Neponset River Fishing Guides
The tidal Neponset below Milton Village, a recovering Boston estuary with a growing herring run and striped bass working right up to the old dam site.
Map of the Neponset River
27 numbered points: 3 access points, 14 bridges, 5 parks and conservation areas, 4 hazards, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 26, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (3)
- Bridge crossing (14)
- Park / conservation area (5)
- Dam / hazard (4)
- USGS gauge (1)
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 27 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Street (MA 27) Bridge Foxborough, uppermost crossing | Bridge crossing | 42.14644, -71.25550 | The first road bridge on the mapped river; Elm Street crosses 20 m upstream and the Franklin Branch railroad 60 m below. |
| 2 | Main Street (MA 1A) Bridge Walpole | Bridge crossing | 42.15318, -71.24737 | |
| 3 | Plimpton Street Bridge Walpole | Bridge crossing | 42.15933, -71.23447 | |
| 4 | Bird Pond Dam Walpole | Dam / hazard | 42.16285, -71.21786 | Mapped in OSM as three overlapping structures; one dam on the ground. Portage or take out above it. |
| 5 | Hollingsworth & Vose Dam East Walpole | Dam / hazard | 42.16390, -71.21292 | Mill dam on the old Hollingsworth & Vose paper works. |
| 6 | Morse Street Bridge Norwood | Bridge crossing | 42.17299, -71.20482 | |
| 7 | Pleasant Street Bridge Norwood | Bridge crossing | 42.17738, -71.20033 | |
| 8 | Boston-Providence Turnpike (US 1) Bridge Norwood | Bridge crossing | 42.17700, -71.19202 | |
| 9 | Bade Canoe Launch Norwood, carry-in | Access / boat ramp | 42.17780, -71.18952 | The only named launch on the freshwater river and the usual put-in for the Fowl Meadow flatwater. Carry-in; no trailer ramp. |
| 10 | Fowl Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary Canton / Milton, on the bank | Park / conservation area | 42.16430, -71.17551 | Mass Audubon wetland reserve wrapping the Fowl Meadow reach. Several separate OSM polygons; this is the one on the water. |
| 11 | Farnham-Connolly State Park Canton, 0.34 km off | Park / conservation area | 42.16717, -71.16409 | DCR Division of State Parks and Recreation. |
| 12 | Canton Street / Dedham Street Bridge Canton / Dedham town line | Bridge crossing | 42.19701, -71.15491 | One crossing; the street changes name at the town line, so OSM carries it as two named ways. |
| 13 | Green Lodge Street Bridge Dedham | Bridge crossing | 42.20918, -71.14580 | Blue Hill Drive crosses 20 m alongside. |
| 14 | I-95 / US 1 / MA 128 Bridge Yankee Division Highway, Dedham | Bridge crossing | 42.20999, -71.14458 | |
| 15 | Neponset Valley Parkway Bridge Hyde Park | Bridge crossing | 42.23452, -71.12256 | |
| 16 | Truman Parkway Bridge Hyde Park | Bridge crossing | 42.23756, -71.12509 | The Neponset River Greenway footbridge crosses within 30 m. |
| 17 | Neponset River Reservation DCR, Hyde Park to Dorchester Bay | Park / conservation area | 42.25210, -71.12188 | A single DCR reservation carried in OSM as roughly a dozen separate riverside parcels from Hyde Park down to the bay; this pin is a central one. The Greenway path runs through most of them. |
| 18 | Tileston and Hollingsworth Dam Hyde Park | Dam / hazard | 42.26104, -71.11047 | Mill dam; the lowest dam above Lower Mills. |
| 19 | Central Avenue Bridge Milton / Mattapan | Bridge crossing | 42.27030, -71.07328 | The Mattapan trolley line and the Greenway both cross within 40 m. |
| 20 | Walter Baker Dam Lower Mills, head of tide | Dam / hazard | 42.27074, -71.06884 | The dam at the old Baker Chocolate mills. Everything below it is tidal; everything above it is fresh. |
| 21 | USGS gauge - Neponset River at Lower Mills Boston / Milton | USGS gauge | 42.27081, -71.06835 | Sits beside the Walter Baker Dam at the head of tide, so it reads the freshwater river rather than the estuary. |
| 22 | Adams Street Bridge Lower Mills | Bridge crossing | 42.27109, -71.06814 | Eliot Street crosses 70 m upstream. |
| 23 | Milton Landing Milton, tidal ramp | Access / boat ramp | 42.26944, -71.06552 | OSM maps the slipway itself without a name and the ground around it as Milton Town Landing. First tidal launch below the dam; a second unnamed slipway sits 60 m downstream. |
| 24 | Public slipway, Port Norfolk Dorchester, tidal | Access / boat ramp | 42.27844, -71.05128 | Tagged access=yes and left unnamed in OSM, as is a second service-road slipway 170 m upstream. The last trailered launch above Dorchester Bay. |
| 25 | I-93 / US 1 / MA 3 Bridge Southeast Expressway, Dorchester | Bridge crossing | 42.27780, -71.04858 | The lowest crossing; the HOV ramps cross alongside. |
| 26 | Neponset Landing Park Quincy, river mouth | Park / conservation area | 42.28405, -71.03763 | |
| 27 | Senator Joseph Finnegan Park Neponset River Reservation, Dorchester | Park / conservation area | 42.28815, -71.03859 |
Guides on the Neponset River
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About the Neponset River
The Neponset River drains the country southwest of Boston and reaches tidewater at Milton Village before running through the Neponset marshes into Dorchester Bay. The gauge at Milton Village reads discharge and stage at the head of tide, which is the boundary that defines this fishery. Below the gauge the river is estuary; above it, freshwater.
