Arnold Arboretum, Best of Boston

I can’t spend too much time in a city before I have the urge to get back into nature. Lucky for me, Fredrick Law Olmsted has designed many green spaces around American cities. One of them is the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University [125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130] in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood, the largest park in Boston’s Emerald Necklace: Six parks which span over seven miles and serve as a backyard for city residents and a place of interest for visitors like myself.

Before we even got inside the park we were awed by a spectacular tree with rainbow ivy guarding the entrance.

The arboretum is large enough to wander for a few hours, but not so big that you can get seriously lost. There are maps scattered around the trails so you can see where you are, what you want to view, and how far you want to go.

The park was ablaze with color, trees of every shade lighting up the world on a dreary day.

We walked through the woods and spotted a fat happy toad.

Making our way marveling at the trees we meandered up Bussey Hill where we spotted partial views of the city skyline.

We watched the blue jays, cardinals, and chipmunks preparing for winter. When walking around the lakes there were a few roses still in bloom, the flower being a rare sight in the arboretum where trees reign king.

It was a beautiful time to visit an arboretum, peak foliage, but I’m sure all seasons are lovely here. Even with a light drizzle it was worth it to walk around these majestic trees and breath some fresh air, right outside the city limits.