Last week, we had a brief taste of winter, with snow, rain, and ice. Some paths were plowed, but warmth equalized conditions pretty rapidly. Last Monday night's freeze prompted me to change my tires to studded ones on Tuesday morning, and they have come in handy ever since.

Saturday opened with very cold temperatures, but fairly clear roads and paths for a ride to the Egleston Square Winter Market in Jamaica Plain. It started showing by late afternoon while I drove(!) out to the suburbs to cut a Christmas tree, and I multi-moded by bike and Orange Line downtown for Boston Common lights and a movie. Biking on unplowed local streets on the way home late Sunday night was fun, but getting going early Sunday morning for 9:15 choir rehearsal was a challenge, though by then, Boston had done a pretty good job of plowing major and connecting streets. I was pleased to get to practice before neighbors who had to shovel out their car. The snow had kept up through the night, through a partial thaw with drizzle on Sunday morning into a deep freeze Sunday afternoon through Monday. The succession of thaws and freezes, rain, snow, and ice, made it hard for various government agencies to clear the streets, let alone the paths, as you will see from the summary below.

Please send updates and reports on the conditions of other paths in Massachusetts to Jessica Mink.

Arnold Arboretum 1.5 miles of park roads which are mostly closed to automobile traffic with no intersections Boston Parks and Harvard University	Not checked, but I'm sure that it was plowed, though the surfaces will be icy,
Blackwell Footpath A half-mile gravel path connecting the Forest Hills MBTA station and the South St. Arboretum entrance Boston Parks and Harvard University	I didn't check it, but it is certainly not plowed and icy
Washington St. Bike Lanes A mile of bike lanes on both sides of Washington St. from Forest Hills to Roslindale Square and beyond on Belgrade Ave. Boston Public Works Department	They were pretty clear right after the snow, but got snowier and icier as people shoveled off their cars into the bike lanes, which happened throughout Metro Boston.
Arborway "Bike Lanes" 1 mile of wide paved shoulder which is unmarked but usually clear of parked cars during rush hour Department of Conservation and Recreation,	Not checked.
Franklin Park Roads Much of the park loop road is closed to motorized traffic and there are bike lanes on the main road. Boston Parks and Public Works Departments	Not checked
Centre/South Bike Lanes A mile of bike lanes through the heart of Jamaica Plain from Jackson Square and the Southwest Corridor to Forest Hills Boston Public Works Department	Clear with occasional snow shoveled onto them and cars parked further from the curb into the bike lane.
Jamaicaway Bikepath 1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights Boston Parks Deparment	Boston Parks and Recreation plowed it early in the storm, and sanded and salted some of it, but it was still very icy on Monday morning even though it started the weekend totally clear.
Perkins St. Bike Lanes 1.5 miles of mostly bike/ped-separated paths paralleling a busy 4-lane parkway; two intersections with traffic lights Department of Conservation and Recreation	Not checked, but partial blocked even before the storm.
Olmsted Park Paths 3/4-mile of mostly bike/ped-separated paths built over Riverdale Road, across Leverett Pond from the Jamaicaway. Brookline Park Department	Not checked.
Parkway and Netherlands Rd. Contraflow bike lanes Two one-block contra-flow lanes plus and contraflow cycle track Brookline Park Department and DPW	The bike lanes were pretty clear by Monday morning, but the contraflow cycle track was totally unplowed and impassible.
Muddy River Path 12-foot-wide 0.6 mile shared bike/ped path with no intersections Brookline Park Department and DPW	Plowed, sanded, salted, and pretty rideable, with a few icy patches on Monday morning.
Commonwealth Ave. Bike Lanes Connecting the B.U. Bridge to Boston University Boston Transportation Department	Mostly clear on Monday morning.
Brookline Bike Lanes Town of Brookline	Not checked.
B. U. Bridge Bike Lanes Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation, Plowed By Mass. Highway Department	Fairly clear on Monday morning
B. U. Bridge west sidewalk Boston to Cambridge Department of Conservation and Recreation, Plowed By Mass. Highway Department or B.U.	Plowed with occasional icy patches on Monday morning.
Harvard (Mass. Ave.) Bridge bike lanes Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation, Plowed By Mass. Highway Department	No report, but probably clear
