Recommended Area Daytrips:

The Website of a synagogue may seem an unusual place to find information on daytrips, but at the Young Israel of Brookline we believe that our surroundings in New England have the potential to feed the soul. With the calming shores of the Atlantic, the grandeur of the Berkshire or White Mountains, the fascinating history of the American Colonies, or a stimulating outing for children, there is much in Boston and New England to nourish both the mind and the spirit.

The daytrips below, have been recommended by our YI members! Whether you're a native of Boston or new to our community, young or just young at heart, we invite you to explore the wonder, history and fun of our hometown.

A great source for daytrips in New England is a book called "Weekending in New England." Also, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (617-727-3201), Boston by Phone (800-888-5515) and the Boston office of Tourism (617-635-3911) all offer great ideas for daytrips. If you have a favorite daytrip, let us know, so we can add it to our list.

Below is a list of some daytrips that members of our Young Israel have recommended. Go to it.. and have a great day!

1. The Boston Harbor cruise to George's Island. The ride to the Island is about a half hour each way. The island is great for a picnic, frisbee, etc.

2. History Trip: To Lexington and Concord. Go to Lexington to see the very field where the Revolutionary war started. There is a Revolutionary museum across the street. Then hike to Concord as you follow the route of the battle. In Concord there is Revolutionary war information center. There is also a beautiful colonial estate to tour.

3. History Trip: Walk the Freedom Trail, a red line painted on the sidewalks of Boston. It starts at the Tourist Information Center at Park Street and takes you to all the great sites of the city. It's a great way to get to know Boston.

4. History Trip: Take an 80-minute ride on land and water on renovated WWII amphibious vehicles called Ducks. After being taken past historical sites, you plunge into the Charles River for some of the most scenic views of Boston. Duck Tours (617-723-DUCK) leave from the Prudential Center and Museum of Science every half-hour, daily, from 9 am through sunset.

5. History Trips Boston by Foot: Boston is a walking city with so many different areas to explore - mixing the old with the new, the modern with the historic. Boston By Little Feet (617-367-3766), is a one hour guided tour specifically designed for youngsters from 6-12, providing a child's eye view of the city's history and architecture.

6. Summer Hatch Shell Concerts: Take advantage and enjoy a family picnic while listening to free concerts, at the foot of the Charles river.

7. Literati Trip: To Salem, to learn about the Salem witch trials, to see the original "House of the Seven Gables" and also to see the house where Nathaniel Hawthorne was born, which they have moved so it's now next door to the House of the Seven Gables. There are also museums about the Maritime industry.

8. Literati Trip: To Walden Pond, made famous by Thoreau. It's a beautiful place for a picnic!

9. Family History Trip: To Sturbridge Village (off route I-90) in Sturbridge. A recreated colonial town, complete with animals to pet, a schoolhouse, etc. Take the kids to sheer a sheep, spin the wool and then weave it in a loom. Learn to churn butter. Milk a cow. The employees are all dressed in colonial garb.

10. Straddling the Jamaica Plain-Brookline border is the Allandale Farm (617-524-1531), a 45-acre working farm offering a rustic setting. It's a perfect place to begin a family daytrip in the city that'll feel like a country outing. It's open daily 10:00 am- 6:30 pm.

11. Just a few blocks from the farm is Boston's world-famous tree museum, the Arnold Arboretum, a 265-acre retreat designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It offers a variety of paths that take you through haunting forests. flowery glades, and hilltop vistas.

12. The Blue Hills reservation, just outside the city limits, offers everything from easy walks to challenging climbs.

13. Stonybrook Reservation is a 475-acre forest within the city limits and offers 10 miles of paved pathways through the woods and glacial outcroppings.

14. Traditional Boston sites: Take a tour of Harvard. Visit the New England Aquarium and the house of Paul Revere. Ride the swan boats and feed the ducks at the Public Garden. Shop at Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. Tour Boston's yuppie Back Bay.

