Nearly half a million people from around the world visit Walden Pond yearly to see where Henry David Thoreau lived and penned “Walden,” and I recently joined them. Now a state park, the Walden Pond State Reservation area is an internationally famous National Historic Landmark and is considered the birthplace of the conservation movement.
Today, many people use the area for swimming, hiking, boating, and fishing. In the two years, two months and two days Thoreau lived there from July 1845 to September 1847, it was a quiet bit of untouched nature, perfect for creating a “Life in the Woods.”
GETTING TO WALDEN POND
I first read Thoreau as a teenager and immediately admired his boldness and dedication to his principles, even if his ideas seemed radical to me at the time. Little did I know that I’d go on my own “radical” adventure many years later.
When I finally arrived at Walden Pond, I’d been traveling full-time for nearly two years . My solo road trip took me through most of the United States and a bit of Mexico and Canada. When I planned my route, leaving from Michigan, I could have headed east instead of west and gotten to Walden Pond sooner, but I needed to find my own woods first.
For me and many others, Thoreau’s experiment gave us the courage to be bolder in our own lives.
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Henry David Thoreau
It makes sense that those who relate to Thoreau will eventually end up at Walden Pond, in pilgrimage and in thanks.
ARRIVING AT WALDEN POND STATE RESERVATION
I made my way to Walden Pond in late June through winding wooded back roads. Though I arrived by 9 a.m., the lot was already filling. The parking fee for Massachusetts residents is nominal, but for out-of-state visitors, it costs $30 to park, payable at the meters.
It was surprising to see so many people. I’d hoped for an hour of solitude before they arrived. Still, I underestimated what they already knew – that early arrival is the only way to ensure a spot. Though it holds a few hundred vehicles, the parking lot often closes once full. The park doesn’t allow street parking and visitors who arrive after the lots are full will be turned away. Having traveled long distances to see these woods and being unable to visit would be tragic.
A visitor’s center is adjacent to the lot, but I skipped it to get into the woods before people arrived.
FIRST SIGHT OF WALDEN POND
As I headed across the street to the pond, I joined in with half a dozen others carrying rafts, towels and heavy-looking bags. Just across the road, the pond comes into view. There, a few dozen people lazed in the summer sun.
The energy thrummed as exhilarant people rushed to stake out a good spot.
When Thoreau lived in these woods with permission from the owner – Ralph Waldo Emerson – he would have mostly had the beach to himself. Sometimes, he noted grifters or a few other locals who fished or bathed in the lake, but mostly, he was alone.
The beach was small and narrow, but there was another smaller, less populated beach through a wooded trail.
I stood quietly at the edge of the woods to reflect on where I was. Finally, I was in this place I’d imagined many times in my mind’s eye. I’d envisioned him here, sawing logs, fishing, and writing transcendentalist ideas by the light of his candle.
“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
THE WOODS AND TRAILS AT WALDEN
Off to my right, I took a trail between the woods and the pond. The day was a fine bright yellow the wood thrushes chirped a melody as I passed.
At the start, I crossed many people nestled in shady nooks and crannies alongside the pond. The day was windless and the water, still untouched by beachgoers, was as still and clear as glass. It sparkled in the morning sun and cast reflections of the woods surrounding it.
Fun Fact: The pond is a famous example of a kettle hole. A kettle is a depression or cavity filled with clear water when glaciers retreat.
Environmentalists worry that clear sparkling water may become murky from overuse. It’s a problem from which all national and popular parks suffer. With large numbers of visitors, education about how to protect the environment is more critical than ever.
The further I walked, the fewer people I saw, as it always is on any trail. Before long, I was alone, as I have often been on my solo journey these last few years.
“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
Henry David Thoreau
CONSERVATION OF THE WOODS
The trail was well-trod leafy, and the sun just rising overhead cast a golden light across the water. Once I got away from the beaches, the shouts of the crowds began to fade, and nature took over. A little past the people, a gaggle of geese lounged in the morning sun. I sat nearby on a large rock, watching them and reestablishing peace of mind.
“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”
Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau wrote that he spent four hours each day walking in nature. He began his mornings seeing what nature and animals had done overnight and observing in great detail the subtle changes of the nature around him. I wanted to honor that sentiment, but the parking lot and the crowds had me in a rushing mood. Now, I took a moment to recalibrate. I must remember not to rush through gobbling up this place with sightless eyes but to go slowly, listen, see, and smell.
The scent of crushed pine came to me. I’d barely even noticed it over the smell of automobiles, sunblock and new plastic inflatables. I breathed it in slowly and reminded myself where I was and why I’d come here.
“All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be.”
