Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This thought was expressed by Henry David Thoreau over 160 years ago while living in the one-room cabin he built overlooking Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.

Thoreau conducted his experiment of living in solitude at the pond from July 1845 to September 1847. The spot where he built and lived in the cabin is preserved and marked. A sign stands that reveals the thought process underlying his experiment: “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.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The area is a state reservation protected from development thanks to the aid of Don Henley of the Eagles. His Walden Woods project, a nonprofit founded in 1990, has helped preserve 462 acres of woods surrounding Walden Pond.

A local developer had planned to construct a 139-unit condominium there when Henley got involved. Thanks to Henley, instead of parking lots, miles of hiking trails snake through the woods surrounding the pond. It’s a popular summer spot for vacationers from throughout New England.

Above the pond, just off the road that leads to the woods, stands a replica of the cabin Thoreau built. One can walk inside and imagine a two-year stay in the cramped space. A museum nearby contains some of the original furniture used by Thoreau, including a green wooden writing desk and rocking chair. You can see carvings on the desk that Thoreau may have etched in moments of contemplation (or writer’s block?). For someone like me who fell in love with Thoreau’s writings in college, it was quite a thrill to be here.

The town of Concord, about 19 miles outside of Boston, played a significant role in American history and literature. Along with Thoreau, it was also the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women.

Thoreau’s influence extends beyond his two-year experiment at Walden Pond – his writings on civil disobedience have inspired such twentieth-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This thought was expressed by Henry David Thoreau over 160 years ago while living in the one-room cabin he built overlooking Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.

Thoreau conducted his experiment of living in solitude at the pond from July 1845 to September 1847. The spot where he built and lived in the cabin is preserved and marked. A sign stands that reveals the thought process underlying his experiment: “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.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The area is a state reservation protected from development thanks to the aid of Don Henley of the Eagles. His Walden Woods project, a nonprofit founded in 1990, has helped preserve 462 acres of woods surrounding Walden Pond.

A local developer had planned to construct a 139-unit condominium there when Henley got involved. Thanks to Henley, instead of parking lots, miles of hiking trails snake through the woods surrounding the pond. It’s a popular summer spot for vacationers from throughout New England.

Above the pond, just off the road that leads to the woods, stands a replica of the cabin Thoreau built. One can walk inside and imagine a two-year stay in the cramped space. A museum nearby contains some of the original furniture used by Thoreau, including a green wooden writing desk and rocking chair. You can see carvings on the desk that Thoreau may have etched in moments of contemplation (or writer’s block?). For someone like me who fell in love with Thoreau’s writings in college, it was quite a thrill to be here.

The town of Concord, about 19 miles outside of Boston, played a significant role in American history and literature. Along with Thoreau, it was also the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women.

Thoreau’s influence extends beyond his two-year experiment at Walden Pond – his writings on civil disobedience have inspired such twentieth-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.