unique abandoned spot. cool place to skate or take pictures. you can park along the street and it's a short walk through the woods on a gravel path

I just love visiting abandoned places. It's like stepping back in time. There was plenty of parking when I went but there might not be on game days. It was a short walk from the parking lot. There are a lot of trails in this area and there were more empty dens than I expected. This is just a nice quiet area to walk and enjoy nature. To the right of the parking area there are also more trails. Not sure if there were structures here at one point but there are remains of stone walls and stair cases.

I guess this used to be an old-school zoo area for bears until they realized that this is a terrible way to care for animals. Now it’s just rusted ruins and pretty cool to explore

Setting free the bears! I guess someone did already. A very nice place to take a walk. Must have been less nice for the bears of Franklin Park Zoo to be caged there decades ago.

This is a cool, weird gem in Boston and a great stop on a stroll! Check it out! BYOB (bring your own bear)

Always loved this place...As a child in the 70"s till current times; always been a beautiful spiritual nature experience

beautiful area to meditate and work out

Pretty cool part of history

I love the old bear dens! They are an awesome historical site (they really did used to keep bears here, if you were wondering) and a nice place to sit or picnic.

Wow! Can imagine how this place must have been like 100 years ago 😊

Good walking trail.

It is very cool to see but I wish they would restore them. Maybe not for bears butto use for something. Maybe tell about the history.

Very relaxing area to walk or just sit at.

It's the abandoned part of the zoo that is no longer used for animal housing. Great spot for photos of the past. The area is run down so be careful and also aware of the low-hanging pieces of rusted and jagged metal.

A bit of interesting Boston history. No bears tho :(

This place is such a cute hidden gem! I swear this is the only place in Boston I’ve gone where I’ve been completely alone and in solitude. You get an incredible view of the whole city on the back side of the dens and it’s truly breathtaking.

One of my favorite places to get away from the city.

The most famous ruins of the Franklin Park Zoo are these bear dens at the top of this hill. The area is part of the Franklin Park cross country course called Long Couch Woods. These bear dens were part of a design created by American landscape architect Arthur Shurtliff, which he completed in 1912. The bear cages have intricate carvings and strong metal bars proved pricier than expected. As the zoo became financially bereft in the 1950s due to low attendance, the city-run Boston Parks & Recreation Department, which managed the zoo at the time, got rid of the bears and closed the exhibit. By 1958, when the state-run Metropolitan District Commission, now known as the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), took over the zoo and cut off that piece of land. Today, this is a great photo opportunity for people who like abandoned urban architecture.

First time I was 7yr.old 65 yrs. Ago I still enjoy it the Bears are gone about 40 yrs. Ago May have animals @the smaller zoo off Blue Hill Ave Watch your kids. Don't go walking outside of Zoo Bad neighborhood