Jamaica, Around the Corner

The pond is not the Caribbean, but it’s an escape

By Anna Webster (COM’10)

Jamaica Pond is a lot easier to visit than Montego Bay or Negril, but come summer, it offers a pleasant, peaceful getaway.

The pond was designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1892 as part of Boston’s Emerald Necklace, one of nine parks linked by greenbelt or waterways. Many visitors walk or run on the 1.5-mile path around the kettle-hole pond formed by an ancient glacier. Boating, sailing, and kayaking are all available, and the sprawling environs are home to animals not often associated with the city: heron, hawks, snapping turtles, even wild turkeys.

The Emerald Necklace Conservancy, which protects and maintains the park system, hosts two free movies at the pond in July: Shrek on Wednesday, July 22, and Free Willy on Wednesday, July 29, both starting at 6 p.m., with children’s games and activities before the show.

Jamaica Pond is an easy 20-minute bike ride from Boston University — no passport required, just pack plenty of reggae on the iPod.

Kayak rentals are $12 per hour, $5 with a fishing license; rowboats are $10 per hour, $5 with a fishing license; sailboat rentals, available from 3:30 to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends, are $15 per hour. Jamaica Pond is a 1½-mile walk from the Orange Line’s Green Street stop, and on bus routes 39, 41, and 48. For more information, call the boathouse at 617-522-5061.

Anna Webster can be reached at annaweb@bu.edu. 

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