A Boston tradition! Footloose on the Freedom Trail is a 3 hour guided walking tour of the entire Freedom Trail from the Boston Common and Massachusetts State House to the U.S.S. Constitution offered every Independence Day.
Walk the 2.5-mile route with us on this patriotic tour through 16 historic sites, as it winds its way through the various special events. There's no better time to do it than on the Fourth of July, no better way to start off the day, and no better way to celebrate America's birthday!
The Declaration of Independence broadside printing prepared by John Dunlap arrived in Massachusetts via express riders on July 15, 1776 and was printed in Ezekiel Russell's American Gazette, a Salem newspaper, on July 16.
Colonel Thomas Crafts read the Declaration from the balcony of the Town House on July 18, 1776, the same day it appeared in The New-England Chronicle, Vol. VIII No. 413, published by Edward E. Powars & Nathanial Willis.
The 4th of July is a very exciting day in Boston. Downtown festivities include the reading of the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House, the turnaround of the U.S.S Constitution, reenactments, military parades, concerts, and ceremonies honoring a number of our Founding Fathers such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
The tour ends in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Following the tour, you may wish to check out the USS Constitution Museum or enjoy the views on a water shuttle trip back to downtown. Celebrations throughout Boston continue through the day and conclude with the Pops concert and fireworks display over the Charles River.
Boston celebrates July 4th for six days, and so do we! Check out our Boston Harborfest events.