Most-underrated (accessible) stop
Jaden’s favorite part of the trip was the Public Garden. At the Public Garden, accessible paths wound through the grounds and down to the water’s edge. He found a spot on the wall, picked up some sticks, and spent a long time in the sun watching ducks drift past.
“It may seem that ducks in a park are hardly worth traveling for,” Jenn says. “But I beg to differ. An accessible and welcoming space for a family to unwind and enjoy together without barriers is a rare treat.”
She means this literally; spaces that do not require constant management, where she does not have to scout for ramps or negotiate with steps or explain her son’s chair to well-meaning strangers, are not the default. When a place works, the absence of friction is its own pleasure.
What to know before you go
Start small, Jenn says. Boston is a reasonable first city for families traveling with a wheelchair user precisely because it has made genuine efforts at inclusion and because the issues that arise there tend to be recoverable. The only way to find out what your family is capable of is to go somewhere and find out.
Download the GoWhee App before you land. It locates accessible playgrounds and spaces that would be nearly impossible to find through a standard search. Filter your Google Maps routes for accessibility before you confirm them. Call hotels directly and ask specific questions: not whether a room is accessible, but whether a wheelchair fits through the bathroom door, whether a family can navigate the room, and whether the accessible option has more than a king bed.
Book the Old Town Trolley for at least one full day. It covers the city, accommodates wheelchair users without advance logistics, and provides a narrated tour that does significant orientation work that would otherwise take days to piece together on your own. For a family with a child who loves history, it’s rare to find an activity that’s worth the time.
And leave room in the schedule for the thing you didn’t plan. The pulley at the Children’s Museum was not on anyone’s itinerary. Neither were the ducks. Neither was the restaurant that turned out to be so memorable.
“Everything feels overwhelming when it’s the first time,” she says. “The only way to know what you’re capable of is to try.”
The bottom line
Group size: Five (2 adults and 3 kids)
Days on the road: Four—driving from Pennsylvania with only two full days in the city.
Transport cost: $90 in gas, $14 in tolls
Cost of hotels: We stayed on Marriott Bonvoy points
Cost of food and activities: $400. The Boston Children’s Museum is part of Museums4All, offering $3 admission to families with a disability ACCESS card (for the card holder and three guests).