Welcome to Free Ride, your weekly guide to a $0 day trip. Remember: the MBTA Commuter Rail is fare-free every Friday this summer.
As each weekend approaches, I’ll invite you to take a break and find some nature, art, science, fashion, music and more — all for $0 (or as close to free as I can get).
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If you take me up on one of these Free Ride trip ideas, I want to hear from you (and see your pictures!). I’ll be sharing photos from my jaunts on the Commuter Rail throughout the summer. And if you have your own Commuter Rail-adjacent free activity — a museum, park, concert or local spot that deserves some love — I’d love to hear about it.
Send me a note at daily@wgbh.org.
What’s off the Commuter Rail’s Wellesley Square stop?
College campuses feel like a liminal space in the summer. But fewer students mean the rest of us have an opportunity to explore these campuses — and may enjoy easier access than during the academic year.
July 24 marks one of these opportunities: Wellesley College is opening its Global Flora conservatory, a greenhouse usually only open to students and staff, from 9 a.m. to noon — all for free. Hop on the Framingham/Worcester line and get off at Wellesley Square, about 40 minutes from South Station. The greenhouse is about a 10- to 15-minute walk from there.
Once you enter Global Flora, find the Camellia Pavilion as your first stop. It’s home to a 150-year-old Durant camellia tree, a gift from the college’s Class of 1926 that was already 50 years old when it was planted at its current location. It’s a nice place to sit, take a few deep breaths and think about our links to the past.
Then walk into the greenhouse itself, starting with the dry biome. It houses desert plants and other flora from arid climates: cacti, succulents, an olive tree and more. Go through a small plastic curtain and pass into the wet biome, a more humid environment with subtropical plants where you can walk among floppy green leaves. There’s also a mezzanine with a piano and some seating. When I visited I saw people sitting there and painting, which is a great way to pass the time among the greenery.
After exploring the Global Flora conservatory, leave the greenhouse and walk toward the Whitin Observatory, a collection of domed structures that house telescopes. There’s not much to see there during the day (although Wellesley College’s A.S.T.R.O. Club hosts public nights periodically), but the parking lot leads straight to the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden. There are signs marking different culinary plants: pawpaw trees, catmint, honeyberry and Solomon’s seal. You’ll get back onto the train having learned a bit about the plants that grow around the world — and the ones that grow in your own backyard.
What’s off the Commuter Rail’s Haverhill stop?
Today the Commuter Rail is our ticket to the past — and the future. Haverhill used to be home to a shoe industry so big that the city earned the nickname “Queen Slipper City.” Massachusetts was a hub of shoemaking from the late 18th century to the early 1900s, and there were plenty of shoe factories in Brockton, Lynn and Weymouth, too. Researchers for the Digital Public Public Library of America estimated that in 1913, about 10% of all shoes produced in the US came from Haverhill. The designer Stuart Weitzman was born there and got his start at his father’s shoe factory, Seymour Shoes.
You’ll get a sense of that history as you start walking through Historic New England’s exhibit “Shoe Stories: Past, Present, Future,” located inside a former shoe factory complex at 143 Essex St., a short walk from the Haverhill Commuter Rail stop. I learned about this free exhibit from GBH’s Magdiela Matta (you can walk through the exhibit in her shoes here) and from an interview The Culture Show’s Jared Bowen did with Vin Cipolla, president and CEO of Historic New England, and Michelle Tolini Finamore, a fashion curator and exhibitions and programming consultant.
The first half of the exhibit looks back at the state’s shoemaking past: the invention of vulcanized rubber, factory life and more. There are L.L. Bean duck boots, Stuart Weitzman boots worn by Beyoncé (who often wears his designs on stage) and sneakers like Concepts Nike Dunk Low SB “Orange Lobster,” Matta reports.
The second half shifts the focus to the next generation. High school juniors and seniors from the state’s 26 Gateway Cities crafted shoes inspired by the world around them, using colors and shapes to tell their stories in footwear. It’s cool to see how they use shoes to express their thoughts on justice, the economy and architecture.
What’s off the Commuter Rail’s Rockport stop?
A few years back my colleague Chris Burrell, a reporter on GBH’s investigative team, published some numbers that put beach days into perspective for me: Massachusetts has about 1,400 miles of coastline, but only 12% is open to all. Some of the coastline is private property, some is occupied by industry and ports, and much of it is accessible only to the residents of the (usually wealthy) town where it is located. That’s why the simple act of going to the beach in the summer usually means getting into a car, getting stuck in traffic and shelling out $20, $30, or $40 for entrance. (Chris also investigated how coastal erosion is chipping away at beaches and looked at how people of color are especially excluded from beach space.)
Not exactly my idea of a relaxing day. But you can go to the beach — for free.
Board the Commuter Rail’s Rockport line and ride it all the way to Rockport. From there, it’s a pleasant 10- to15-minute walk down King Street, dotted with homes that have beach roses and lavender in their yards, to Front Beach. This is a sandy spot with a lifeguard on duty and water that is usually warm enough to splash around in. I saw beachgoers of all ages, from little kids running into the water to sunbathing young adults to older adults sitting in the shade by the retaining wall that separates the beach from the street. Crucially, there are also decently clean public bathrooms, which you can use to change into and out of your swimsuit.
