NPS Website; Local Website.
WHAT IS IT?The 2 ½ mile Freedom Trail. Blazed in Boston’s streets is a redbrick pathway leading from the verdant Boston Common downtown to the 211 foot-high obelisk, the Bunker Hill Monument, in Charlestown. The helpful path guides you (and 1.5 million annually) past and into 16 sites critical to the birth and early life of our nation.
BEAUTY (9/10)
We found much beauty in the redbrick structures along Boston’s Freedom Trail. They coincide surprisingly well with the surrounding modern buildings. We loved the inner vistas provided by Boston Common’s expansiveness. The buildings on the Freedom Trail are primarily archetypical examples of Georgian-style architecture. The one main exception being the Federalist-style State House. The residences that surround the State House on top of Beacon Hill are also gorgeous Federalist-style representations.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (10/10)
Where do we start? Here’s five sites in the Park: 1) Site of the oldest public school in America; 2) Graves of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Winthrop, the victims of the Boston Massacre; 3) America’s greatest and first warship, the U.S.S. Constitution (not a replica); 4) Site of the first major battle of the Revolutionary War; 5) Sites of countless pre-Revolutionary meetings, the places where the Revolutionary idea sparked and came to fruition. These are but a few and not necessarily the most important or the most famous.
CROWDS (8/10)
Yes, it is crowded and Boston’s streets can be maddeningly circuitous. But the red-bricked Freedom Trail changes everything. It’s OK to be a tourist and almost impossible to get lost once you get of the subway (the T) and get on the Trail. You are in a vibrant beautiful city and you are sharing your walk with its citizens as well as the sightseers around you. There is so much to see, so much to take in that time becomes irrelevant and the crowds become a joy. That being said, spend at least a day.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (1/5)Parking is a nightmare. Do not even try it. We did and it nearly reduced us to tears. We recommend finding a hotel outside of the city, preferably near a T stop. Park at one of the suburban T stops and use public transport to enter the city. This will also help you avoid construction on the Big Dig and confusing temporary exits and on and off ramps to I-93.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (2/5)
The Visitor Center bookstores are not very good. We did not go into the Old Corner Bookstore (part of the Freedom Trail). It sells reproductions of newspapers as well as Boston history and travel books. The literature seems to suggest it is a nice place. The Boston Globe administers the Old Corner Bookstore, not the National Park Service or Eastern National. It cannot be included in our rating. Our conclusion is to go into one of the many independent (Old Corner included) or chain bookstores in downtown Boston for your Revolutionary War era book needs.
COSTS (2/5)
A few sites on the Freedom Trail have additional small entrance fees. These include the Old South Meeting House, Paul Revere House and the Old State House. Tours of the U.S.S. Constitution are free, as is the climb up 295 stairs in the Bunker Hill Monument. Park Rangers offer free guided walking tours of a large portion of the Freedom Trail, leaving from the Visitors Center near Faneuil Hall.
Boston is not cheap but it was a lot more affordable than both New York and Philadelphia.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
Rangers are plentiful but not entirely helpful. We faced a great deal of rudeness from the Ranger handing out stickers that would allow one to go on the guided Freedom Trail tour. A Ranger at another site was reading a book despite having a nearly full room of tourists. Had we arrived to the U.S.S. Constitution much later than 9:30 a.m. we would not have been too keen at the long line into the one security checkpoint and metal detector. Our Tour Guide at Old Ironsides was so good that we actually upped this rating from a 1 after his tour.
TOURS/CLASSES (8/10)
The Freedom Trail is easy to follow and stacked with informational help. A self-guided tour is more than enough. You can go at your own pace as well as enter the fee-required buildings and receive their tour. Free Ranger-led tours along the Freedom Trail also exist to answer all of your questions. These tours do not go into the buildings.
We took a wonderful free tour of the U.S.S. Constitution. Since the over 200 year-old Old Ironsides is still an active warship, tours are given by the U.S. Navy. Our guide was an active duty sailor. Despite the large group, 80 or so, he answered every question, cracked jokes, and explained everything we could want to know about the ship. He was superb. If you want to visit the ship we suggest to get there early and take the first tour. It could get very crowded.FUN (8/10)
We had so much fun. There were enough hassles: parking in downtown, payment to get into the various sites, impoliteness and inattention from certain Rangers along the Freedom Trail, poorly marked directions to the Visitor Center to drop this rating a small bit.
We were also disappointed that the supposedly co-administered site, the Boston African American National Historic Site received scant attention. Ranger-led tours of the Site do not begin until Memorial Day. There is no Visitor Center for the Site, There is no National Parks passport stamp. There are five stamps for Boston NHP alone. There is no specially printed NPS brochure for the Site. There are only mimeographed stapled pages explaining what is along the path. In contrast, Boston NHP has three NPS brochures, one is an overview, one is for the Freedom Trail, and the other is for Charlestown Navy Yard. The walking path is not marked and few of the buildings have nearby explanations.
This situation is a travesty. If the Boston African American NHS is indeed a Site, at the very least give it its own brochure.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (9/10)
Yes. Boston was so much better than we expected. If you are not staying within the city, please plan ahead and do not try to park.
TOTAL 60/80
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© 2004-06
Stop No.; Site; Cost; Free Tours?; Museum?; Administrator
1. Boston Common; FREE; NO; NO; City of Boston
2. The State House; FREE; YES; NO; Comm. of Mass.
3. Park Street Church; FREE; NO; NO; Self
4. Granary Burying Ground ; FREE; NO; NO; City of Boston
5. King's Chapel; FREE; NO; NO; Self
6. First Public School; FREE; NO; NO; Old City Hall
7. Old South Meeting House; $5; NO; YES; Self
8. Old Corner Bookstore; FREE; NO; NO; Ultra Diamonds
9. Old State House ; $5; NO; YES; Bostonian Society
10. Boston Massacre Site; FREE; NO;NO; City of Boston
11. Faneuil Hall; FREE; YES; NO; NPS
12. Paul Revere House; $3; NO; YES; Self
13. Old North Church; FREE; NO;NO; Self
14. Copp's Hill Burying Ground; FREE; NO; NO; City of Boston
15. USS Constitution; FREE; YES; YES; U.S. Navy
16. Bunker Hill Monument; FREE; YES; YES; NPS