Walden Pond

    "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." Walden, the famous novel by transcendentalist author Henry David Thoreau, has touched the lives and minds of people around the world, but the seeds for the ideas in the book sprouted here at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. The waters of the pond are remarkably clean and are a vivid blue-green hue. Swimmers splash from shore to shore, and at the waters edge grow a variety of native plants. Today, half a million people visit Walden Pond each year to pay homage to Thoreau and his philosophy. Walden Pond may just be one small pond, but its influence and beauty are great and far-reaching.

Cairns built to honor Thoreau

The site of Thoreau's original cabin

Replica of Thoreau's cabin

Indian pipe, native

Indian pipes, also known as ghost pipes, are rare flowers. They only grow above ground for one week per year to disperse their seeds before withering into blackness and retreating into the soil. These ghostly flowers do not perform photosynthesis; instead, they are mycoheterotrophic, meaning they obtain nutrients by parasitizing fungi on plant roots.

Oh, the irony of the Walden Pond gift shop! What would Thoreau say about this blatant commercialism built up around his book and his legacy?

Concord

    Concord is the town adjacent to Walden Pond. Here, Thoreau stocked up on supplies during his stay at Walden Pond. Truly, it is a cute and peaceful town, a perfect example of a small New England community.

Common Daisy