Where Everett's River Paths Stop, and the Two Projects Built to Fix Them

Where does a walk along Everett's riverfront actually end? For most of the past few years the answer has been at a road or at the water. The trail itself has not been the problem. The Northern Strand Community Trail runs paved and finished from Everett through Lynn, and the 2020–2022 state construction project that got it there is complete, with safety upgrades at every road crossing along the way.

Everett's remaining gaps are at Santilli Circle, along Revere Beach Parkway, and across the Mystic River. As of this fall, all of them have signed contracts and published timelines. Over the next few years the network will mostly get new crossings at the places that currently cut it off, more than new trail.

The Paved Part You Can Use Today

The Everett segment already ties together more of the city than its reputation suggests. Bike to the Sea, the nonprofit behind the trail, lists these as the easiest ways in and through:

1. Behind Gateway Center. This is the main Everett access point, close to the Malden River.
2. Rivergreen Park. It has a half-mile waterfront path, restored shoreline, picnic area, playing fields and a boat launch.
3. Past the Madeline English School, heading north toward Malden.
4. Behind Bell Rock Cemetery, where the trail crosses into Malden.
5. From the Malden side, an access point behind the Dockside Restaurant on eastbound Route 60 heads south back through Everett and ends near Skyzone, not far from the Best Buy.

The newest piece is the extension under Route 16. It connects the Everett Community Growers segment at Water Street to the Mystic riverfront and Encore Boston Harbor. When Bike to the Sea last updated its trail map in September 2025, it said some final improvements on that section could happen over the winter.

So you can already get from Malden's border down to the Mystic on finished path. The trouble is getting anywhere else from those two ends.

Gap One: Santilli Circle and Revere Beach Parkway

Santilli Circle is where the regional road network crowds hardest against the trail. On May 21, 2026, the City of Everett awarded JJ Phelan a $2,401,671.01 contract for what it calls the Northern Strand Trail Connection, or Wellington Connector.

The scope fits the problem closely. It covers improved crossings at the Santilli Circle Connector and Santilli Highway, plus a new shared-use path on the north side of Revere Beach Parkway that links the existing trail to the River Trail. The contract also includes lighting, fencing, paving, striping, wetlands mitigation and landscaping.

The project manual issued April 29, 2026 set on-site work to start May 26, 2026. It targets substantial completion by June 15, 2027 and final completion by June 30, 2027. Those are the dates the city put in the bid documents. We found no public progress notice confirming that crews have started, or that the schedule has moved, so if you ride the Santilli area this fall, expect conditions to match the contract only roughly.

This crossing matters because the Parkway is the line between Everett's trail and the river paths heading west toward Wellington and Medford. Once the connector is built, the Northern Strand and the River Trail become one continuous ride. Today you have to work your way across a highway interchange to get from one to the other.

Gap Two: The Mystic River Itself

The bigger gap is the river. On September 23, 2026, the MassDOT Board of Directors approved a $78.7 million design-build contract for the Mystic River Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. It will be a car-free crossing from the Gateway Park trail and public boardwalk in Everett to Draw Seven Park in Somerville.

"For too long, the Mystic River has been a barrier between Everett and our neighboring communities. This bridge will give residents more options to get to work, connect to public transit, and walk or bike instead of sitting in traffic." Mayor Robert J. Van Campen, in the City of Everett's September 30 announcement

The city's list of places the bridge will connect reads like a map of everywhere Everett's paths almost reach now: Assembly Row, Draw Seven Park, the Northern Strand Trail, the Mystic River Greenway, the Malden River Greenway and Everett's Lower Broadway District. Plans call for new lighting, wayfinding, landscaped approaches and riverfront improvements. Once it's built, the Department of Conservation and Recreation will own and maintain it.

MassDOT's committee materials from September 9 name Barletta Heavy Division as the builder. They list an anticipated Notice to Proceed in October 2026, which is this month, and a construction duration of 2.8 years. The board's staff summary lists TYLin International as the design partner. It also sets substantial completion at 989 calendar days after that notice. Counting from an October 2026 start puts completion around mid-2029. That is an estimate, not an announced opening date. It is consistent with the "before the end of 2029" target Streetsblog Mass reported in October 2025.

Here is how the two crossings line up:

Gateway Park Is Where the Pieces Meet

Gateway Park is the one spot that shows up in nearly every one of these plans. It is a Northern Strand access point, it will be the Everett landing for the new bridge, and the city has a separate restoration project planned there.

The city's Gateway Park project page, last updated in March 2026, describes improvements that are still on the way. They include a new boardwalk to bring people closer to the Malden River and its bank, more trees, shrubs and perennials for birds and pollinators, and a stream and wetland restoration with stormwater work meant to clean the water and hold it during big storms. That page directs volunteers to the Mystic River Watershed Association's volunteer list, which sends notices about planting days, invasive species removal and cleanups.

Put the three projects together and Gateway Park goes from a trailhead behind a shopping center to the spot where the Northern Strand, the Malden River and a crossing to Somerville all meet. Some of that will still be under construction for years. The restoration volunteer days are happening now.

Riding the Gaps on October 25

You can ride most of this network as one loop on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Bike to the Sea and the Mystic River Watershed Association are hosting their annual Fall Colors Ride from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It starts and ends at Night Shift Brewing, 87 Santilli Highway.

The details:

• Riders meet outside Night Shift at 10:45 a.m.
• The ride is free and expected to take about 90 minutes.
• Helmets are required, and the ride is recommended for individual riders 8 and older.
• Parking is available in the Night Shift lot and on Norman Street and Santilli Highway.
• The route covers a little over 15 miles of paved trail on the Northern Strand in Everett and Malden, plus bike paths on both sides of the Mystic and Malden Rivers through Somerville and Medford.

The organizers say the terrain is mostly flat and that parts of the route run on streets. The meeting spot is on Santilli Highway, one of the two crossings the Wellington Connector contract is set to rebuild. The on-street stretches show the gaps described above more clearly than any project map does.

If you want a closer ride this weekend, today is the Phase 1 grand opening of Malden River Works, a new park at 356 Commercial Street on the Malden side of the river, from 1 to 4 p.m. It is a separate project from Everett's Rivergreen Park.

The Encore End of the Path This Month

The southern end of the Route 16 extension comes out at the Mystic riverfront by Encore Boston Harbor, which opened its riverfront playground and Riverwalk at Rivergreen to the public in 2019. Things on that end are different right now. Encore's union workers have been on strike since September 4, and an October 1 report described the strike as still unresolved while the resort stays open. The Boston Globe reported that the free water shuttle and valet parking were shut down during the strike because union workers staff both. We found no source confirming whether the public waterfront walk is affected. If you plan to end a ride there or catch the shuttle, check current conditions before you go.

If you own a home near Gateway Park, Rivergreen or the Santilli corridor, these crossings change what your location connects to over the next few years. Buyers who walk or bike will ask about that. Guy Contaldi follows these projects block by block and can explain how the new access affects your home's pricing and how to present it in your listing. Guy Contaldi offers a free home valuation, or you can schedule a consultation to talk through timing around the Wellington Connector and bridge schedules.