Concord, Massachusetts
Walden Pond
Photo: ptwo from Allahabad, India, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A 102-foot-deep pond a glacier left behind, a path all the way around it, and the spot where Thoreau built his one-room house and lived for two years.
Written for ages 4–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
A glacier made this pond, and it is a hundred and two feet deep — deeper than most buildings are tall. In 1845 a man called Henry Thoreau built himself a little house with just one room, near the water. He lived there for two years and two months, writing, gardening and watching the pond. We are going to find the spot where his house stood.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about 2 hours at the park.
- Parking
- Large lot off Route 126 at 915 Walden Street. $8 with Massachusetts plates, $30 out of state, by card at the machines or online, no cash. The lot closes when the park fills, often on hot days.
- Underfoot
- The House Site Trail is universally designed: stone dust, 5 to 7 feet wide, about a mile out and back from across the visitor center. The path around the pond is dirt, with gentle slopes and some uneven ground.
- Stroller
- A stroller works on some of it.
- Bathrooms
- There are bathrooms.
- Food
- No fires or grilling. There are no trash barrels on the beach, so carry out what you bring.
24 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
6 things to spot, 3 places to get to and 3 things growing.
Every game includes this one
Where The House Really Stood
Make it to the spot where the real house actually stood.
A few of the others
Two Years And Two Months
Henry Thoreau lived out here two years and two months. Work out whether you could.
Listen For The Train
The railroad still runs past here. Stop and listen — Henry Thoreau could hear the trains from his house too.
The North Shore
Get around to the north shore, the side he lived on.
See The Bottom
Find a place where the water is so clear you can see all the way to the bottom.
A Cove The Ice Made
Find one of the little coves the glacier scooped out when it melted.
A Hundred And Two Feet
The pond is 102 feet deep. Work out how many of you standing on each other that would take.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Also around Concord
Great Meadows Refuge — Concord Unit
Concord
Two big man-made pools with a dike trail between them, a lookout tower by the parking lot, and a refuge bird list of over 220 species. No dogs allowed.
The North Bridge
Concord
The rebuilt wooden bridge where militia were first ordered to fire on British soldiers, with the Minute Man statue on one bank and an obelisk on the other.
Play this at Walden Pond
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.