On Saturday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m. the National Park Service and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation are offering a guided hike of the Stony Brook Reservation. This roughly 90-minute tour, entitled “Charles Eliot’s Master Plan,” meets at the DCR Stony Brook Reservation Headquarters, 12 Brainard Street in Hyde Park. Afterward, rangers from the National Park Service and the DCR will be available for informal questions.
The hike will be held rain or shine and is free and open to the public. No advance reservations are required. For more information, please call Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site at 617-566-1689, ext. 238 or the DCR at 617-333-7405, ext. 104.
Stony Brook Reservation reflects the work and philosophy of one-time Olmsted firm partner Charles Eliot, who played a leading role in the creation of several metropolitan Boston parks. In his 1890 Waverly Oaks Report, Eliot suggested that Boston residents look beyond their city and into the suburbs to foster and preserve “an education in the love of beauty” and “a means of human enjoyment.” This ranger-led hike explores a number of Eliot’s ideas and efforts.
In 1894, Stony Brook Reservation was established by the Metropolitan Parks Commission. Now managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Stony Brook Reservation protects the largest forested area in Boston. The DCR is steward of one of the largest state park systems in the United States. Its 450,000 acres is made up of forests, parks, greenways, historic sites and landscapes, seashores, lakes, ponds, reservoirs and watersheds. Free public programs are offered year-round. For more information, please visit www.mass.gov/dcr.
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, co-sponsor of this walk, was the home and office of America’s premier park maker and the designer of the Emerald Necklace park system. It is now administered by the National Park Service as one of its 401 sites around the United States. This fall, Olmsted NHS is offering regular tours of the historic Olmsted design office and Olmsted-designed grounds on Fridays and Saturdays. In addition, visitors can view recently-installed self-guided exhibits on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 4 pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For further information on Olmsted NHS’s fall programs, please visit www.nps.gov/frla, or call 617-566-1689 Monday through Saturday.
