Walden Pond is one of my favorite places to swim. The beach is shaded by trees for large parts of the day, the bottom of the pond isn't icky, there's a nice swimming area outside of the roped, lifeguarded area that is perfect for adults who want to swim laps or just float around without crashing into children or being hit by frisbees.
The downside to swimming at Walden Pond on a hot day is the crowds. Later in the day, the parking often fills up and you can't get in at all. Even on a week day, it is pretty crowded. Granted, my trip this summer was July 5th, so I think a lot of people had extra time off for the holiday. But when I got there at 10:00 AM, even with the crowds, there was plenty of parking.
There are two sandy beaches, one large one near the bathrooms and changing rooms, and another smaller one that is to the right as you cross over from the parking lot. I believe only the large one has lifeguard coverage.
Facilities:
The bathrooms and changing rooms are clean, there are water fountains and usually an ice cream truck. If you're not a beach person, it's easy to follow your swim with a hike instead of hanging out in the sand.
Cost:
$5 for parking, but watch out for hot afternoons and weekends when the lots are full. It is disappointing to get all suited up and drive over only to find out that the lots are full and no one is getting in. Check out the Massachusetts State Parks annual pass, which for $35 lets you get into DRC parks free from January to December. I could easily make seven trips to Walden Pond, between cool weather hikes and summer swims, which would make the pass worth it for that park alone.
Location:
Right off Route 2, well signed, easy to access for anyone in Metro Boston or North Central Massachusetts.
Family-Friendly:
Absolutely. The main beach has sand for digging, shade so you don't roast your children, convenient bathrooms, and shallow water for swimming in the roped area.
Other Activities:
Hiking trails all around the pond, lots of people in kayaks and canoes and several adult swimmers taking long swims across the pond. Even though I believe the website says swimming across the pond is forbidden due to the depth of the kettle hole pond. I've swum across it myself, and while it's a short swim, it is definitely very deep and not a safe choice for anyone who is not a confident swimmer, accompanied by a friend.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
On the Road, er, Tracks, er, Road Again
I had a brainstorm this summer! I would take Amtrak when I went to visit my friend in NJ in August.
I have been driving down there since college because driving is convenient! I hop in the car at any hour, zoom down 287 and across the Tappan Zee Bridge, then the NJ Turnpike and/or the Garden State Parkway. It quickly lost its novelty, and the traffic (why has 287 been under construction since 1995?) became a unique form of torture. And the tolls kept going up!
It finally dawned on me that I have the whole summer off, and I can afford to take the trip a little slower. I scoped out Amtrak and found out that, although the ticket price varied throughout the day and week, for about $115 I could leave from Boston and get to Trenton, and that for a few dollars more I could take Light Rail to just a few miles from my friend's house! Between gas, tolls, aggravation and the cost of my time, the train was a huge bargain! I had visions of finishing book after book and strolling casually up and down the train car.
But I wasn't ready to lock in a train schedule, because I have an obsession with control and flexibility, so I didn't buy my ticket in June. (cue ominous music) I went to buy it a week before the trip and found out that the price had doubled! I whined to Kevin who said, "Oh yeah, they've been doing that for a few years, just like the airlines." AAAAARRRRGH!!
I couldn't believe it, but I also couldn't talk myself into driving down. So, Greyhound it is. It's little less convenient since I have to take the bus to Newark or New York Penn Station, then take a local train and then light rail. Plus it's a bus. It could be crowded, I get a little bus-sick, I have encountered more annoying or creepy bus passengers than train passengers, for whatever reason. BUT. I still don't have to drive.
Which is terrific, since this is my one big trip of the summer and I have to come back and start a class on the Monday after, so I have plenty of reading to do!
So I learned a lesson. Train travel is romantic, convenient, (at least traveling up and down the East Coast) and affordable. But only if you plan in advance. I may never have enough time to take the train again, because usually I am on a tight deadline when I travel, but maybe you will. Is it worth the trade-off in flexibility and convenience to let someone else do the driving?
