Squantum Point Park sits at the end of a peninsula in Quincy, tucked behind Marina Bay. You follow the road all the way out and the park feels removed from the rest of the city.
My wife and I weren’t planning much. We wanted somewhere to walk the dog. The light kept improving after we arrived, so we stayed for sunset.
The quiet is surprising given the history. The park sits on the former Naval Air Station Squantum site, where American and British aviators trained during World War II. Before that, Bethlehem Shipbuilding operated dockworks here and built ships for the Navy.
Pieces of that history are still along the shoreline. Concrete slabs sit on rusted pilings. Old rebar sticks out of the ground when the tide is low. Nothing is preserved or marked. It’s what was left behind.
The path from the parking lot winds through trees and shrubs before opening up to the water. In June, everything is green and the flowering shrubs are in full bloom. Then the harbor appears, with Boston sitting across the water. It’s not the usual skyline view as the city feels more like part of the landscape.
The park was busy in a quiet way. People were out enjoying the weather, walking the shoreline, and taking in the evening light. It was one of those nights where you don’t really need a reason to stay outside.
We walked over to Marina Bay for a bit. It’s only a few minutes away, but it feels like a completely different place. There are more people, more activity, boats in the slips, and more noise from the boardwalk. Then we headed back toward the park as the sun started dropping.
Squantum Point Park is at its best in the evening. The park faces west across the harbor, with Boston off to the right. The LNG tank across the water becomes an interesting foreground subject, the old pilings turn into silhouettes, and the Hancock catches the last bit of light.
It’s a good place to stay until the light is gone.
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