Henry David Thoreau
Like Thoreau, I was seeking answers I would never find in the consumer accumulation I’d once lived. Realizing it, I quit my corporate job, handed back my status as a conformist and packed a few essentials into my van. I’d lived like a turtle for a year and a half before arriving here. I’ve borrowed places monthly and moved around, seeking out the facts and learning what they had to teach.
I rolled through this country from end to end and traveled south to Mexico and north to Canada. Finally, I’ve come to Walden Pond. If my travels have taught me anything, it’s not the place itself but what it brings out of us. Thoreau’s ideas, created in this place, were powerful. We visit these places, hoping some magical energy might get into us too.
“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
Henry David Thoreau
ARTISTS AND WRITERS ON THE TRAIL
The woods are fragrant and bright green with tree roots that make fine footing over pine needle pathways. Near the lake’s midpoint, there is a rise and a clearing where the path leads up. Park managers have placed wooden signs along the trail with quotes from Thoreau and other writers and artists. They guide you toward the place Thoreau lived.
The cabin is gone, but pillars mark where it stood. Nearby a large cairn made of small rocks stacked neatly on top of larger ones is nearly as large as the cabin would have been. They are everywhere and at the top of the tallest pile is a long wooden hiking stick.
The space of the cabin is the size of an American walk-in closet. It was 10 feet by 15 feet and held a fireplace, table, desk, bed and three chairs. Of the chairs, he said, “One for solitude, two for company and three for society.” A replica of the cabin and furniture is near the parking lot.
I believe that we leave our energy in places meaningful to us and Thoreau surely left his here. The pilgrims like myself have added to it with our reverence, making it a singular place. I continued along the trail, and now that the day was warming, I passed a few people. Everyone walked in silence, unlike other popular trails where conversation sometimes abounds.
LOOP TRAIL AROUND WALDEN POND
There are several trails near the lake, but the main one is the two+ mile loop around the entirety of the pond. At the far end of the pond, the noise faded almost entirely. Squirrels bound past, geese flapped their wings, and I once saw a fish jump. Suddenly, a train blew its horn, snapping me out of my trance. I recalled then that Thoreau wrote about watching the train – which didn’t stick in my memory.
The variation in the path came only from the shift of light as it crossed overhead, the call of the animals in the trees, and the rippling at the water’s edge. If you stayed long enough, you could make a study of these things.
As I neared the end of the loop, the shouts of children and parents’ admonishments drifted over the water to my ears. Sunblock and rubber beachball smells overtook the crushed pine. Once again, I was out of the woods.
THE VISITOR CENTER
Near the parking lots, there’s a 5,680-square-foot wood and glass visitor’s center. In the spirit of conservation, the center features locally sourced timber, low-flow plumbing, extensive insulation, and high-efficiency windows. There I found a bookstore, gift shop and exhibits.
A bust of Henry David overlooks the space and exhibits that interpret his life. There is a 3-D map of the area, a timeline of Thoreau’s stay at Walden Pond, and various artifacts attributed to him. On the wall, an electronic map asks visitors to say where they came from or a place special to them to “identify their Walden.” Locations from around the world are marked.
In a back room, a 20-minute film on Henry David Thoreau produced by Ken Burns tells you most of what you already know about the man and presses home the importance of nature in our lives.
Nearby, there is a replica of Thoreau’s cabin.
Good to know: Right down the street, you’ll find Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and, within it, the graves of Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and other well-known names. Read a post about Sleepy Hollow here.
IF YOU VISIT WALDON POND
Thoreau lived at the pond for two years, two months and two days. After leaving, he spent the rest of his life surveying, lecturing, working in his family’s pencil factory, and publishing essays. He was just 44 years old when he died
Once he discovered what there was to find in the woods, he had to leave them so he could teach others. To stay forever on the looping path around the pond would have meant little. It was what he learned that was important. That he shared what he learned is our benefit. Thoreau went into the woods to develop his ideas and live the life he imagined, but we each have our own “woods” to explore so we can become who we might be.
“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”
Henry David Thoreau
BEFORE YOU GO TO A NATIONAL SITE
National parks and historical places are some of our most treasured and irreplaceable resources. The National Park Service encourages us to follow the Leave No Trace principles and:
- Respect others. There is space for everyone. Be kind to all who use the outdoors differently.
- Leave no trace. Respect the land, water, wildlife, and Native communities.
- Plan and prepare. Visit in small groups when possible. Eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.
- Travel and camp on durable surfaces. Use existing trails and campsites only. Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
- Dispose of waste properly. Pack it in, pack it out. Including all trash, leftover food, and litter you may find.
- Leave nature alone. Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
- Respect wildlife. Observe wildlife from a distance; do not approach them and never feed them. Control and leash your pets at all times.
- Be considerate. Yield to others on the trail. Camp away from trails and others. Avoid loud voices and noises.
- Make it better. We all have a responsibility to sustain the places we love.
Read other stories about historical sites I’ve visited here .
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