I have been driving down there since college because driving is convenient! I hop in the car at any hour, zoom down 287 and across the Tappan Zee Bridge, then the NJ Turnpike and/or the Garden State Parkway. It quickly lost its novelty, and the traffic (why has 287 been under construction since 1995?) became a unique form of torture. And the tolls kept going up!
It finally dawned on me that I have the whole summer off, and I can afford to take the trip a little slower. I scoped out Amtrak and found out that, although the ticket price varied throughout the day and week, for about $115 I could leave from Boston and get to Trenton, and that for a few dollars more I could take Light Rail to just a few miles from my friend's house! Between gas, tolls, aggravation and the cost of my time, the train was a huge bargain! I had visions of finishing book after book and strolling casually up and down the train car.
But I wasn't ready to lock in a train schedule, because I have an obsession with control and flexibility, so I didn't buy my ticket in June. (cue ominous music) I went to buy it a week before the trip and found out that the price had doubled! I whined to Kevin who said, "Oh yeah, they've been doing that for a few years, just like the airlines." AAAAARRRRGH!!
I couldn't believe it, but I also couldn't talk myself into driving down. So, Greyhound it is. It's little less convenient since I have to take the bus to Newark or New York Penn Station, then take a local train and then light rail. Plus it's a bus. It could be crowded, I get a little bus-sick, I have encountered more annoying or creepy bus passengers than train passengers, for whatever reason. BUT. I still don't have to drive.
Which is terrific, since this is my one big trip of the summer and I have to come back and start a class on the Monday after, so I have plenty of reading to do!
So I learned a lesson. Train travel is romantic, convenient, (at least traveling up and down the East Coast) and affordable. But only if you plan in advance. I may never have enough time to take the train again, because usually I am on a tight deadline when I travel, but maybe you will. Is it worth the trade-off in flexibility and convenience to let someone else do the driving?
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Prospect Hill Park in the Snow
Yay! I went out and did something yesterday! Between winter weather (albeit pathetic, half-hearted winter weather), winter scheduling (working, meetings, family stuff, social stuff) and winter mood (I can't believe it's dark, again) I haven't been doing much of anything outside the house in my spare time.
So yesterday morning when we had to take my car out for gas, because I coasted into Waltham at midnight on fumes, we decided to head to Prospect Hill Park. We figured that between the predicted snow storm and the chunky drizzle we ended up getting, people would be home booking flights to tropical islands and we would have the park to ourselves.
For the most part, we did. There were a few walkers, and family driving an ATV around the parking lot, for no apparent reason. We parked in the Totten Pond Road lot. That first steep stretch of the trail almost did me in, but at least it's winter so it wasn't so sweaty. Now that we know the park better and don't take all the scenic detours off the main trail, walking to the radar tower at the top and back down to the car took us about an hour.
Prospect Hill is an especially interesting park because it is not impeccably maintained. It was once a ski resort and there are all sorts of artifacts along the trails if you know what you're looking for. We discovered a metal contraption - two hinges with a metal bar between them - that had been moved to a large rock near the shelters on the Boy Scout Trail. Kevin figured out it was probably the lap bar from a lift seat, and speculated that lots of detritus was chucked into the woods when the park closed for skiing.
There are two huge concrete buildings side by side near the top of the hill, and then a radar tower at the very top, near the end of the Ridge Trail. Kevin loves to wander around and tell me what things were used for, and I nod a lot and imagine I am on the set of Lost.
Next time I go, maybe in the spring, I would like to do the whole Ridge Trail. We went halfway down the rocky path from the top last time, but I was tired and started to worry about getting back up it and over the hill again, so we bailed. Next time we'll head all the way down, I hope.
So yesterday morning when we had to take my car out for gas, because I coasted into Waltham at midnight on fumes, we decided to head to Prospect Hill Park. We figured that between the predicted snow storm and the chunky drizzle we ended up getting, people would be home booking flights to tropical islands and we would have the park to ourselves.
