Jamaica Pond

This place is a great little JP treasure. Grab some food and picnic next to the water or do a jog along the banks. The boathouse is a nice touch and it is nice to see people on the water. See very few white bellies in the sun here and most people mind their own business. The parking is neighborhood only and there are some busy streets surrounding the park. If you move up farther North you can find some quieter areas.

Beautiful pond in the middle of the city gives the feel you are miles from the city when in reality you’re only a couple of blocks from JP & The Fens.

I’ve been coming to Jamaica Pond for a few years for my runs and it’s easily my favorite running destination and path. The pond itself is about 1.5 miles (hardly considered a «pond») and it has a very scenic and nature-​y route.
The pond is always a great destination to just chill, walk, run, bike, go on a date and anything else you can think of outdoors! I absolutely love it there and it’s a nice getaway from the busyness of the city.
Enjoy the fresh air and hope to see you there! :)

The Pond is the heart of JP — this is where, on almost any given day, you will find a cross section of the JP community:
–Your casual joggers and powerwalkers
–Your ridiculously fast runners who do so many laps at such a pace that you are ashamed
–Young parents and pregnant couples
–Parades of new parents on a meet-​up
–Your leisurely walkers
–Dog owners desperately trying to keep their dogs from rolling in goose poop
–Older folks sitting on the benches watching the world go by
–Folks fishing and boating
–Young folks canoodling
It’s a great place.

Jamaica Pond offers a serene oasis in Boston. As part of the Emerald Necklace chain of parks and green land, the pond is the culminating experience full of joggers, dogs, kiddies, and paddle boats.
It was approximately a 20 minute walk all the ways around the pond and we were strolling rather slow (enjoying the fall foliage!). And on that note, what better place to view fall leaves? Gorgeous blends of firey red and electric yellow offer a backdrop on a chilly day’s walk around the pond.
The boat house is a community magnet that regularly hosts events including music, children’s parties, and fall festivals. The day I went it was swarming with children in costumes for a lantern parade and I made sure to get the prerequisite hot apple cider to watch the festivities.
I’m constantly thankful I live close by.
So why 4 stars? I saw a dead duck in the pond and it was emotionally scarring…

Keeping this short & sweet:
This is my favorite spot to run at.
I live in Mission hill. If you start from there and run around the pond and back, it’s literally 6 miles according to my Nike run app.
The pond itself (1 loop) is probably about 3.5−4 miles.
It’s so beautiful during the spring, summer, and fall. We don’t talk about winter here…
Great place for taking your dog, chasing stupid geese, or for kids.

Jamaica Pond is a good pond but it has some major room for improvement. With a little elbow grease I think Jamaica Pond could be 5 star pond. Huge props to the glacier that naturally formed this kettle shaped body of water tens of thousands of years ago. Also, huge props to Boston Park and Rec for the upgraded lights, benches, and concrete path.
Problems: pond scum, trash, dog poop, unsafe at night, people drown annually, unfit for swimming, angry geese, and toxic algae.

Absolutely beautiful. Great escape from the city and you would have never expected it! Sunsets here in the summer and amazing.

Absolutely beautiful. Great escape from the city and you would have never expected it! Sunsets here in the summer are amazing.

In a perfect world… I’d be checking for properties in the Boston area.. and it may not be a remote possibility for me to then choose JP as my new neighborhood. Why?
Because of this AMAZING location!!!
It is the perfect place to keep in shape, running/​walking/​strolling around. During the summer time, the marvelous trees provide the perfect combo for a cool and shaded path for your work-​out.
Even throughout the winter season, when it rains and snows quite a bit, this place is a cool place to keep in shape.
If you are on the lazy side of things, there is duck feeding, bird watching. Or maybe you can rent a boat to row through the pond.
Al in all, this place is outstanding. And it is located right in the spanking middle between Brookline (up the hills), and JP…

A stone’s throw from where I grew up, Jamaica Pond is a nice getaway from the city. Run or bike the perimeter. Rent a row boat. Read the paper (no kindle’s here) and watch the wildlife. If you end up driving the Jamaicaway which is right next to the pond, be warned, it may be the most dangerous road in the country.

