Wells Avenue Industrial Park

Directions to

Wells Avenue in Newton - Parking for Brooks Farm and Millenium Park

Wells Avenue and the industrial park bearing its name are infamous in the cycling business for the races that take place over the roughly mile long loop at its end every Sunday morning (both Lee and Bob have competed in these races), but in quieter moments it’s also an excellent jumping off point for exploring the Charles River, the Brook Farm (or what little remains of it), and West Roxbury’s Millenium Park, a landfill converted to a man-made mountain with Big Dig waste. The Farm, a famous but short-lived experiment in utopian living, was founded in 1841 under the premise that communal participation in the activities needed to support it would lead to a self-sufficient and intellectually incendiary experience. This vision, even though subscribed to by many luminaries of the day (Hawthorne, Dana, Emerson, Fuller, and Greely among them), led to bankruptcy rather the hoped-for transcendental paradise. Millenium Park, also in West Roxbury, is a more recent, more successful, and probably a more enduring landmark. Built on the former Gardner Street landfill (i.e. trash pile), this man-made mountain now features six miles of mostly paved walking trails and, with some climbing, views of the Blue Hills and downtown Boston. When it opened in the year 2000, Mayor Menino gushed “Today is a day to celebrate.” No kidding!

Although it’s possible to drive directly to both these sites that’s no fun, so we’ll start about a mile away. For those who’ve visited Needham’s Cutler Park with us, getting to the start will seem familiar; Wells Avenue is just over the River at the first stop light. To get there either ask MapQuest (www.mapquest.com) for driving directions to “125 wells avenue” in “newton” (technically speaking, this is the address of the Solomon Schechter Day School, whose lot will be jammed to bursting with SUV’s) or take a chance on our directions, which are aimed at getting you to 7/57 Wells Avenue, just a little short of the school.

From Route 128/95

Drive 128/95 to Exit 19B (Highland Avenue toward Needham), take it, and continue about 0.1 miles to the first stop light. Turn left here; this is Hunting Road. Proceed roughly 0.6 miles to another stop light, the first one you’ll come to after making the left onto Hunting Road, and turn left again.  This is (take our word for it) Kendrick Street, though we offer a prize for the first of you to spot a road sign saying so. Continue about 0.8 miles on Kendrick (becomes Nahanton Street as you cross the Charles River) to the first stop light, Wells Avenue and the Wells Industrial Park. Turn right here. About a quarter mile into the Park the road forks (you’ve reached the racing loop); stay right. After another quarter mile or so the entrance to a sumptuous lot should appear on the right (we think the address is 7/57); turn into it and park as unobtrusively as possible. Expect us to be at the far left hand side of the lot. If you inadvertently go by (easy to do) the road will immediately turn sharply to the left and you’ll see the Schechter School on the right. Don’t panic; either turn around when it’s convenient or continue around the loop and try again.

MapQuest estimates the driving time from Bedford to Wells Avenue is about 25 minutes. In our experience, this is about right on a clear fall Sunday afternoon.