“Welcome to colonial America.”
I had just boarded the Liberty Ride Trolley Tour under the midsummer heat. In minutes, Massachusetts Avenue blurred out of view, giving way to the Battle Green. Beyond lay winding fields, where the first muskets once cracked and paths where weary troops once marched in rhythm to the drumbeat of revolution.
The Liberty Ride collapses the centuries between the American Revolution and today, carrying its passengers straight to April 19, 1775. It’s a journey Lexington’s Tourism Committee first imagined in 2001, when the ride began as a pilot project.
“It started as a great connector between Lexington, the Minuteman National Park and Concord, and it provided a great experience for folks to be able to go to all these different areas and see the history for themselves,” said Jackson Rhodes, Tour Services Coordinator at Lexington Visitors Center.
The trolley departs from the Lexington Visitor Center and passes historic homes and landmarks, including those of famous authors such as Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as well as figures from the Battle of Lexington and Concord, like Jacob Whittemore. The tour runs twice a day Tuesday through Friday and three times a day on Monday and weekends.
Along the way, passengers stop at the Old North Bridge, where colonial militiamen first advanced on British troops.
What makes the ride special, however, is not simply retracing the militiamen’s path. The narration provided by guides brings the past to life, with stories tailored to each group of passengers.
While there is a designated script, tour guide Nancy Lynch said no two experiences for her are the same.
“Some drivers move a little more quickly, others more slowly, and in those moments, I have to improvise. I have a bunch of stories that I sometimes tell coming back from Concord to Lexington,” Lynch said.
The differences among rides come not just from timing, but from the passengers and tourists that come aboard.
“People come from states like California, Texas and New York, but we also welcome visitors from England, France and China,” said Margaret Coppe, chair of the Lexington Tourism Committee.
Each ride, Lynch makes a point of connecting those visitors from abroad to the importance of their country’s role in history: “Whenever French people come, I say, ‘Thanks so much for helping us.”
This year, Lexington tourism has surged with the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The town was named to The New York Times’ list of 52 places to visit in 2025.
“We see our ride as furthering and nuancing of interest into America’s history, introducing them to the significant peoples on both sides of the conflicts that were happening on that day,” Rhodes said. “There’s great complexity in that history.”
Outreach for the Liberty Ride has expanded far beyond Lexington. Ads for the trolley have appeared in the Celtics Yearbook and will soon appear in next year’s FIFA World Cup yearbook, according to Coppe.
“We also go to conferences that have national and international renown and develop relationships with other folks in our area and similar organizations across the country and the world,” Rhodes told LexObserver.
Though the Liberty Ride operates from April to October, the busiest times are in the fall, when tourists flock to New England for foliage and schools schedule history field trips.
“Fall is actually one of our busiest times,” Coppe said. “We also have a lot of school tours during this time and into the spring.”
As the Liberty Ride enters its 25th year, organizers hope to replace the rented trolley with an electric vehicle to better align with Lexington’s sustainability goals.
“We would like to replace it with an electric vehicle, in line with the goals of the community of Lexington, to get rid of relying on gas and fossil fuels,” Coppe said.
As Liberty Ride continues to adapt and grow, those involved in keeping it alive hope the experience for visitors is more than just a sightseeing trip.
“I want them to enjoy the tour and feel informed. But even more importantly, I want them to feel inspired by what this generation did all these years ago,” Lynch said.
I took this ride last weekend with another long-time Lexington resident and it was fantastic! The guide was great- she shared perspectives I hadn’t thought of, not just facts I had. Fascinating from the moment we got on to the moment we got off.
Great article! Actually, the first launch of the Liberty Ride was on July 8, 2002. The Liberty Ride trolley should be a MUST DO for every Lexingtonian, either for themselves, their children or out of town visitors. You think you know this history. . .but most of us don’t know the little stories within the broad sweep of April 19, 1775. Fascinating stuff!!