By Kai Long, Kids Outdoors Boston Parent Ambassador

Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge is a fantastic place to go for a bike ride. Finding safe places to ride in the city can be difficult, and what I enjoyed about Fresh Pond is that it leads to other bike paths.

For younger kids, you could easily stay at the reservation with its 2.25-mile paved loop around the pond. For older kids, combining Fresh Pond with other longer bike paths nearby is an excellent adventure. I was surprised to see that following the path in Fresh Pond Reservation sometimes felt like we were in a forest, yet we were not far from a main road.

We started our ride at Fresh Pond Reservation and then headed over to the Alewife Brook Greenway bike path, crossing the street from Fresh Pond at a pedestrian cross walk at Dunkin’ Donuts. We rode past Whole Foods over the bridge that connected to the Greenway. Signage in the Greenway was a little confusing, so we lost the path for a bit in Cambridge. From there, you can either follow the Minuteman Bikeway, which goes all the way to Bedford, or turn toward Cambridge and follow the path to Davis Square. We opted for Davis Square, seeking a pleasant place to have a quiet lunch. We went past the football field and into North Cambridge, but as we neared Davis Square, there was a lot of pedestrian traffic and nearby construction going on at the time.  So we decided to turn around and go back to the Alewife Brook Greenway and Fresh Pond Reservation, where we saw a few nice lunch spots. We chose a bench made from a log to have our feast and special treat. We saw lots of people walking their dogs too. After a nice ride, we welcomed the cool shady spot away from the noise of the city.

AMC’s Outdoors with Kids Boston guidebook recommends the paved paths near the reservoir at Fresh Pond Reservation for beginner bicyclists. You will find more helpful information at Kids Outdoors Boston, where you can also comment on this trip pick and give it your own rating!

Fresh Pond Reservation is open every day from dawn to dusk. Before going, you can print a map by visiting: http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/map.pdf.

About the blogger: Kai Long is a featured guest blogger as part of AMC’s Kids Outdoors Boston Parent Ambassador program, which partners with local parents to share their outdoor experiences with this online community and beyond. Kai enjoys exploring the outdoors with her 10-year-old daughter and lives just outside of Boston.