The Harborwalk is a cooperative project of the City of Boston , the Boston Planning and Development Agency , the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection , The Boston Harbor Association , and private property developers . Since 1984 , the project has established parks , walking paths , educational sites , transportation facilities , and other amenities along the harbor . Many developers of private land along the harbor have been required under the provisions of the Boston Zoning Code and of Chapter 91 of Massachusetts state law to set back new buildings from the water and to provide publicly accessible waterfront pathways . A map of the proposed route shows that the completed Harborwalk will consist of a continuous trail from Charlestown in the north to Dorchester in the south , plus many other discontinuous trail segments . A map and trail guide describe the current status of the route . An interactive map highlights sights along a portion of the walk in downtown Boston . As of 2016 , 38 of the originally planned 47 miles of trail have been completed . Following the September 11 attacks , plans to extend the Harborwalk to the four miles of shoreline around Logan Airport were abandoned . As an alternative , planners are now considering an inland route connecting the Harborwalk through the East Boston Greenway to Constitution Beach
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Boston Harborwalk