Walden Pond

Beautiful and peaceful place for hiking, swimming, picnicking and exploring. After leaving Boston to continue up the New England coast, my first stop was to hike around the celebrated Walden Pond in Concord, MA. My first visit. Writer, transcendentalist and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), spent two years living in a cabin on its shore and provided the foundation for his famous 1854 work, "Walden; or, Life in the Woods." Thoreau was inspired by former enslaved woman Zilpah White, who lived in a one-room house on the common land that bordered Walden Road and made a living spinning flax into linen fibers. White's ability to provide for herself at a time when few if any other Concord women lived alone was a singular accomplishment. Thoreau's account of his experience at the pond made it famous. The land at the north end of the pond was owned by Thoreau's friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who let Thoreau use it for his experiment. Thoreau's writing is credited with encouraging a respect for Nature. Today Walden Pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a 335-acre state park that was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Check it out! “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Beautiful area for swimming, hiking and a picnic. Water is clear and scenery is fantastic and awe-inspiring! Please remember to carry out your trash. Let’s keep this historic area clean and free of debris. Dogs are not allowed at the pond area. Parking cost minimal, and is limited so either come early in the morning or later in the day to avoid the morning rush.