The Neponset spent most of the twentieth century as one of the more abused rivers in Massachusetts, carrying mill waste and blocked by dams near its mouth. The recovery has been substantial. Water quality has improved markedly, the lower marshes have been protected as a state reservation, and fish passage work at the head of tide has reopened the migratory corridor for river herring for the first time in generations.
That herring run is what drives the fishing. Striped bass follow alewives and blueback herring into the tidal reach from April onward and stack up below the head of tide where the bait concentrates. Most are schoolies, but the numbers can be excellent and the fish are reachable from shore, which is rare this close to a major city. White perch hold through the brackish water much of the year, American eel are abundant, largemouth bass live in the freshwater river above, and bluefish occasionally push up from the bay in summer.
Access is genuinely urban and genuinely good. The Neponset River Greenway runs along much of the lower river with paths, bridges and bank access, and there is kayak access to the marsh channels and Dorchester Bay below.
One caution particular to this river: sediment contamination from its industrial past remains a live issue in the lower reaches, and state advisories on consuming fish taken here should be read before keeping anything. Catch and release is the sensible default. The fishing itself is excellent and improving, and the herring counts each spring are the clearest measure of it.
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The photo at the top of this page is not Neponset River.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Milton Village - the gauge reach at the head of tide, with bank access.
Neponset River Greenway - paved path and bank access along the lower river.
Pope John Paul II Park - Dorchester parkland with river frontage and parking.
Neponset Marshes - the tidal marsh channels below the park, kayak access.
Dorchester Bay - the open water at the river mouth.
Port Norfolk - access to the lower tidal river and boatyard area.
Mother Brook - the historic channel connecting toward the Charles.
Seasons
Spring: the best of the year, with herring running and stripers stacked at the head of tide.
Summer: schoolie stripers and white perch through the tidal reach, bluefish occasionally.
Fall: a second push of bass as bait leaves the marsh, good through October.
Winter: quiet, with white perch and the odd holdover fish in the deeper water.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Neponset River?
As of Nov 2, 6:45 am, the USGS gauge NEPONSET RIVER AT MILTON VILLAGE, MA reads 90 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Neponset River?
Anglers target American Eel, Bluefish, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Perch on the Neponset River in Massachusetts.
Where can you access the Neponset River?
Milton Village - the gauge reach at the head of tide, with bank access. Neponset River Greenway - paved path and bank access along the lower river. Pope John Paul II Park - Dorchester parkland with river frontage and parking. Neponset Marshes - the tidal marsh channels below the park, kayak access. Dorchester Bay - the open water at the river mouth. Port Norfolk - access to the lower tidal river and boatyard area. Mother Brook - the historic channel connecting toward the Charles.
When is the best time to fish the Neponset River?
Spring: the best of the year, with herring running and stripers stacked at the head of tide. Summer: schoolie stripers and white perch through the tidal reach, bluefish occasionally. Fall: a second push of bass as bait leaves the marsh, good through October. Winter: quiet, with white perch and the odd holdover fish in the deeper water.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Neponset River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Massachusetts agency site: https://www.mass.gov/recreational-saltwater-fishing