"A fan favorite." That is how Interim MassDOT Director Philip Eng described the new boardwalk beside the National Grid rainbow tank. He said it at the April 29 ribbon-cutting for the $10.3 million extension from Port Norfolk to Morrissey Boulevard. At that ceremony, DCR Commissioner Nicole LaChapelle said all of the finishing touches were now in place. The link had soft-opened the previous July. Two weeks before the ribbon-cutting, though, part of the trail near that boardwalk had already been fenced off. It was still fenced in August.
So the Greenway's first full fall as a connected trail looks different from what the ceremony suggested. The northern end got the attention. The southern end, from the Mattapan trolley line through Lower Mills to Pope John Paul II Park, has the new café, the restored artwork and every scheduled event on the Greenway calendar this October.
The finished link, with a detour in it
When the fences came down on July 3, 2025, the Dorchester Reporter described the result as an uninterrupted 8.2-mile walk or ride from the Neponset River trails to South Boston. WBUR described the new piece as a 10-foot paved path plus a 670-foot boardwalk with a harbor-view platform, linking Tenean Beach to Morrissey Boulevard.
In mid-April 2026, DCR closed the section next to Boston Bowl, behind 818 Morrissey Boulevard, for its $3.8 million Morrissey Boulevard Resilient Stormwater Pump Station Project. The station itself is being built outside the trail footprint. DCR said the closure was needed for bypass pumping and safe access for construction crews. In July, DCR expected the project to be substantially complete in September, which would let the path reopen. Full completion is expected in spring 2027.
That September date was a forecast. On August 17, the Neponset River Greenway Council posted that it was eager to see the pump work finished "so we don't have to keep using the non-existent Freeport Street sidewalk." As of early October, no public notice we found confirms that the path has reopened. Before heading toward the boardwalk, check DCR's park alerts page. DCR also lists Savin Hill station as an access point from the Morrissey Boulevard end, so you can reach the boardwalk from the north without crossing the work zone.
Where the trail begins now
At the other end, the newest stop on the route opened this fall. Two Pence Market occupies a 1929 brick bank building at 2 Eliot Street, where Eliot meets Adams Street. It sits just over the Boston-Milton line, across from the Milton stop on the Mattapan trolley. The building first housed a Blue Hill Bank and Trust Company branch and was most recently a Bank of America branch, which closed in 2021. Dan Kerrigan, who has owned Steel & Rye since 2012, opened it with his partners. The shelves carry freshly baked bagels, prepared meals, seasonal produce from Allandale Farm and Wards Berry Farm, specialty groceries, wine and Toscanini's ice cream. There is outdoor seating along both the Eliot and Adams street sides. Kerrigan told the Reporter he first considered another restaurant for the site but walked away from the idea because "it didn't feel like a natural fit for the building."
That puts coffee and a grocery stop at the trailhead the Boston Globe used for its Lower Mills route. That route starts at the Milton trolley stop and heads over Granite Avenue to Neponset Park. For the end of a walk instead of the start, the Bowery Bar in Lower Mills describes itself as a tavern serving comfort food, cocktails and local craft beer.
The trail has also grown at its far southern end. In mid-September, the Neponset River Greenway Council announced that DCR's new Edgewater Greenway Trail and Kennedy Playground in Mattapan are open. It credited the Neponset River Watershed Association, Hubluv and the Solomon Foundation for their advocacy and support. For longer outings, the Reporter's history of the Greenway describes a 3.5-mile stretch from Port Norfolk to Central Avenue in Milton. DCR's section from Central Avenue to Mattapan Square, completed in 2017, made the trail continuous from Mattapan Square to Pope John Paul II Park.
Granite Avenue to the underpass
Heading north from Lower Mills, the Globe's route crosses Granite Avenue to Neponset Park. It then follows Hallett Street beneath the Expressway into Pope John Paul II Park. The I-93 underpass near the park looks better than it did a year ago.