15. There are a number of fine museums to visit: Tour the JFK Museum (617-929-4523), USS Constitution Museum (617-426-1812), Computer Museum (617-423-6758). MIT Museum (617-253-4444), Harvard Museum (617-495-3045), Gardner Museum (617-566-1401), Children's Museum (617-426-8855), Museum of Fine Arts (617-267-9300), Transportation Museum (617-522-6547) and Museum of Science/Omni Theatre (617-723-2500).

16. If you drive out along Commonwealth Avenue, you'll eventually get to Charles River Recreation in Newton, which offers kayaking and canoeing along the Charles River.

17. There is Whitewater rafting in Charlemont, MA (a 2 1/2 hour drive from Boston). Call CrabApple Whitewater (800-553-RAFT), for more information.

18. Biking: In Boston you can cover lots of ground on a bike because it is small and flat.
    1. For seasonal biking information, MassBike (617-542-2453), the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, a statewide biking advocacy group, is a wealth of information about paths, groups, rules of the road, safety, and other biking details. Rubel Bike Maps publishes maps and guides with suggested cycling routes in the Greater Boston area which can be purchased at bike or book shops around town.

    2. Group Biking: Boston Bike Tours (617-308-5902) located on the Boston Common, run from April through October. They lead two-hour rides of the Boston area, including tours of Harvard Square, Freedom Trail and the Emerald Necklace Parks. Bike Rides for Ordinary People is a good source of group biking information. At Charles River Wheelmen, all rides are open to public. For rides throughout Greater Boston and beyond, contact The Appalachian Mountain Club (617-523-0655), or the Nashoba Valley Pedalers, a cycling club based in the western suburbs, which runs regular rides in the towns of Littleton, Westford, Acton, Concord, and surroundings.

    3. Do-it-yourself Biking: Boston has a number of paved bike paths that are good spots to begin riding. Dr. Paul Dudley White Bikeway makes an 18-mile loop on both sides of the Charles River from the Museum of Science to Watertown. Riding east on the Cambridge side, you'll have great views of the downtown skyline. On Sundays, during the warm months, Memorial Drive in Cambridge from the Eliot Bridge to Western Avenue is closed to traffic and becomes Riverbend Park, with space for walkers, skaters, and cyclists. The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway runs 11 miles from the Alewife T station in Cambridge through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford. The Linear Bike Path connects with the Minuteman Bikeway at Alewife and continues into Davis Square, Somerville. Southwest Corridor/Pierre Lallement Bike Path is a roughly five-mile path along the Orange Line route from the South End through Roxbury toward Franklin Park.

    4. Sources for Bike Rentals: At Back Bay Bicycles (617-247-2336), you can rent a bike for $20 a day or $25 for 24 hours; during the week, they also offer two-hour rentals for $10. The Bicycle Workshop (617-876-6555), near MIT, rents bikes for 24 hours for $25. Boston Bike Tours (617-308-5902), rents bicycles for $5/hour or $25 for 24 hours. Wheelworks (617-484-9247), based in Belmont, rents a variety of road and mountain bikes, with prices starting at $24 for 24 hours.

19. Leisurely trips:
    1. Franconia State Park in the White Mountains of New Hampshire has amazing hiking and incredible natural rock formations and pollen-free air! Bethlehem, New Hampshire is a favorite summer site for Chassidim from New York, so there is always a Minyan there.

    2. Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine, offers a hiker's paradise.

20. Amusement Parks:
    1. Riverside Park is a great amusement park in Agawam, MA, about 2 hours from Boston. Attractions include a brand-new roller coaster called the "Mind Eraser" (NOT for the faint of heart), great water rides and log flume, ferris wheel, smaller kiddie rides for the really little ones, and Friendly's ice cream. Best time to go is during the week, when it's not too crowded.

    2. Canobie Lake Park, just over the Massachusetts border in NH, about an hour's drive, is another amusement park in the area. It's closer than Riverside.

21. Mystic, CT has lots of Seaport attractions and is close enough that you could drive there and back in one long day.

22. Shopper's Paradise: Kittery, Maine, home of more outlet stores than you can count.

23. Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island.

24. Rockport, on Cape Anne, has lots of touristy shopping, more artists, boutiques, etc. (like Provincetown). The commuter rail stops there and it's right on the beach.