Suffolk County Highpoint Trip Report
Bellevue Hill (330+ ft)
Date: October 18, 2003
Author: Gene Daniell
I went down to Boston to see a football game and, as I usually do, I took the bus. I decided that it would be
interesting to use public transportation to bag this very urban high point. To do this, you take the "T" to
Forest Hills Station (the south end of the Orange Line, then take a #34 or #34E bus (Dedham or Walpole via
Washington Street). The bus will cost you $1 each way, so you need to have two dollars in change because
they don't make change on the buses (despite signs to the contrary, they do take dollar bills). You want to
get off at West Roxbury Parkway and it would probably be a good idea to mention this to the driver and
stay near the front because they'll only stop there if someone wants to get off (people who know the route
use the pull-wire to notify the driver) or if there's someone waiting to get on. It's not a catastrophe if you
don't get off at precisely the right place, because chances are that the bus will stop somewhere within a
quarter-mile of the right place and you'll just have to walk up Washington Street toward the obvious crest of
the hill - here in a fairly pleasant residential area. If you insist on driving here, there's a mini-mall with a
Burger King near the West Roxbury Parkway intersection where it would be quite easy to park.
From that intersection, roughly due east of the summit, there are several routes that ascend Bellevue Hill
from the West Roxbury Parkway near the intersection. The main difficulty lies in avoiding becoming
confused by the myriad of roads and beaten paths. Another convenient route is to get off the bus at the
LaGrange Street intersection, roughly due south of the summit, then follow LaGrange Street,
Bellevue Hill Road, and an obvious walkway with stairs steeply up the northwest side.