On Pond Road off Mass Ave, past a narrow bridge which allows the Minuteman Bikeway to pass overhead, a corrugated concrete boat ramp opens out onto the 103-acre body of water known as Spy Pond. Spy Pond, like Hill’s Pond in Menotomy Rocks Park, is a kettle hole pond, formed in a cavity left behind by a piece of a retreating glacier.
During the 1800s, Spy Pond’s winter ice was a major commodity for Arlington, providing major income for ice shipping businesses and encouraging the development of more infrastructure, including the railroad. Business dropped off in the late 1800s after the introduction of refrigerators, but the pond remained a main recreation spot for locals. The the Arlington Boys and Girls Club has a dock on the water, and Spy Pond Park, with its playground, picnic area, and boat ramp, is open to the public. There’s a parking lot, and if visitors would rather bike, the Bikeway runs right alongside. The town recently started offering canoe and kayak rentals by Spy Pond in the summer.
As of August 2019, the playground was closed for construction. Arlington’s Vision 2020 Spy Pond Committee and the nonprofit organization Friends of Spy Pond Park (FSPP) are working on restoring and maintaining the pond’s health and making improvements to the park. Updates on Spy Pond Park’s status can be found on the Arlington Recreation website.
A privately owned park on the other side of the pond, Kelwyn Manor Park, has a beach, two sports fields, and a playground. The town has two more sports fields: Spy Pond Field by the Boys and Girls Club, and Scannell Field just past Spy Pond Park in the opposite direction.
In addition to being fun for humans, Spy Pond provides food and shelter to many species of birds and fish. It has a bit of a goose problem, and FSPP suggests that visitors should not feed the geese. Elizabeth Island, a 2-acre island in the middle of the pond, remains undeveloped under the care of Arlington Land Trust and is home to native plants and wildlife. Arlington’s cryptid Lizzy (possibly an escaped Komodo Dragon, if she exists at all) is rumored to live there too.