Concord contains two of the most significant sites in American cultural and political history within 3 miles of each other: Walden Pond (where Thoreau lived from 1845 to 1847 and wrote Walden, or Life in the Woods*) and the North Bridge (where the first organised armed resistance to British forces took place on April 19, 1775 - the shot heard round the world). The MBTA Fitchburg Line from Boston's North Station takes 40 minutes.
Getting There
MBTA Fitchburg Line from North Station to Concord: approximately 40 minutes. Trains run roughly hourly on weekdays. The station is at the southern edge of Concord town; the historic sites are within 2-3 miles by foot, bicycle, or taxi.
Note: April is historically significant in Concord. The Battle of Concord took place on April 19, 1775. The Boston Marathon runs on Patriots' Day (the third Monday in April), which commemorates this battle. Concord marks Patriots' Day with ceremonies at the North Bridge; the marathon weekend and the Concord commemorations sometimes coincide.
Walden Pond
Walden Pond State Reservation (parking fee for cars; free for pedestrians and cyclists): the pond where Henry David Thoreau built a small cabin on the shore and lived from July 4, 1845 to September 6, 1847. The pond is 61 acres; the walking path around the perimeter is approximately 1.7 miles - a good recovery walk at post-marathon pace.
The replica cabin at the parking area is a reconstruction of the cabin Thoreau built from secondhand materials for $28.12. The site of the original cabin is marked on the north shore of the pond - a stone cairn from the reading society that places stones there annually. Thoreau's two-year experiment in deliberate simplicity and the book it produced are the basis of American environmental thought.
Swimming: Walden Pond is a swimming area in summer but typically cold in April. The water clarity is exceptional - Thoreau measured it at 107 feet depth. Post-marathon, the flat perimeter walk is more appropriate than swimming.
The Conservation Land adjacent to Walden (Estabrook Woods, 1,000 acres of old-growth forest and wetlands to the north) has trails suitable for recovery walking.
The North Bridge
Minute Man National Historical Park (free, National Park Service): the park protects the sites of the Battle of April 19, 1775, including the North Bridge over the Concord River where Concord Minutemen (civilian militia) turned back British Regulars who had marched from Boston to seize colonial arms stored in Concord.
The Old North Bridge: the reconstructed wooden bridge over the Concord River where the engagement took place. The Daniel Chester French sculpture of the Minute Man (1875, the same sculptor who made the Lincoln Memorial Lincoln) stands at the bridge approach. The flat meadow on both sides of the river gives the site its openness - the Continental Army positions on the hill, the bridge, the British position on the far bank.
The Visitor Center on Liberty Street has a film explaining the events of April 18-19, 1775 (the Paul Revere ride from Boston, the Lexington engagement, the Concord battle).
Concord town centre (Concord Center): the Colonial-era town common, the First Parish Church, the Colonial Inn (operating as an inn since 1716 - the correct overnight option). The Concord Museum on Cambridge Turnpike (entry approximately $12) has the original Emerson study and personal effects of the Transcendentalist community.
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery: the grave of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott are all on Authors' Ridge, a gentle hill above the main cemetery area. One of the most significant literary graves concentrations in the United States. Free, always open.
Where to Stay
Concord's Colonial Inn on Monument Square (operating since 1716): the main inn in the town centre, the most atmospheric option. The North Bridge Inn on Monument Street: boutique B&B near the bridge. Motel accommodations are available on Route 2 west of town if the historic options are full.
Where to Eat
Colonial Inn restaurant: traditional New England cooking in the 1716 building. Saltbox Kitchen on Sudbury Road: farm-to-table lunch option. The Cheese Shop on Main Street: deli for provisions for the Walden Pond walk.
Practical Notes
- Concord is 20 miles west of Boston.
- Post-marathon timing: Tuesday after the Monday race - trains run normally, the town is quiet after Patriots' Day.
- April in Concord: 8-14°C, overcast likely. Walden Pond is green, not brown.
- Return to Boston: MBTA Fitchburg Line from Concord to North Station, 40 minutes.
- Nearby: Lexington (12 miles east by Route 2A) has the Battle Green where the first shots of the Revolution were fired - prior to the North Bridge engagement. Combined day trip from Boston, or extension from Concord.