About
The Alfond Memorial Spray Deck, located at 280 Charles St in Boston, MA, is a popular seasonal splash pad and playground area designed primarily for children and families. It features various interactive water sprays, fountains, and play structures, offering a refreshing and fun outdoor experience during warmer months. It's a free and accessible community amenity, often bustling with activity and providing a great way for kids to cool off and play.
As a spray deck rather than a traditional swimming pool, the Alfond Memorial Spray Deck does not feature heated or temperature-controlled water. The water temperature is typically ambient, reflecting the temperature of the city's water supply and the outdoor air, making it cool and refreshing on hot days.
What are people saying (AI review summary)? This park is highly praised for its free splash pad (spray deck) and decent playground with options for younger kids, all set against a beautiful riverbank backdrop. A new "Gronk playground" is expected to open soon. Public transportation access is good, being a short walk from Science Park and Charles station. However, parking is a significant challenge, with very little nearby, leading to recommendations to walk, bike, or use public transport. A paid parking lot (Charles street) is an option but requires a walk and specific payment method for weekend rates. Limited 2-hour parking is available at the park, but finding it and the park's river-side access gates can be difficult as they are not well marked. A separate, strong negative sentiment expresses disappointment over a disused pool at the location, which has been in disrepair and used for boat storage for decades, attributed to mismanagement.
Location
Gallery
Amenities
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Good for Children
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Accessible Entrance
Reviews
Listing Reviews
June 29th, 2025Rhys Probyn
Great free splash pad, adjacent to the Gronk playground which looks fantastic and should open sometime in the next several months. Better walk or ride bikes though because there is no parking nearby. Lack of parking does translate to less busy
July 24th, 2021Rebecca Gonzalez
I love the sprinkler s and the park next door. A shame there is no pool but upside at certain time u can literally see a helicopter lift off in to the air on on of the buildings. For someone who has no car science park is literally a 5 mins walk from this park and 10 min Charles station.
August 6th, 2017Saifadam Pathan
Had a hard time finding parking close by. I eventually found a paid parking lot - Charles street lot located at Pleasure road, Boston. They charge by the hour but if u pay on weekends in the lobby of Mass Eye hospital across the street, then its $14 for 12 hours. Took us around 8 min walk to get here from the lot. No directions, had to rely on Google maps and some common sense to get here. There is limited 2 hr parking available at the park too. The park itself has a beautiful setting against the river banks. The spray deck is a favorite of kids. They also have a decent play area with the usual swings, slides and more.
August 7th, 2023Katherine Spurlock
Accessible only from the river side of the playground and gates are not well marked. The splash pad is big and playground has lots of options for younger kids.
March 23rd, 2016Matthew
A Damn Shame! This pool has been sitting in disrepair for decades. If ever there was a tribute to mismanagement and shortsightedness, this is it! This lovely location for a pool is squandered as boat storage.
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Opening Hours
| Sunday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Thursday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Friday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
| Saturday | 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM |
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