Brookline Parks

Brookline, Massachusetts runs many parks and playgrounds, and Larz Anderson Park is the largest of them at 61.13 acres by the Town's inventory. Every Town park follows the same rules: open dawn to dusk, no alcohol, dogs on a leash except in 14 Green Dog off-leash areas, and a permit for any gathering of 15 or more. Below are the Brookline parks people most often pair with a visit to Larz, with facts from the Town's own pages; the full list is in the Town's facilities directory.

Larz Anderson Park

The former Anderson estate: hilltop lawns with a view of Boston, an outdoor ice rink, the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, a lagoon with the Temple of Love, grill sites and a picnic shelter, a playground, playing fields and a community garden. Start with our complete guide.

Skyline Park

Brookline Recreation describes Skyline Park as a 15-acre multi-generational community park finished in spring 2008, off Newton Street near Horace James Circle in South Brookline — the same street as Larz Anderson's museum and rink. It has a regulation-size synthetic turf soccer field, play areas, picnic areas, walking paths and easy access to the Lost Pond Nature Sanctuary. Its picnic shelter (three tables, up to 35 people, no grills) is reservable April through October.

Corey Hill Park

Corey Hill is Brookline's other hilltop view: Brookline Recreation says its most significant feature is a striking view of Boston and Cambridge. Summit Avenue splits it in two, with a playground on the southern parcel and a sundial and a big sloping lawn on the northern one. The sundial, a memorial to former Town Treasurer Shirley Sidd, can be permitted for wedding ceremonies. Corey Hill is also a Green Dog park, with off-leash time from dawn to 9 am.

Brookline Reservoir Park

A 32-acre park around a man-made reservoir, bordered by Boylston and Lee Streets, per the Town. It lists benches, walkways and paths, the pond and fishing among its features — a contrast with Larz, where the Town's brochure bans fishing in the lagoon.

Fisher Hill Reservoir Park

The Town converted the former MWRA Fisher Hill Reservoir into a 10-acre recreational park.

Olmsted Park and the Riverway

Brookline shares part of the Emerald Necklace park chain with Boston. The Town says Olmsted Park has three major ponds joined by a watercourse, six historic pedestrian bridges, and walkways and stone walls sheltered by dense woods, and sits right beside Jamaica Pond. The Riverway and Olmsted Park together form a green corridor through Boston and part of Brookline that links Boston Common and Franklin Park.

Off-Leash Dog Parks in Brookline

Brookline has no fenced dog park; instead its Green Dog program sets off-leash hours at 14 Town parks for registered dogs. Most allow dogs off leash from dawn to 9 am or dawn to 1 pm. Larz Anderson (top of the hill, Avon Street side), the 4-acre Brookline Avenue Playground and Harry Downes Field are the three the Town lists with dawn-to-dusk off-leash time from December through February. Details for Larz: dogs at Larz Anderson.

Reserving a Spot in a Brookline Park

• Larz Anderson: 12 BBQ sites, a shelter for 85, and three wedding ceremony sites. Picnic permits · weddings.
• Skyline Park: a covered shelter for up to 35.
• Picnic tables at many parks, April–October: $30 an hour for residents, $60 for non-residents, up to 40 people, 2-hour minimum.
• Athletic fields, April–October, booked no more than two weeks ahead; schools and youth sports have first preference.
• Brookline Recreation: 617-730-2069, 133 Eliot St.

Why Larz Is Different

Most Brookline parks are neighborhood playgrounds and fields. Larz is a whole historic estate, listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, with a museum and a rink inside it. If you only visit one, see our plan-your-visit guide.