About the Greenway

What is the Greenway?

The Watertown-Cambridge Greenway is both an important pollinator pathway and a community treasure. Every day, hundreds of pedestrians, cyclists, dog walkers, strollers, skaters and even cross-country skiers use it to commute to work and school, access major shopping areas and lovely cafes. It enables diverse communities to get outside, meet neighbors, and enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of spending time in nature.


The Greenway is a critical link between regional bike paths and connector between significant pollinator habitats at the Charles River, Mount Auburn Cemetery and Fresh Pond Reservation.


Where is it?

Completed in 2022 by MassDOT and DCR ↗️, the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway follows the former route of the B&M Railroad's Watertown Branch, connecting East Watertown at School St. to the Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge.


How is WCG involved?

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) owns the Greenway, but does not have dedicated maintenance resources or budget. During trail construction, hundreds of trees, shrubs and forbs - almost all native to this region - were planted. After completion, some of the new trees and shrubs died because of dry summers and urban conditions, and newly opened spaces were overrun by invasive plants. Our volunteers are changing that.


Through a volunteer stewardship agreement with the DCR starting in 2024, we work to remove invasive plant species, plant native plants, remove litter, and provide ongoing care to this critical link.


See our upcoming Greenway events >

Join Us

Get outside, meet your neighbors, learn about plants, and have fun while helping care for our local landmark. Join us for one event or throughout the season. We’d love to have you!

MAP

Click to see the full map.

Map of Watertown-Cambridge Greenway 2026

Annual Spring Cleanup

For the 3rd year in a row, volunteers from Watertown Community Gardens picked up trash along the entire 1.5 mile Greenway!

MassTrails Grant

Watertown Community Gardens is grateful to MassTrails for awarding us a $35,000 grant in 2025 to support the development of an invasive species management plan and to remove poison ivy along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway.


The MassTrails Grant program requires grantees to contribute a financial match towards the project. A unique aspect of this grant is the ability to use volunteer hours towards the match. In 2025, WCG organized 41 volunteer events on the Greenway, and contributed more than 600 volunteer hours. Our robust volunteer program was a key factor to our grant application’s success, and is essential to successfully completing the grant work.

Greenway Volunteer EventS Calendar

WCG volunteers cut and pull invasive plant species, add native plants, and care for our pollinator garden on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway.

All Categories

Support our Work

Love the work we do on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway? Help us keep it going by supporting essentials like tools, trash bags, and more. Donations of any size make a difference.

Related Articles

Good News for the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway!

By Linda Relson • November 2, 2025
Volunteers have been working on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway all year, and their efforts got a boost earlier this month with the award of a MassTrails Grant .

Picking Up Trash Mysteries on the Greenway

By Meaghan Ingram • April 9, 2025
WCG holds frequent volunteer events to clean up trash and remove invasive plants from the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. You can learn more about upcoming events here . Below, we're highlighting one volunteer's first-hand experience to bring more awareness to these events and hopefully inspire others to join!

Update on Invasive Species Removal on the Greenway

By Linda Relson • February 25, 2024
As many environmentally-minded folks like you know, invasive species are a massive threat to the biodiversity of our ecological systems. In 2023, as part of its mission to promote environmental stewardship, Watertown Community Gardens expanded its work to include combating invasive plant species threatening the local ecosystem. To date, our work has mainly focused on removing invasives on the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway. As community stewards, we invite you to help us to expand our efforts in 2024!