Walking The Boston Freedom Trail

If you’re looking for a way to see the city of Boston, learn its history and maybe you even have a dog with you, I highly recommend walking the Boston Freedom Trail.

You can download a PDF of the map here. We only did the main route (red), but I’m already making plans to go back and do the Black Heritage Trail (blue) – especially seeing as we enjoyed the Black Heritage Trail in Portsmouth, NH so much.

We did the Freedom Trail in two parts because of the time we had available. I’ll be honest though, we were wiped out both times, so if you can spread it out over a few days that might be a good idea. We didn’t do any of the official tours, but are very interested in going back for that as well.

Here are just a few highlights from the Boston Freedom Trail. We went to all the stops along the way but didn’t go inside many of them. I’ve included links for you to check out the history before or during your walk along the Boston Freedom Trail to help you understand its important sites even better.

The trail is marked through the city – sometimes by the path shown above and below, other times with red paint. Very occasionally you can miss it or it splits, so you just need to keep track of where you’ve gone and where you’re going.

We started at Boston Common since our hotel was near there. One of the first “can’t miss” stops is the Granary Burying Ground where there are notable and historic graves. That includes, but isn’t limited to, Paul Revere, John Hancock and those that died in the Boston Massacre.

Back on the Boston Freedom Trail – follow Truffles she knows just where to go next.

Another important stop along the trail is the Old South Meeting House which was the site of the meeting before the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 (yes – this year is the 250th anniversary of that event.)

A few interesting stops later and you’ll find yourself at the Old State House and the site of the Boston Massacre. This is also the location where Bostonians gathered under the the balcony to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 18, 1776.

Although not officially on the Boston Freedom Trail, The Bell-in-Hand Tavern is along the route and we found out during our tour at the Sam Adams Brewery that they have a specialty, only available there, Sam Adams beer.

Farther along the route is the Paul Revere House. In addition to the Granary Burying Ground and his house, there is a third important location related to Paul Revere along the Boston Freedom Trail.

We were excited to be in Boston in the fall (IYKYK), so we took advantage of the leaf peeping along our walk too!

The 3rd site I alluded to above is the Old North Church which was the site of the “one if by land – two if by sea” lighting of the lanterns to warn Bostonians that the British were coming. There are also public restrooms and benches right next to the church, so this a great place to take a little break during your walk.

From here you cross over the Charlestown Bridge. It’s a long bridge, so the other option is to grab your car, public transport or a bike/scooter to cross over for the remaining part of the Boston Freedom Trail. You can see L.P.Z Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (shown below) as you cross. We stopped in the park below – Paul Revere Park – to eat our lunch.

We were flagging at this point, but we had to stop and see Bunker Hill and there’s a free museum run by the National Park Service opposite the park that’s really interesting. My favorite part of it was the seven minute diorama that plays, explaining all the important moments and outcomes from Bunker Hill.

The final stop along the Boston Freedom Trail is visiting the USS Constitution and Museum. We didn’t go into the museums or ship but many of the sites along the Boston Freedom Trail have opening hours and each could be their own day in any Boston itinerary depending on your interests.

We really enjoyed the Boston Freedom Trail and are looking forward to going back to see the sites in more detail, as well as exploring the Black Heritage Trail (blue route) on subsequent visits.