Directions and Parking Info for the Saturday Time Trials and Sunday Festival and Race

Public Transport to Saturday Time Trials at MIT Pierce Boathouse - 409 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139

Subway - Take the Red Line subway to the  Central Square Station, which is a short walk from campus. The walk from Central Square takes about 10 minutes and takes you right down Massachusetts Avenue.   Walk south down Massachusetts Avenue.  After a while you will see a cross walk with a set of stop lights and the  Massachusetts Avenue side entrance of MIT on your left.  Continue walking until you see the Harvard Bridge. (MIT students and locals call it the Mass. Ave. bridge).  Take a right onto Memorial drive (route 3A), a lovely parkway with a grass median, and the Pierce boat house is on your left after walking a few blocks.

Hint--Use Redline Interactive Street Map on the links page above and zoom in to find MIT and street names.

Bus - The #1 or Dudley/Harvard Station bus stops at MIT on Massachusetts Avenue and provides transportation to Central Square and Harvard Square (Northbound), and Boston (Southbound). The MIT stop is at a large crosswalk with a stoplight. On one side of the street are steps leading up to large Ionic columns and the small dome of MIT; on the other side of the street is the Stratton Student Center and Kresge Oval (an open, grass-covered area). Additionally, the CT1 (Crosstown bus) stops at the MIT stop on Massachusetts Avenue and the CT2 bus stops on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar St. as well as Kendall Square T Station. Get off the bus at the MIT stop and walk south toward the Harvard Bridge.  Take a right onto Memorial drive( Route 3A), a lovely parkway with a grass median, and the Pierce boat house is on your left after walking a few blocks.

Hint--Use MBTA Interactive Street Maps on the links pages above and zoom  in to find MIT and street names

MIT Map for Pierce Boat House- Saturday Venue  Zoom in for street names.

Driving to Saturday to to Time Trials at MIT Pierce Boathouse

MIT Pierce Boathouse Official Driving Directions   (Use Map of MIT Boathouse above as well)

Best advice--Map your route with your favorite internet program and/or GPS for the following address:

409 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139

Saturday Parking

Parking in Cambridge and Boston is generally not an enjoyable experience. Whenever possible, park your car at the place where you are staying, and use public transportation to get to the MIT campus. If you must drive to the campus, there is both on- and off-street parking available, but most public parking is not very close to the center of the MIT campus (unless you arrive early in the morning or late in the evening).

There is metered parking on Massachusetts Avenue for short stays and evenings/weekends, as well as a number of lots at which you may park for a fee. These include Vassar St. Public Parking at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Vassar Street, University Park / Star Market Public Parking,  Hyatt Regency and the Marriott Parking Garage on Ames St. and Broadway.  (The Marriot is a long walk to the Pierce Boat house.)

Hint:  When using  the maps for parking, the Pierce Boathouse is building W8 on the map, so scroll on the parking lot map to find building W8 on the river to get an idea of how far you will have to walk.

For the adventurous seeking Saturday parking near the MIT Pierce Boathouse, you may park on the westbound side of Memorial Drive or behind the Hyatt Regency on Vassar St. Parking permits and meters are in effect so bring many quarters. Do not park in spaces marked for MIT students. Do not park on the grassy median next to the DeWolfe boathouse between the east and westbound lanes of Memorial Drive or your car will likely be towed.
 

Sunday Driving and Public Transport to Sunday to Race site.
Site is  on the Boston side of the Charles River at the Weeks Footbridge.
A short distance from Harvard Square, Cambridge.  See Site maps below.

Driving and Public Transport to Harvard Square.  In addition to the Redline you may take The #1 or Dudley/Harvard Station bus.  Once you are in Harvard Square follow the walking instructions below to get to the site.  If you drove and parked at a public lot, find the "Out of Town News" newsstand across the street from the "Harvard Coop" in the middle of Harvard Square. See the Maps near the bottom of the page.

Walking from  Harvard Square and the MBTA station

1. Exit the Harvard MBTA station. You should be in front of "Out of Town News" newsstand. Across the street you'll see the "Harvard Coop"
2. Turn left onto John F Kennedy Street (JFK St.) You should pass a Finagle a Bagel shop and "The Garage" on your left.
3. After The Garage, turn left on Mt Auburn St.
4. Walk about 5 blocks. Turn right on DeWolfe St.
5. Walk straight about 3 blocks and you should see the Weeks Footbridge ahead of you (see maps below). Teams will be camped across the river on the Boston side

Very Important Advice for Arriving and Street Parking at the Sunday Race Site

The Sunday race is on the Boston side of the Weeks Footbridge near Harvard Square (approximately located at the intersection of Cowperwaithe & DeWolfe St, Cambridge). We'll be on the opposite side of the river from DeWolfe St. but there's nowhere you can park to drop off tents etc. on the Boston side on Soldiers Field Drive, so the intersection above would be a good place to drop off another person with your gear while you go find parking, then go back and help them haul it across the footbridge. It is very dangerous to try to drop off anything on the Boston side since you can't stop on Soldier's Field Road.  If you do, you may be ticketed by State Troopers if you're not hit by a car.

On Sunday, meters are not in effect in Cambridge or Boston. Most of Memorial Drive from the Western Ave Bridge to the Elliot Bridge will be closed on that day. Therefore, you will need to route around to get to the race site and Harvard Square.  Because of the street closure, your GPS and Internet driving instructions may not serve you well.
On the Boston side, any street parking you can find on Western Ave. or North Harvard St. is your best bet. If you don't mind taking the train and you're not bringing much, you can park at the Alewife Station garage  and take the Red Line to Harvard Sq. From Harvard, it's not too far of a walk to the race site (see directions above).

Map of Paid Public Parking Garages in Harvard Square.. Alewife Train Station also has parking.

Hint: Open the link above and click on the "P" for exact location and phone number.  Call for rates.
 

Maps of the Sunday Race Area: Overhead Walk to Race Site Overhead 2 | Google Maps | Alewife Train Station
 

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