Taking The Commuter Rail with Kids into Boston

For some, the thought of taking the commuter rail with kids into Boston seems like a lot of work, but I am here to tell you it is possible and it will be fun (even if the MBTA throws a few wrenches into the plan)! We drive by the commuter rail stop in Franklin quite often and our kids have asked to go on it for what feels like forever. So finally, we were able to get on the commuter rail and head into Boston. We went with my parents and my two sisters and their families. We brought 9 kids to Boston ages 1-9!

First things first, what did we pack for the day?

The night before we made sure waters were filled, sandwiches were made, and snacks were packed. We purchased this great cooler backpack from Amazon for this summer, and it has definitely been worth the $20. I made sure to pack bandaids, Active spray, lotion, a change of clothes (for our potty training 3-year-old), and hair ties just in case. We also made sure to pack a deck of cards and the card game version of Guess Who for the kids to play with on the train. Set the coffee pot timer on my Ninja and off to sleep we went.

My sisters both packed strollers for their youngest. The strollers were easily stored on the train above our heads (and on the bus ride home – more about this later – they were easily stored in under-bus storage). There was even enough room for the umbrella strollers to go in the seats with you on the train if needed to keep it closer to you.

Getting on to the Commuter Rail.

Our train was leaving Franklin (Forge Park/495) at 8:17 AM, so we had an early wake-up call to get everyone up, dressed, and out the door. Once arriving at the stop, we parked the car and paid our $2 parking fee easily by using the parking app. Since the Forge Park stop is the first one on the route we got to get the best seats on the train – the tables! The conductor came around and asked for payment for tickets (cash or credit are taken). We did the Weekend Fare pass which gives you unlimited rides for the weekend at $10 per adult. Kids ride for FREE! He even gave the kids extra tickets to hang on to as souvenirs.

The ride in was smooth, and we got into South Station just after 9:15 AM. South Station is under construction so it was a little chaotic when we first got off, so we paired the kids up. Big kid with a smaller kid so that we could keep track of all nine kids.

The places we visited while in Boston.

When planning our trip we knew our destination stop was South Station. So we picked sites to see that were an easy walk from there for all the little legs. Our first stop was walking over the Congress Street Bridge to see the ships at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. After the bridge, we stopped and took a photo at the Children’s Wharf Harborwalk.

The next stop was the Boston Children’s Museum. The kids had so much fun even our bigger kids had a great time. Highly recommend this museum. It was larger than I first thought, and we could have stayed there longer if we didn’t want to explore more. Things to know when planning a trip there:

• They offer stroller parking in the museum so you don’t have to bring it everywhere, but if you need it you can move around with an umbrella stroller or a small single stroller.
• They have an indoor space where you can eat at tables that also has bathrooms and a bubbler (a free way to fill up those water bottles we brought). They also offer outdoor seating with tables and benches near the Milk Bottle Plaza.
• The elevator is huge so it easily fits all of us so we didn’t have to split up the group which we have to do at other museums in Central Mass.
• Our favorite areas were the STEAM Lab, New Balance Foundation Climb, Kid Power, and Raceways.

Next up, we went next store to Martin’s Park. The playground offered great areas of shade and also a water garden to cool off with. The kids had a blast on the ship – they did not want to leave! I highly recommend visiting this park when you go. The last stop was coffee, water, and pastries from the Sorelle Bakery & Cafe at the Atlantic Wharf. We went back to the Harborwalk and watched the views while the kids ate their pastries and we chugged our ice lattes.

The trip back was eventful, but the kids still had fun!

We headed back to South Station earlier than planned for some of us because we were all hot and tired. We were excited to get home and swim in the pool, but the MBTA had other plans. Our train was scheduled to leave at 2:17 PM. When we got there it was on time, but shortly after the board switched to bus substitute. And that is when we all started to panic.

The MBTA employee walked us outside to wait for the bus to come. She was so sweet and felt so terrible for us. But she made sure we got on that first bus back to Franklin. So our kids not only got their first train ride – they also got their first bus ride! The kids weren’t phased by the bus one bit they were all fascinated and most of them even took a nap (it took 2.5 hours to get home).

At the end of the day, we asked the kids how it went. And they all asked when we were going back on the train! They had so much fun. So even with some hiccups in our day taking the commuter rail with kids into Boston was not only possible but also a day to remember and so much fun!