For the most part, we did. There were a few walkers, and family driving an ATV around the parking lot, for no apparent reason. We parked in the Totten Pond Road lot. That first steep stretch of the trail almost did me in, but at least it's winter so it wasn't so sweaty. Now that we know the park better and don't take all the scenic detours off the main trail, walking to the radar tower at the top and back down to the car took us about an hour.
Prospect Hill is an especially interesting park because it is not impeccably maintained. It was once a ski resort and there are all sorts of artifacts along the trails if you know what you're looking for. We discovered a metal contraption - two hinges with a metal bar between them - that had been moved to a large rock near the shelters on the Boy Scout Trail. Kevin figured out it was probably the lap bar from a lift seat, and speculated that lots of detritus was chucked into the woods when the park closed for skiing.
There are two huge concrete buildings side by side near the top of the hill, and then a radar tower at the very top, near the end of the Ridge Trail. Kevin loves to wander around and tell me what things were used for, and I nod a lot and imagine I am on the set of Lost.
Next time I go, maybe in the spring, I would like to do the whole Ridge Trail. We went halfway down the rocky path from the top last time, but I was tired and started to worry about getting back up it and over the hill again, so we bailed. Next time we'll head all the way down, I hope.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
How to Get Rid of Your Christmas Tree
...and buy yourself an evening of festive warmth. How about a Christmas tree bonfire?
The Newbury, MA fire department is collecting trees until January 9th for their annual bonfire on January 14th. This is an interesting fundraiser for the local fire department that also gets your Christmas tree out of the house before it becomes a fire hazard.
You can park at the event for $5 and they are advertising beer, wine and warm food like chowder, coffee and fried dough. The event runs from 3:00 pm to 9:00, nice kid-friendly hours.
And it's held in the fields of the beautiful Tendercrop Farm in Newbury. If you go in the afternoon, you can take advantage of the excellent, as-local-as-possible-in-the-dead-of-winter produce, local meat and dangerously tempting baked goods. I have fond memories of buying Massachusetts-grown apples for (I don't think I'm exaggerating here) my Thanksgiving pies.
Check out the Newbury Fire Department website for the location info and bundle up the kids. Here's hoping for a warm night!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
New Year's Eve Traditions
Now that my brother and I are grown up, we end up with these hybrid holiday mash-ups at my parents' place, whenever we can get together and do it. Last year, we had a "Christmas" turkey one Saturday in February, and I kept wrapped Christmas presents for 13 months to give on this Christmas. We're also more likely to have Thanksgiving dinners with friends sometime in early November. It all starts to feel a little bit schizophrenic.
I'm ready now to start 2012 off right. And most New Year's traditions and customs seem to revolve around the belief that what happens on the first day of the year sets the tone for the next 364. So what do I need to do on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to make sure I don't blow the whole thing?
My grandma believes in the "First Footer," a Scottish tradition. She used to insist that a short, dark-haired man be the first person through her door after midnight (before anyone leaves), that he walk through the house and exit through a different door. Most traditions suggest that the First Footer should be a tall dark-haired man, instead, and that he should bring small gifts, like a lump of coal or some salt.
The way Grandma tells it, the shortest, darkest man in town can have a pretty great night walking in the front and out the back door of each house in the neighborhood, stopping for a drink on his way through and bringing a year's worth of good luck to all his neighbors.
My friend Amy tells me that putting your wallet outside in the last moments of the old year and bringing it back after the clocks strike 12 will bring money into your life in the New Year. I tried it with her one year, and I can't say I struck any notable windfalls. Oh well.
My mother always serves ham on New Year's, because her mother did, too. Although her reasoning is more logical than mystical, (we had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and two turkeys in a week is too much) some people believe that pigs bring good luck, because unlike other livestock, they root with their snouts while moving forward. Plus, they are delicious.
Then there are the traditions that we just follow because they are delicious, fun or safe. When we were kids, after my parents decided that even driving across town on New Year's Eve was too much to pull off, my mom made a big batch of homemade Chex mix and my dad picked up frozen puff pastry appetizers and an endless stack of Keystone Cops, Marx Brothers and Monty Python movies. I try to preserve some of that.
