A Breath of Fresh Air

Looking for ways to stay active when coming to Tufts? Worry not, there are tons of indoor and outdoor activities in the area, as well as classmates to join you in experiencing them. Read on for a list of some places you might consider adding to your bucket list. BY SUSANNAH MURRAY ’24

One of the best things about Tufts is the access students have to both the busy city life of Boston and the natural world. About a 30-minute walk from campus sits the Middlesex Fells, roughly 2,200 acres of woods and trails for hiking and mountain biking. The Fells has trails for everyone, with everything from short forays into the woods to more technical, all-afternoon excursions. You can pop in and hike a short trail to Spot Pond, take the longer one around the Winchester Reservoirs, or traverse rocky outcrops to see the Cascade: a 40-foot waterfall located in the southeast corner of the reservation. The Tufts Mountain Club takes trips into the Fells all the time, but they’re also a great option for anyone not in the club looking for a bike or walk in the woods.

One of the best ways to spend some of the first warm days of spring (and get your steps in) is admiring the world come back to life on the water through a walk along Mystic River. If you start behind Carmichael Hall and walk directly downhill, eventually you’ll hit the river, and paths run along either side where people walk their dogs, run, and bike. You can walk for miles on the edge of the river, and eventually along Mystic Lake, as well. It’s the perfect walk to stretch your legs after a long day of sitting in Tisch Library working on a paper, and an easy way to stay active and moving if you’re not a runner but still want to explore nature right off campus.

A joy of running around the greater Tufts community is the number of exciting routes you can plan. In every direction, there are different areas to explore to keep your runs fresh and interesting. One run that’s particularly fun to take throughout the year leads you into Arlington (the next town over) to see Spy Pond. In the fall there’s amazing foliage, and in the winter the pond is small enough that it’s completely frozen over and you can walk right out onto the ice. As the weather gets warmer, you can watch the lake slowly thaw out, and if you’re there in the evening, you might be able to catch the sunset over the water. Anyone looking for a longer run can go further before looping back to Tufts and keep running to Menotomy Rocks Park, where there’s a smaller pond and paved trails.

Although the options off campus are exciting (and it’s always good to get off campus), anyone seeking an equipment-specific workout should look straight to Tufts’ own facilities. The Tisch Fitness Center has treadmills, weight racks, ellipticals, bikes, and more available to every Tufts student. Hamilton Pool is in the same building, where any student can go to swim laps without having to be on the swim team. Downhill, there’s also an outdoor track and basketball courts open for use any time. A great way to get regular workouts in is to join one of the club teams—you can keep up your high school sport in a low-stakes environment, or try something completely new. Either way, it’s an exciting option to meet a ton of new people and stay fit at the same time.