Charlestown and the Navy Yard
175 years of naval history at the confluence of the Charles and Mystic — the USS Constitution rides at anchor where dry docks and ropewalks preserve the yard that built and repaired more than 200 warships.
The Battle for the Northern Shore
The drumlins above the Charlestown shoreline witnessed one of the Revolution's most famous clashes. Shortly after midnight on June 17, 1775, roughly 1,200 colonial troops under Colonel William Prescott slipped onto the peninsula and worked through the dark to throw up a redoubt on Breed's Hill, the seaward of Charlestown's two drumlins, aiming to deny the British Army the high ground overlooking their anchorage.
At a Glance
- Route
- Charlestown Ferry Landing → USS Constitution → Dry Dock 1 → Ropewalk → Shipyard Park
- Distance
- 1.8 miles
- Duration
- 60–90 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy · flat, paved
Getting Here
- T Access
- North Station (Green/Orange), then MBTA Charlestown Ferry
- Ferry
- Year-round Charlestown Ferry from Long Wharf
Amenities
- Admission
- Free · Boston National Historical Park
The Journey
In Charlestown, the Harborwalk traces the edge of a shoreline that has been tied to shipbuilding and naval service since the earliest years of the United States. The path follows the inner harbor where the tidal estuaries of the Charles and Mystic converge, looping around the Charlestown Navy Yard and its piers before continuing past newer marinas and shoreline housing toward the mouth of the river. The peninsula itself is a cluster of glacial drumlins — Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill rise directly behind the yard — while the flats below were long ago hardened with granite seawalls and dredged basins that let deep-draft warships work close to shore.
This stretch of the waterfront feels like a living timeline: on one side, preserved dry docks, warships, and industrial buildings tell the story of a navy yard that operated from 1800 until its closure in 1974; on the other, ferries, marinas, and public art show how those same piers now serve city life in new ways. Look east across the inner harbor toward Moulton's Point — the low projection of Charlestown's eastern shore where British longboats came ashore on the morning of June 17, 1775 to launch the assault on the hills above.
The Historic Core
- 1
USS Constitution
Building 22, Charlestown Navy Yard
Old Ironsides — the sailing frigate launched in 1797 and frequently overhauled here. Active-duty naval vessel and museum site.
- 2
USS Constitution Museum
Interactive exhibits on the ship's construction, her War of 1812 exploits, and the sailors who crewed her.
- 3
USS Cassin Young
A World War II destroyer representing the yard's mid-20th-century industrial peak in steel-hull construction.
- 4
The Ropewalk
A quarter-mile-long granite building that once housed the specialized trade of ropemaking — every piece of rope for the US Navy was made here from 1837 to 1971.
Echoes of 1776While the Navy Yard itself was established in 1800, this shoreline was a tactical focus during the siege of 1775. The production of cordage and naval technology here later grew out of the immediate revolutionary need for an indigenous American naval defense to counter the British blockade.
- 5
Moulton's Point (Bunker Hill Landing Site)
The low, marsh-fringed spur at Charlestown's eastern tip — now buried beneath Navy Yard fill — where British longboats came ashore on the morning of June 17, 1775. Originally a marshy, projecting point of land at the confluence of the Charles and Mystic Rivers, now altered by centuries of industrial grading and shipyard expansion. Accessible via the terminal edge of the Charlestown Harborwalk, providing clear panoramic vistas of the outer shipping lanes.
Echoes of 1776On June 17, 1775, this beachhead bore the brunt of the British amphibious assault. Under cover of heavy naval bombardment from warships anchored in the stream, Major General Howe landed thousands of British Regulars directly onto these marshes before marching them up the slope toward the redoubt on Breed's Hill.
- 6
Dry Dock 1
One of the yard's original massive stone basins, where ships were lifted from the water for repair. Stepped granite walls and heavy gates are clearly visible from Harborwalk overlooks. Once a completely isolated, marsh-fringed island surrounded by treacherous tidal mudflats, Noddle's Island was eventually conjoined to the mainland through massive 19th-century industrial landfill projects to form modern East Boston. Viewable from Condor Street Beach and surrounding urban wild green spaces, showcasing local community-led ecological restoration along an active industrial waterway.
Modern Waterfront & Public Art
- 7
Charlestown Marina
Sits alongside former navy piers, providing slips for visiting yachts and recreational vessels.
- 8
Shipyard Park & the Bridge of Joy
Public green space threaded with a cluster of large, colorful sculptures installed along the Harborwalk — a playful art route through a landscape still marked by cranes and masts.
- 9
Charlestown Ferry Landing
Year-round commuter service to Long Wharf in downtown Boston, with unique views of the city skyline and the shipyard from the water.