Everything you need to know before you join us on the Esplanade this Fourth of July!
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated Street Closures
July 3
- Esplanade walkway from Community Boating
- Oval area closed for Pops rehearsal
- No parking Mugar Way until 6:00 AM July 5th
- Storrow Dr. East and West from Charles Circle to the Bowker Overpass at 3:00 PM
- Berkeley St. at Beacon Street - Back St. traffic directed to Storrow West
July 4
- 7:00 AM-9:00 AM Storrow Dr. West bound from Leverett Circle
- 7:00 AM-9:00 AM Storrow Dr. East bound from the Bowker Overpass
- 4:00 PM Memorial Dr. West bound from the Longfellow Bridge
- 4:00 PM Memorial Dr. East bound from the BU Bridge
- 4:00 PM All side streets in Cambridge leading to Memorial Drive
- 4:00 PM Mass Ave.. bridge and Longfellow closed to vehicles
- 8:00 PM Mass Ave. and Longfellow closed to pedestrians
Prohibited and Allowed Items
To ensure the safety of all visitors to the Esplanade, the following rules will be strictly enforced for the concert and the Mugar Family Fireworks on July 4. Unless noted below, no backpacks, shopping bags, or similar type containers may be carried onto the Esplanade. All carried items are subject to inspection. Please note the regulation on bicycles.
Allowed Items
- Pop-up tents/canopies with no sides – maximum size 10’x10’.
- NOTE: Tents will need to be taken down at 6pm to allow for better visibility.
- Blankets or tarps no bigger than 10’x 10’.
- Folding/beach chairs only.
- Coolers must be carried in by shoulder strap or single handle (no wheeled coolers).
- All liquids need to be in sealed clear plastic containers not to exceed 2 liters in size
Prohibited Items
- No coolers on wheels.
- No backpacks.
- No firearms, weapons, sharp objects, or fireworks.
- No glass containers.
- All liquids need to be in sealed clear plastic containers not to exceed 2 liters in size
- No cans.
- No pre-mixed beverages.
- No alcoholic beverages.
- No grilling, propane tanks, or open flames.
- No bicycles will be allowed through the checkpoints into the Oval or Island/Lagoon areas. Bicycles are allowed throughout the rest of the venue but must not be left unattended. Bicycles attached or locked to security fences, poles, or other structures may be subject to removal.
- No drones / unmanned aerial vehicles
Boating Guidelines
- Stay 100 feet from shore
- Stay 1000 feet from barges
- Boats must anchor outside the Safety Zone indicated on guidelines document
- All vessels need to be anchored by 8:15pm
- East of barges are marked by buoys and Public Safety vessels
- West of barges, all vessels must anchor west of the Massachusetts Ave Bridge. NO BOATS WILL BE ALLOWED TO ANCHOR BETWEEN THE BARGES AND THE MASSACHUSETTS AVE BRIDGE
- Craigie Drawbridge at Museum of Science will be down from 9:30pm on July 4 to 12:01am on July 5
- Vessels over 12 feet in height must stay upriver of the Longfellow Bridge after fireworks. Vessels over 12 feet in height cannot clear drawbridge
- Boats will not be able to anchor within the "restricted areas," around barges or along the shoreline between Massachusetts Ave and Longfellow Bridges
- Boats will be allowed to transit the river in designated channels that will run along the Boston and Cambridge sides of the river until 7:15pm on July 4. Channel will not reopen until after the fireworks.
- Due to tidal conditions, longer wait times than normal may occur to pass through the New Charles River Dam.
- All Lagoons are closed to the public
- All public docks between Longfellow Bridge and Massachusetts Ave Bridge will be closed
- No access of any kind will be allowed at these docks
- Massachusetts State Police will monitor Channel 16 and enforce all restrictions
- The Charles River is a "No Discharge Area" and discharge of boat sewage or waste is prohibited
- Designated pump-out facilities are located at The Charles River Yacht Club (Cambridge, by MIT) and the Watertown Yacht Club.