Sometimes called the “gem” in the Emerald Necklace, Jamaica Pond is a 60-acre kettle hole formed by an ancient glacier. Natural springs make this pond, which is up to 90’ deep, the largest and purest body of water within Boston. Prior to being acquired as a park in 1894, an ice-cutting industry flourished here. Fishing (trout, which is stocked by the state, as well as pickerel, bass, hornpout, salmon, and perch), rowing, sailing, and walking/jogging are the primary activities today. A natural wonder all day long reflecting sky, sun, tree and stone, and always a gathering place for residents, Jamaica Pond perhaps mirrors the soul of Jamaica Plain.

The Arnold Arboretum (established 1872) is a 265-acre tract that is part of Boston’s park system as well as a scientific study collection of 15,000 trees, shrubs, and vines leased and managed by Harvard University. The Arboretum is the primary site in the US for the study of woody plants. Be sure to visit the Bonsai collection as well as the Lilac Festival in May. Visitors would do well to note the ongoing expansion, care and maintenance of this park that offers formal garden courses and lectures in the Hunnewell Building and informal opportunities for outdoor activities. Depending on the season, a multitude of joggers, cyclists, rollerbladers, cross-country skiers, and photographers can be found roaming amidst the Arboretum’s snowy paths and lush greenery.

The largest park and the “crown jewel” of the Emerald Necklace, Franklin Park is nearly 500 acres in size. Frederick Law Olmsted designed this as a “country park” similar to New York’s Central Park and Prospect Park, which he also designed. Today one can experience much of the same rural ambiance that graced the park at its turn of the century opening. Its sheer size offers urban dwellers an expanse of green space and opportunities for outdoor activities unrivalled anywhere in the city of Boston. Walkers, joggers, hikers and horseback riders, golfers and skiers revel daily in this rich oasis. Within the park are the Franklin Park Zoo, an 18-hole golf course, 100-acre woodland, and a 7-acre pond. The zoo, not part of Olmsted’s original plan, was founded in 1911. Its highlights include the Kalahari Kingdom, the grasslands of Bongo Congo, snow leopards, the Children’s Zoo, the Tropical Forest, the Outback Trail, and the Butterfly Landing. With the help of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Franklin Park Coalition, and other local and government groups including Park Arts, the park has been experiencing a renaissance in the steady restoration of its grounds and the evolution of sports and arts programs and festivals that are growing in number and popularity within the park.

Founded in 1848 by Henry Dearborn, mayor of Roxbury, Forest Hills Cemetery has grown into 275 acres of magnificent green space. Bicyclers and dog-walkers are welcome, a charming Lake offers a perfect spot for picnics and many people enjoy decoding the fascinating messages and symbols carved into older headstones. Visitors can also enjoy a magnificent collection of Victorian memorial sculpture and architecture in a romantic setting of ambling paths and scenic vistas. Sculpture by Martin Millmore, Daniel Chester French, and Thomas Ball is complemented by a growing collection of contemporary work by local and national artists. The Forsyth Chapel offers ongoing public visual and performance art exhibitions and private ceremonies. Among the notables buried on the grounds of the cemetery are poets e.e. cummings and Anne Sexton, playwright Eugene O’Neill, and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison.