Walking Routes in Somerville

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Assembly Square Walking Tours

• 1999 - Assembly Square & Mystic Riverfront Tour

Ball Square Walking Tours

• 2019 - Boulders, Bricks, and Brunch: Somerville's Ball Square Neighborhood

East Somerville Walking Tours

• 2019 - Tucked Away Treasures: East Somerville’s Rich History and Architectural Legacy
• 2018 - Gilman Square and East Somerville - A Historical Look Before the GLX Arrives
• 2016 - Evolving Face of East Somerville - From Horse-Drawn Trolleys to Transit Stations
• 2015 - Columns, Cornices and Clapboards: Cherished Designs of East Somerville
• 2014 - Identifying Architectural Gems from Gilman Square to East Somerville
• 2013 - New Insights into its Rich Architecture and Historical Figures
• 2012 - From Mansions to Mudflats
• 2011 - Hidden in Plain Sight - Eyes on Historic East Somerville
• 2010 - Brackets, Belt Courses, and Bay Windows
• 2008 - Looking Back & Going Forward
• 2007 - Hidden Secrets

Powder House

• Old Powder House Scavenger Hunt Sheet and Map
• Nathan Tufts Park Brochure
• Davis to Powder House Tour

Union Square Walking Tours

• 2018 - Union Square's Landscape: Looking Forward and Backward
• 2017 - Exploring the Eastern Edge of Prospect Hill and Union Square
• 2016 - Tracking Progress - How Somerville Yards -- Rail, Stock and Brick -- Have Shaped Union Square
• 2015 - Changing Faces of Union Square
• 2014 - An Intermixing of Industry, Immigration and Innovation
• 2013 - From Bow Street to Brickbottom - Union Square and Its Early Industrial Preeminence and Immigration
• 2012 - Historic Somerville - Its Civic Hilltop to the Wyatt Brothers Brickyards and Fresh Pond Ice
• 2011 - Up and Coming Hotspots - Historic Union Square West
• 2010 - Union Square's Historic Crossroads of Commerce
• 2008 - From Sandpit to Melting Pot
• 2007 - The Ins and Outs
• 2007 - Summit to the Square
• 2006 - Prospect Hill and Union Square Tour - So Fine a Prospect

Bike Tours

• 2019 - Tracking the T
  • Map
• 2018 - Exploring Somerville - New Faces of Enduring Places
• 2017 - City-wide Highlights of Community Preservation in Action
• 2016 - Retracing Patriot Paul Revere’s Ride
• 2015 - Food, Flowers, and Farming - All Flourishing Anew in Somerville
• 2014 - Somerville Leads the Way - Innovative People, Places and Products
  • Map
• 2013 - Industrial Somerville - Past & Present
• 2012 - Now and Then
• 2011 - New and Proposed Local Historic Districts
  • Map
• 2010 - Lost Theatres of Somerville
• 2009 - Somerville Houses of Worship
• 2008 - Rails of the Past & Guiding the Green Line of the Future

Milk Row Cemetery Brochure

• Milk Row Cemetery Brochure

Rainbow Scavenger Hunt: 

Put a rainbow in your window and go on a scavenger hunt to find other rainbows in the neighborhood. 

• Here’s a Boston Globe story about Rainbow Scavenger Hunts

Teddy Bear Hunt

Similarly, put a teddy bear or another stuffed toy critter in your window, encourage friends and neighbors to do the same, and then go on a walking Teddy Bear Hunt to find more.

• Here’s a Boston Globe story about Teddy Bear Hunts 

East Somerville Egg Hunt April 8-14

For the East Somerville Egg Hunt April 8th-14th, you can create colorful eggs out of paper, or even draw them on a sidewalk. The goal is to display them in a place where everyone can see them. Then just go for a walk to find them. 

Or, when you spot the eggs, you can snap a photo and post it to the East Somerville Main Street Facebook page with the tag #SomervilleEggHunt

(Hint: You can find one at East End Grille)

Walk a Whole Neighborhood, or Set a Goal to Walk Every Street in Somerville

If you have a printer, print our Walking Routes map and start picking out streets to walk. After you walk them, mark them with a highlighter or pen. See how much of the map you can cover. If you don’t have a printer, track them with a list. 

You could set a goal to walk them all. Or pick out a neighborhood to cover. Or have your kids pick streets they like the names of. Setting a goal to accomplish will add interest to your walks.

Go Birding in Somerville

Check out this online birding guide at allaboutbirds.org

Or, if you are able, download the Free Audubon Birding App to help you identify species. How many different bird species can you find in Somerville?

Visit a State Park

If you have a car, consider visiting a State Park. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has updates on what’s open here. To maintain a safe social distance, please do not carpool to a park with persons not living in your household. If you get to a park and it’s crowded, consider walking in a nearby town center or neighborhood as an alternative. It can be fun to discover new areas. 

More Ways to Get Moving with Your Kids

• Yoga and mindfulness exercises for ages 3+ from Cosmic Kids Yoga (this is used in elementary schools in England for body breaks)
• Mindfulness and movement for all ages from GoNoodle.com
• Five-minute video to get kids moving at home, led by fitness trainer Joe Wicks
• Make an obstacle course in your home
• Learn a new dance (there are tons of online tutorials for any kind of dance you want to learn). Just search on Youtube for things like “Learn to dance hip hop” or Google “best learn to dance videos.”
  • Once you have your new moves, have a living room dance party at home. If you are able, you can invite friends to join through video chat.

If you have a car, consider visiting a State Park. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has updates on what’s open here. To maintain a safe social distance, please do not carpool to a park with persons not living in your household. If you get to a park and it’s crowded, consider walking in a nearby town center or neighborhood as an alternative. It can be fun to discover new areas.