Renting a rowboat and just cruising around this pond was one of the highlights of my trip to Boston. The staff at the boathouse are really nice and the boats are inexpensive to rent.
The lake is gorgeous and there’s no better way to experience it than by sitting smack dab in the middle of it.

The jamaica pond is awesome. Living right off the pond I get to enjoy it everyday. Its a mile a half walk around 1x and back to my apartment. I walk it with my dog a lot. But I wont go there before the sun rises or after sunset because there have been people attacked at those hours so be careful.

Beautiful pond in the middle of the city gives the feel you are miles from the city when in reality you’re only a couple of blocks from JP & The Fens.
Although this past week there was a drowning scare, drowning are very rare with only 3 since the 80’s (with 1 due to a man having a medical emergency while in pond).
Surprisingly #JamaicaPond was Formed by a glacier, the 60-​acre Jamaica Pond reaches a depth of 53 feet, making dives and searches difficult.

Beautiful pond to sit at and enjoy. Boats for rent (not sure of the price).
Not sure how the building on the east side ever got put up… it’s so terrible to look at when you’re at the ‘beach’ part of the pond.
Dog friendly and baby friendly.

I took this trail on the way to biking to the arboretum, and it was gorgeous! If you take Washington road all the way down, eventually you’ll hit the 2 parks. It’s a nice little ride near the Emerald Necklace and you bike past 2 ponds that have geese hanging around people kayaking in one of the ponds… the scenery is something out of the Notebook (not to be cliché or anything!).
If you’re biking or jogging, note that there are some small hills that will push you a bit on your exercise route and you can go as far or as close as you want. The route is mostly shaded under the covers of the trees and the grassy fields are as lush as grass comes in the spring and summer. People lay out, do yoga, and generally just get their lazy on!
On a good day, the water is clear like a mirror. It’s far away from downtown Boston that you get away from the busy feel of a congested city, but there’s still cars everywhere so you know you aren’t far away. Transportation wise, it’s either busing or the orange line usually… but it’s really best enjoyed through a good jog or a bike IMO: D

My lovely neighborhood pond!
So much cool stuff goes down here. Summer Sundays in the Park, kayak rentals, the Lantern Festival. FLAMINGOS even touched down a couple weeks back. Cray. A great place to go for a run and do some– pull-​ups (plus there’s that 45-​degree-​angled board with a metal knob at the top, what the heck is that?). Or you can just sit down and try to contain your inner dog lover as dozens stroll past. Definitely a choice spot that is the envy of surrounding neighborhoods.

My husband and I concluded a date night with a walk around Jamaica Pond on a gorgeous summer evening. Such a beautiful walk and fun to see other couples and families strolling around as well. This Pond is one of the crown jewels in Boston’s Emerald Necklace!

Biked here from Harvard Square on a Saturday evening.
The 30 – 40 minute bike ride there was a lil tiring but beautiful!
The pond itself is great! You can rent out boats and kayaks. Definitely the perfect place for a date. There are bathrooms and water fountains available.
There were bird droppings everywhere but we eventually found a clean picnic spot.

Always love coming here for a run. It’s so picturesque and pretty. Great spot to clear your mind, go for a picnic or fishing. Each loop around the pond is about 1.5 miles so it’s great if you like to run/​train outside.

Love this place and happy we live so close now!
The path around the pond is 1.5 miles and is a beautiful walk. Lots of joggers and people out with their dogs and kids. Plenty of benches all around the pond and places to picnic and enjoy just being outside. You can rent row boats at the boat house and in the fall, this is where the JP Lantern Parade takes place.
Parking can be tricky, but I’ll let you in a secret: my husband and I park at the very end of Eliot St and walk over from there. Most always a spot available. Just leave us one!

I’ll keep this short because there’s so many other reviews already. This is my favorite park to go to Boston. It’s completely dog friendly bike friendly and family-​friendly. It’s also extremely well-​kept and well lit and the boating area is fantastic. If you’d like to get out of the house this is definitely the place to go!

Looooooove having some green space close to where I live. Full lap around is ~1.5 miles. On a bright day there are tons of runners, walkers, sunbathers, dog-​walkers, and otherwise happy folks out and about!
Ooh and as this is JP, you always have the chance to see some interesting characters. For example, parrot guy.