Mystic River Reservation

The Mystic River Reservation is a publicly owned nature preserve with recreational features located along the Mystic River in the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea in eastern Massachusetts. The reserve is part of the nearly 76sqmi Mystic River watershed. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.HistoryThe reservation was established in 1893 by the newly formed Metropolitan Parks Commission, making it one of the first official nature preserves in Massachusetts, and one of five designed by the commission in that year. Of these five, three were planned as woodland river reservations: the Mystic River Reservation, Charles River Reservation, and Neponset River Reservation. The Mystic River Reservation originally comprised a little over of land. By the early 20th century, most of the land along the Mystic River in Medford, Arlington, and Somerville had become public land.