Riding the Border to Boston (B2B) Trail - Part III
Written by Jes Slavin
November 03, 2022
View from the path in Nahant Bay
The route through Swampscott and Lynn goes along the ocean, which was really pretty. We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts in Lynn (corner of Lewis and Bassett Street). Bode got a Mocha latte, Aidan got a refresher, and we both got bacon egg and cheese sandwiches. Then we brought our lunch to Red Rock Park in Lynn near the water. We saw Nahant on the map so since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to bike out to it. There was a nice path that we took that ended in Little Nahant, then we reversed it then crossed part of Lynn on sidewalks and bike lanes. After the round-a-bout near Market Basket in Lynn, we got onto the Northern Strand Trail (NST), which is a smooth, paved long trail from Lynn through Saugus and Malden that ends in Everett. The trail is supported by Bike to the Sea, a nonprofit that has been working to complete the Northern Strand Trail since 1993.
A cool park that we found on the West Lynn Rail Trail
On this trail there was a playground right on the side with a zipline off the trail so we decided to stop there and check it out. If 17 year olds enjoyed it, a little kid would have lots of fun there. A little bit farther down there was another Dunkin Donuts right on the trail at Beach Street in Malden so we stopped for coffee again, since it was right there. A little after Dunkin we made a wrong turn on the NST where it crosses Centre Street but we found our way back onto Canal Street pretty quickly. On our last stretch we rode the Everett Riverwalk which is a pleasant trail right off the NST by the Malden River and Rivergreen Park. You could see some great wildlife with plenty of benches and space for enjoyment. Overall, this was a great experience. It was fun to do on a perfect, sunny day. Next time, we’d probably bring our bathing suits!
A tiny bridge in Pine Hill, Lynn
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The East Coast Greenway is a walking and biking route stretching 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida, connecting our nation’s most populated corridor. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance leads the development of the trail network. |
Essex National Heritage Commission (Essex Heritage) is a non-profit organization that has been federally authorized to manage and oversee the unique heritage resources of the Essex National Heritage Area, including the Border to Boston Trail. |
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Bike to the Sea has been working since 1993 to create the Northern Strand Community Trail: a trail free of cars from Everett, Mass. to the beaches in Lynn and Nahant. That dream is now being realized as the trail is built through Everett, Malden, Revere, and Saugus and will soon be completed in Lynn. |
About the Authors
Aidan Awiszus and Bode Devellian grew up in Topsfield, Massachusetts, a rural town on Boston’s North Shore where they spent their childhood riding and playing on the Topsfield Linear Common and the local mountain bike trails. They are both entering their senior year at Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford where they are members of the Varsity Alpine Ski Race Team. They are also co-captains of the ChainBreakers, a New England Youth Cycling (NEYC) cross-country mountain bike race team plus they have recently ventured into some dangerous Eastern States Cup Enduro racing. They like supporting MassBike as volunteer interns because they want to see more people out on their bikes and for the roads to be safer for all of us. They enjoy road biking and would do more of it if it was safer.