The mural there is a collage of 14 nature scenes created in 2008 by the Boston Natural Areas Network Youth Conservation Corps. Over the past two years its plywood panels began rotting and falling off the wall. Lee Toma, a Dorchester resident active with the Neponset Greenway Council, asked for it to be removed for safety. DCR's sign shop then reproduced the original artwork from past photos, printed it on metal panels and mounted it in the same spot.
"It looks very similar to the original and probably more durable, too. I hope that people will enjoy it and see that it's reflective of the nature we see around the trail and encourage them to come back and enjoy the trail more." Lee Toma, speaking to the Dorchester Reporter
Pope John Paul II Park has the calendar
Past the underpass, Pope John Paul II Park has its own 1.5-mile loop. DCR lists parking at the park and at the end of Hallet Street. Every Greenway event the Neponset River Watershed Association lists for this fall is either held at this park or is a Greenway Council meeting:
- Wednesday, October 7, 7 to 8:30 p.m. The Neponset River Greenway Council holds a public meeting. Meetings rotate among the Greenway communities and can be attended in person or virtually. NepRWA posts the agenda and location.
- Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monarchs, Milkweeds and Climate Change, a free nature program for children and adults, led by science teacher and Neponset River advocate Maria Lyons. Meet at the Hallet Street Pavilion at the top of the hill. The rain date is October 11.
- Thursday, October 29, 5:30 to 7 p.m. The Annual Pumpkin Parade, hosted by the Neponset Greenway Council, MassDCR and NepRWA, with music, games and candy. Bring costumes and carved or decorated pumpkins. Candles are provided, the event is free and no registration is required. The rain date is Friday, October 30.
- Wednesday, November 4, 7 to 8:30 p.m. The Greenway Council's next public meeting.
NepRWA is looking for Pumpkin Parade volunteers. Greenways Coordinator Suzanne Hinton is the contact. The fall season had already begun before October. NepRWA's September 19 cleanup covered Tenean Beach, Granite Avenue and the Greenway near Baker Square Condominiums.
Leaf season brings its own hazards. In late September, the Council warned of slippery wet leaves, small branches and minor flooding on the trail, and asked anyone who finds a downed tree or other damage to report it to DCR.
Port Norfolk and the turn toward the boardwalk
From the park, the trail runs beneath Neponset Avenue and the Red Line to Joseph Finnegan Park in Port Norfolk. The Finnegan Park section is about half a mile long. Port Norfolk has the waterfront dining stop on this half of the route. Venezia Restaurant was taking reservations and online orders as of early October.
After Tenean Beach, the extension crosses beneath the Expressway at Victory Road, passes the National Grid property and the rainbow gas tank, and continues on a boardwalk with views of Dorchester Bay and Boston Harbor. NepRWA puts the extension at about three-quarters of a mile. The Dorchester Reporter calls it 0.9 mile. WBUR reports that the link ties the Neponset paths to the Columbia Point Harborwalk and the South Boston beaches. Until the Boston Bowl section reopens, though, a walk from Port Norfolk toward Columbia Point includes the Freeport Street detour. A walk from the Milton trolley stop to Port Norfolk, with coffee at the start and dinner at the end, uses only parts of the trail with no closures reported this fall.
The Greenway may grow at the southern end as well. WBUR reports that DCR is still considering extensions west from Mattapan Square, including a more continuous Truman Parkway path and connections toward the Blue Hills, depending on funding. For more on the neighborhood around the trail, see our Dorchester neighborhood page and our guide to what's new to eat on Dorchester Avenue in 2026.
Projects like the Greenway's northern link, the Edgewater trail and the pump station shape which Dorchester blocks sit closest to finished, connected open space, and that can affect value over time. If you own near Lower Mills, Port Norfolk or Savin Hill and want a private read on how these changes fit your property, The Whaley Ring Team offers a confidential market consultation.