Front Beach is quite popular with locals, so if you’re looking for a more solitary New England shore experience, Back Beach is just a four-minute walk away. Think of it as the rockier, quieter sibling, where you can find a spot to sit and watch for wildlife.
Once you’ve had your fill of water and sand, you have a few options: you can walk back to the train through Millbrook Meadow and Pond, a public park across the street from Front Beach. There’s an impressive playground for kids who need to get one more burst of energy out before heading home, shady spots to sit and relax and a water fountain to rehydrate after your time in the sun.
You can also make the roughly five-minute walk to Main Street and Bearskin Neck, where there are art galleries displaying seascapes and landscapes by local artists, as well as places for people-watching and, if you want to spend a few dollars, ice cream and coffee. Take in the sights, then head back to the Commuter Rail.
What’s off the Commuter Rail’s Lowell stop?
Sure, you could go to Boston and pay $20-30 a ticket to see masterful works of art. But you can also head north to Lowell, home to a collection of art galleries and local artists you can enter at no cost.
You can even buy a print or original work of art for yourself — I spotted small pieces for as little as $6 and larger ones for a few hundred. Your Free Ride won’t be free anymore, but you can feel good knowing you supported the Merrimack Valley’s art scene.
Lowell’s Market Street
Market Street is about a 20-minute walk from a Commuter Rail stop, but the Lowell Regional Transit Authority runs frequent buses (free through the end of June!) that will get you there in 5-10 minutes. Your first stop can be The Brush Art Gallery and Studios at 256 Market St., behind the visitor center of Lowell National Historic Park. They’re open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays. When you walk in you’ll see Lowellscapes, a collection of photos from around the city, like colorful lights reflecting off steel on Bridge Street by Tammy Dohner, and the Mass Mills Smokestack photographed from above (with a drone) by Coleman Rogers. Walk a bit further in and you’ll see actual studios: spaces where local artists work and exhibit their paintings, photographs, quilts and more. I loved the large portraits from Jalix Delacruz, with grayscale subjects juxtaposed against colorful backgrounds.
Down the block, the Arts League of Lowell runs the ALL Arts Gallery at 307 Market St. They’re open from noon to 4 p.m. Fridays. The gallery’s current show is called On the Merrimack, celebrating 200 years since Lowell’s founding. Some of my personal favorite pieces:
- a paper diorama by artist Dian Hosmer called “Under Cover of Darkness,” showing a woman in a black dress and orange hair running through the woods
- “MILL BOYS,” an acrylic painting from Christian Whitton that feels like a glance into the city’s past
- A collection of works from Karl Wen Sun, who uses calligraphy, photography, painting and drawing
Next door is the Gates Block Garden, where you can sit with your own notebook under a colorful mural by the artist Angurria and sketch whatever comes to you.
The next stop on your Lowell adventure requires a bit of walking — or another free bus ride from either the Commuter Rail or Market Street — to Western Avenue Studios, at 122 and 160 Western Ave. This five-story building houses studios for hundreds of artists. There are photographers and painters, sculptors and tattoo artists, fashion and graphic designers. Start on the bottom at the Loading Dock Gallery, where there are rainbow-hued prints. Then pick your path: wander around, looking at the art and popping into studios where artists have their doors open and want to chat, or you can choose your favorite medium and follow a tour — photos and video, painting and drawing, fashion and fibers, clay and glass or printmaking. Even on a slow day, it’s a fascinating place.
What’s off the South Acton stop on the Commuter Rail’s Fitchburg line?
A whimsical, kid-friendly afternoon
About a 10-minute walk from the South Acton Commuter Rail stop is the Discovery Museum, where kids and their grown-ups can learn about science and nature through play. You’ll take a right when you see Bessie, the bright green dinosaur, and walk along the museum’s front lawn until you get to the main building on the right.
You’ll see Discovery Woods on the left: there, you can explore a 550-foot tree house, sit in a book nook and observe the nature around you. The Discovery Museum typically charges admission, but this summer they’re offering free entry on Friday evenings, from 4:30 to 8 p.m., starting June 19.
A nature path for dog lovers
Head down School Street and take a left right after the Acton Fire Department station. You’ll end up at the Great Hill Conservation Area, a rocky 2-mile loop that’s great for people who love to identify local plants and bird-watch. But the best part of this trail is at the start: a pond where locals bring their dogs. If it’s a good day, you might see some jump into the water as you sit at the nearby picnic table.
A rail trail for history lovers and lily pad enthusiasts
Across the street from the South Acton Station’s inbound platform, you’ll find the start of the Assabet River Rail Trail. Start walking (or rolling — it’s bicycle, stroller and wheelchair accessible) along and you’ll see a section of train tracks from an abandoned rail extension. From there you’ll cross a bridge with a gorgeous lily pad view, pass through some woods and end up at Maplebrook Park in Maynard. If you stop at signs along the route, you’ll learn about Acton’s industrial past and the factories where workers processed leather and wove fabrics. If not, you can still enjoy a nice ride for about three miles.
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