Longfellow Bridge bike lanes Cambridge to Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation, Plowed By Mass. Highway Department	The southbound lane was narrowed a lot by snow, with width varying from negative on the Cambridge end to almost completely plowed in the middle of the bridge.
Charles River Bikepaths Narrow, shared bike-ped path with few intersections Department of Conservation and Recreation	The Cambridge-side path was very icy and rough from the B.U. Bridge upstream on Monday morning; I bailed at Magazine St.
J.F.K. Park Wide, shared bike-ped path from river to Harvard Square Department of Conservation and Recreation	Not checked but probably plowed.
N. Harvard St. bike lanes Boston Boston DPW	Not checked, but probably plowed at least partway.
Lincoln St. to Cambridge St. MassPike Bridge Bike/Ped connection from Harvard Square to Allston's Harvard Ave. district via Franklin St. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority	Not checked, but probably clear
Southwest Corridor Bikepath Separated Bike/Ped path with poorly-designed intersections Department of Conservation and Recreation	Plowed smoother than the Charles River path, but very icy on Monday night. I wouldn't recommend riding it without studs.
South Bay Harbor Trail Bike/Ped path from the Federal Court House up Fort Point Channel to the Southwest Corridor City of Boston	Not checked.
Neponset Trail Mostly paved Bike/Ped path Department of Conservation and Recreation	Not checked.
Somerville Community Path Wide rail trail from Davis Square to Cedar St. City of Somerville	Not checked, but probably plowed.
Red Line Linear Park Path Alewife MBTA station to Davis Square over Red Line City of Cambridge City of Somerville	Not checked, but probably plowed
Danehy Park Paths City of Cambridge	Not checked, but probably plowed
Cambridge Bike Lanes Striped lanes of varying widths on major and connecting streets City of Cambridge	Often under snow and/or parked cars, but Mass. Ave. lanes were fairly clear in Harvard Square. Lanes on smaller streets tended to be clearer, though the main travel lanes were narrowed, so you have to take the lane anyway.
Vassar St. Cycle Track Buffered bike lanes from Main St. to Memorial Drive (almost) City of Cambridge	Not checked.
Fresh Pond Bike Path Parallel to Fresh Pond Parkway in Kingsley Park City of Cambridge	Not checked yet
Concord Ave. Cycle Track Buffered bike lanes from Belmont to Fresh Pond Parkway City of Cambridge	Not checked yet.
Alewife Parkway Bridge Sidewalk Connection from Minuteman Bikepath to Fresh Pond and beyond Department of Conservation and Recreation	Not checked yet.
Minuteman "Commuter Bikeway" Towns of Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford	From Bruce Kulik (2013-12-13): Mostly plowed between Mill Street Arlington and through Lexington. Some small pockets of ice scattered throughout the trail. Bridges are generally icy but ridable. Bridge across 128/95 is treacherous. NOT PLOWED IN BEDFORD between Westview and Wiggins. Currently covered with ice. DETOUR WB on trail: SB on Westview, WB on Summer/Maguire, NB on Wiggins to reconnect. Reverse if EB on trail. Wiggins to Depot Square in Bedford plowed. There was enough residual ice on the trail this evening, that I bailed at Rt 4 in Lexington, on the way back home to Medford, and took Mass Ave the rest of the way though Lexington and Arlington. From Rod Holland (2013-12-15): Drove by several of the at-grade road crossings of the Minuteman in Arlington and Lexington this evening. Looks like it was plowed, but also looks pretty icy. Some road crossings in Arlington look messy. Studs are probably a good idea.
Upper Charles Reservation Watertown, Newton, Waltham 4+ miles of paved and unpaved bikepaths Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation	Not checked.
Stony Brook Reservation Hyde Park 4+ miles of paved bikepaths Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation	These paths aren't plowed because they get relatively little transportation use and because they are used by cross-country skiers like me. There are marked narrow bike lanes on Enneking Parkway through the reservation which are probably clear.
Former Metropolitan State Hospital Belmont, Waltham paved bikepaths Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation	Not checked yet.
Assabet River Rail Trail Hudson and Marlborough, so far Town of Hudson, City of Marlborough (so far)	Not checked, but probably not plowed.
Northampton Bikeway East-west across the City of Northampton City of Northampton	Craig Della Penna, who lives next to the path, has reported that it is the intention of the DPW to make it passable ASAP after a storm. If the storm is significant, then they plow it repeatedly --sometimes 10-12 times during the course of the storm to ensure its usability.
Norwottuck Rail Trail Northampton to Amherst Department of Conservation and Recreation	No report.