Boston

BOSTONSTARTER

The Common and the Garden

≈ 1,000 steps0.5 mi · about 1.5 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

Three stops across the oldest public park in America and the botanical garden beside it, from a bronze fountain to a hilltop monument to a line of bronze ducklings. About an hour and a half on foot.

BOSTONSTANDARD

Brick, Gaslight and the Hill

≈ 2,500 steps1.2 mi · about 3 hoursStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

Up and over Beacon Hill, from the memorial to the first Black regiment raised in the North, past the oldest standing Black church building in the country, down its most photographed lane and out onto the river bridge. About three hours with stops.

BOSTONSTANDARD

Down the Avenue to the Pool

≈ 4,500 steps2.0 mi · about 3 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

From the Public Garden gate down the tree-lined mall of Commonwealth Avenue to Copley Square's church and library, ending at a long reflecting pool under Back Bay's newest towers. About three hours at a stroll.

BOSTONSTANDARD

The Trail to the Lanterns

≈ 2,000 steps1.0 mi · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

The heart of the Freedom Trail on foot, from a granite chapel downtown past the balcony where the Declaration was read, through Faneuil Hall and into the North End to Paul Revere's front door and the steeple that held his lanterns. About three and a half hours.

BOSTONSTANDARD

Wharves and Glass at Dusk

≈ 3,500 steps1.6 mi · about 3 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

An evening along the Harborwalk, from the old Custom House clock tower past the aquarium's seals and the Rowes Wharf arch, over the Tea Party bridge to the Seaport's glass towers and the museum that hangs over the water. About three hours, best toward sunset.

BOSTONADVANCED

The Road to Concord

≈ 7,000 steps + 23 mi by car3.3 mi on foot · 1 day or moreAdvanced II · 8 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

The Revolution and the writers who came after it, by car over two unhurried days: Charlestown's warship and battle monument, Lexington Green, the Battle Road, the bridge at Concord, the Alcotts' house, the writers' graves and Thoreau's pond. Walden charges a parking fee.

BOSTONADVANCED

Up the Charles, Down the Charles

≈ 11,500 steps5.5 mi · a full dayAdvanced · 6 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

A full day on both banks of the Charles River: a garden cemetery's lookout tower, Harvard Yard, the footbridge to the boathouses, MIT's dome, a bridge measured in Smoots and the Esplanade's concert shell. Walking with a bus or Red Line hop, about eight hours. The cemetery closes at 7 pm.