Walden Woods

hammer on Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 02:53 pm

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I'm going. Who's been?

Here's what I know I think:

Walden State Reservation Park manages the pond and about 300 acres of park, and the park stays busy during summer.

I'm a hiker and backpacker, but I'm fully aware that I won't be entering a wilderness area or any such like.

Walden Woods Project states that Walden Woods amounts to around 2600+ acres, 80% of which is accessible by the public.

Anybody know much about this subject?

Def. High

Surfdead on Saturday, June 1, 2019 – 07:44 pm

Used to go skinny-dipping at

Used to go skinny-dipping at night there in the 60s/70s. Don't think you can do that anymore.

I hear it's very crowded these daze, and parking is near impossible. Maybe go on a day with crappy weather?

hammer on Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 01:01 pm

I've been concerned about

I've been concerned about crowding and admission, especially since we're driving to Walden from west Kentucky.

I plan to arrive before they open each day, and maybe going on weekdays will work in my favor.

I haven't figured out the story on the Walden Woods acreage that's outside the park but supposedly accessible to the public.

Minute Man National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Walden Pond State Reservation (DCR)
Walden Woods Project FAQ
Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary

ateix on Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 03:00 pm

Sure, Bostonian checking in.

Walden Pond fills up really early during spring and summer. They sometimes reach capacity as early as 9 or 10am. Sounds like you are aware of that already.

Not far from the Walden Pond site is the Minuteman National Park, which has a bike path that goes all the way out to the Alewife area where there is public parking (for a fee), as well as the end of an MBTA train line, which works in your favor in case you are staying in the city. It's a nice ride from Alewife, but you have to stow your car. The path passes through some suburban land, through Cambridge, Concord, and Lincoln and lots of interesting sites. Once you reach the trailhead in Lincoln, you're barely minutes from Walden Pond.

As to public access at Walden Woods, I've never been, but the trailhead appears to be the nonprofit's HQ at the "Thoreau Instute" (link). Since they are managed separately from Walden Pond, there is likely no capacity limit, so you could do the (very short) walk around the Pond site and then move over to the Walden Woods property.

I definitely recommend checking out the quaint tiny downtown area in Concord. Lots of posh little stores and nice to walk around.

Finally, check out Drumlin Farm, which is (technically separate from, but right next to) the headquarters for Mass Audubon. Again, it's in the immediate area of Walden Pond, and again it's just a short walk as far as trails go but the sanctuary also serves as a working farm and education center (which is brand new and is completely powered by solar.

Some resources I used:

There is way nicer hiking in the area, just maybe not the immediate area, so if you are interested in a longer walk check out some of the resources on AllTrails or the DCR site, or ask for a recommendation here, but Lincoln/Concord is definitely a nice day trip, so I hope some of this info is helpful.

hammer on Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 05:15 pm

Many thanks for the insight,

Many thanks for the insight, Ateix. I feel much more oriented because of your post.

We plan to arrive very early the first day, parking at Monument Square and walking in for sunrise at WP, and we absolutely plan to look for additional hiking in the greater area.

Bay Circuit Trail maybe? I'll for sure check AllTrails.

ateix on Sunday, June 2, 2019 – 05:49 pm

Oh man I couldn't figure out

Damn, I couldn't figure out what you meant by Monument Square (thought you might be referring to the Bunker Hill Monument), but I get you now. That's a great idea. You'll easily have a whole day ahead of you if you plan on being at Walden Pond early, explore the area, and then spend some time at Walden Woods. By the time you get back into town you might be a little spent from all the walking, but I'd still recommend checking out Drumlin Farm, it's a beautiful little property.

It would be a bit much to walk Walden Pond > Walden Woods > Drumlin Farm. I'd save that kind of walk for a proper hike.

There are a few choices for nice hiking in greater Boston. You'd probably have to get into NH before you get into anything really challenging, but you can still get a very nice hike at either Blue Hills Reservation, or Middlesex Fells. Both have challenging trails and interesting landforms, particularly at Blue Hills. Those two would be the obvious choices. Plenty of smaller places around, too, but those are the best around the city for a "hike."

hammer on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 – 05:36 pm

I welcome any further

I welcome any further suggestions too about Boston or the area!

We're staying several days at Harold Parker State Forest, and we'll dedicate at least two of those days, likely three, to Walden/hiking.

We're considering spending one full day in Boston. For sure, we can't possibly take in the whole city in one day, so we thought about choosing one location/area of town/event, parking the car, and spending a whole day on foot in the city. But we're clueless about Boston, and we don't want to waste a day doing total tourist bullshit, or just driving around not knowing what to do.

I'm sure Walden Pond is going to have a considerable tourist factor, but I've read the book many times, and I've been saying for twenty years that one day I want to go. Since back when I was a kid, and I actually thought Walden Woods would be some vast wilderness.

But other than Walden Pond, we just want to get lost in the woods, or the city, or a good coffee shop full of people with northern accents.