corner to corner. Boston’s working class had their way, and there was little left of the Olmsted park other than the layout of the bare earth itself.
Fun facts:
Curling and hockey teams used to play on the Scarboro ponds.
An army battery once marched up from Rhode Island and bivouaced at Franklin Park.
Franklin Park was named for Benjamin Franklin to honor the use of money he left the city in a hundred-​year account, but legal battles with decendants tied up the Franklin Fund, leaving the city to pay for the park.
Schoolmaster Hill on the golf course honors Ralph Waldo Emerson, who lived in a house on the site while he taught school nearby. There are stone «ruins» on the site.
For more on the history of Franklin Park go here:

This is a perfectly pleasant place to go for a little hike in the park. It is close to the city and has some little trails and stuff off the paved walkways. The park isn’t exactly gorgeous (and note that we went in December), but it is also not as dirty as earlier reviewers reported. We saw only one group of three people hanging out on our hour plus walk, so this a good place for some off-​leash walking. There are interesting relics of old buildings and lots of paths to take.

I used to live a block or so from here.
Aside from the gorilla breaking out of the zoo, and scaring folks on Warren Street, it was a great place.
Actually, I’m going to amend this. The Gorilla wasn’t very scary. He was mostly confused and scared, himself. I felt sorry for him. In Roxbury, a Gorilla isn’t what you get scared of. He was just out of place.
So what is Great about Franklin Park? Over 500 acres of space in an urban area. Living a block or so from the park, I often woke up to seeing foxes in my back yard.
A Cookout or Picnic was 5 minutes away.
What’s bad is it’s horrible Zoo, lack of funding, lack of Policing, and abundance of syringes littering the playing fields, and places where kids could play.
Now, this sort of thing is common in Central Park. You live with that, along with the Rats. I just hope we can to better than that, in Boston.
Franklin Park was designed to be the Jewel of FL Olmstead’s Emerald Necklace. It’s still all there, though a Jewel in the rough, now.
I’d love to see a real reclamation project started here.

The good news is you’re totally not going to get killed. No, seriously. Every time I mention frequenting Franklin Park, someone seems to imply that I’m taking my life in my hands. The truth is, the Franklin Park Coalition is making great improvements, and the park has become, on the whole, a pleasant, welcoming space. While it’s not perfect, it is a lot safer, a lot cleaner, and a lot more beautiful than its rather negative reputation would have you believe.
There are some sections of the park that just don’t interest me, like the golf course or that retched zoo, but Franklin Park is vast, and there is plenty of wonderful greenery, old building ruins, and wilderness to explore and enjoy. The Overlook Pond, while small, is also lovely; excellent for a quick walk. There are several entrances to Franklin Park, and I am most familiar with the one off of William Street in Jamaica Plain. It’s a short walk from the Green Street T stop. I suggest going in that way if you’re in search of a scenic, quiet spot for a picnic; they have a bunch of tables, and the surrounding area is very serene.
FPC keep an up-​to-​date schedule on their website, and host a lot of great community events including free movie nights, festivals, and concerts. They also lead a series of awesome educational walks and talks, including a midnight owl spotting outing, a bi-​annual «weeds as feeds» lecture, and a landscape painting class. There’s truly something for everyone here.

Boston’s largest park is my backyard. I’m a lucky girl. I haven’t yet explored all 527 acres but I look forward to seeing them all. There are 15 miles of paths/​walkways, three playgrounds, several tennis courts, baseball fields, basketball hoops galore, a golf course, a pond and old zoo ruins. Scary, scary zoo ruins that look like they might give you a nasty case of tetanus. Don’t let the kiddies play too close– take ‘em to see filled zoo exhibits– complete with animals– just down the path.
The best part: Franklin Park is one of the few places in the city where you can forget you are in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the US. That’s an amazing feat and one well worth experiencing. Go get lost in the Wilderness.

I didn’t like this park too much, i’d rather stick to good old Common.
At the entrance of the park it delivers a great first impression, the wilderness and nature, you feel lonesome and in the middle of green. But then you get over the hill and there it is: A stadium, a huge street and a golf course. This destroys the entire hang-​out– in-​a-​beautiful-​park-​on-​a sunday experience. Probably we just missed to find the good spots in this park, but i wouldn’ t go there again to find out about that.
On top of that, it’s a long ride from Cambridge.