My favorite New Year's celebrations have been small parties with board games, low-maintenance snacks and ample beverages, where no one has to drive anywhere. I'm hoping to start 2012 off with those traditions this year, with as little anxiety as possible about "doing it wrong."
Good luck to all of us!
I'm ready now to start 2012 off right. And most New Year's traditions and customs seem to revolve around the belief that what happens on the first day of the year sets the tone for the next 364. So what do I need to do on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to make sure I don't blow the whole thing?
My grandma believes in the "First Footer," a Scottish tradition. She used to insist that a short, dark-haired man be the first person through her door after midnight (before anyone leaves), that he walk through the house and exit through a different door. Most traditions suggest that the First Footer should be a tall dark-haired man, instead, and that he should bring small gifts, like a lump of coal or some salt.
The way Grandma tells it, the shortest, darkest man in town can have a pretty great night walking in the front and out the back door of each house in the neighborhood, stopping for a drink on his way through and bringing a year's worth of good luck to all his neighbors.
My friend Amy tells me that putting your wallet outside in the last moments of the old year and bringing it back after the clocks strike 12 will bring money into your life in the New Year. I tried it with her one year, and I can't say I struck any notable windfalls. Oh well.
My mother always serves ham on New Year's, because her mother did, too. Although her reasoning is more logical than mystical, (we had turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and two turkeys in a week is too much) some people believe that pigs bring good luck, because unlike other livestock, they root with their snouts while moving forward. Plus, they are delicious.
Then there are the traditions that we just follow because they are delicious, fun or safe. When we were kids, after my parents decided that even driving across town on New Year's Eve was too much to pull off, my mom made a big batch of homemade Chex mix and my dad picked up frozen puff pastry appetizers and an endless stack of Keystone Cops, Marx Brothers and Monty Python movies. I try to preserve some of that.
My favorite New Year's celebrations have been small parties with board games, low-maintenance snacks and ample beverages, where no one has to drive anywhere. I'm hoping to start 2012 off with those traditions this year, with as little anxiety as possible about "doing it wrong."
Good luck to all of us!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
10 Ways to Get Into the Holiday Spirit Without Spending a Fortune
The older I get, the shorter the time between Halloween and Christmas becomes. When I was a kid, the months of November and December were endless, even with all the days off from school. What is there to do between the time you hit the bottom of the Halloween candy bucket and the time you open your stocking on Christmas morning, while your exhausted parents slurp their coffee and bake last-minute Christmas treats?
Now I can't seem to find time to catch my breath, let alone catch the holiday spirit. There's the cooking and travel of Thanksgiving (not to mention all the dishes!) followed immediately by Christmas shopping, Christmas travel and cleaning for all the holiday company.
In years past, I found myself wandering the mall, foot-weary and wild-eyed, spending too much money on uninspired gifts for people I didn't care enough about to justify the stress I was experiencing. And with no snow yet, it all just seems pointless.
Even if you are without religious commitments for Christmas, there is still plenty to celebrate, including the end of another year, time with friends and loved ones and the Winter Solstice, which is on December 22nd this year.
Here are some ways to enjoy the magic of the holiday season without being caught up in religious or retail activities.
1. Watch something. Try a holiday classic for the whole family like A Charlie Brown Christmas or Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Charlie Brown is available on Hulu right now, and Emmet Otter is available for streaming on Netflix. If those are too wholesome, enjoy Die Hard, The Holiday, or Love Actually.
2. Mull something. Wine or apple cider, warmed with spices like cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods makes your house smell cozy and inviting.
3. Give something. Collect your gently worn clothing and winter coats and donate them to Goodwill or to a local coat drive. Someone will be warmer this winter because of your effort and you will get a head start on your "Out with the old" New Year's resolution. Or set up a small, regular donation to a local food bank or other charity of your choice. A few minutes spent this season will help your favorite organization throughout the year.
4. Bake something. Ask your mom or grandma for your favorite childhood cookie recipe. Or, heck, search the internet for something chocolate-y or cinammon-y that you can share with friends and co-workers, or polish off yourself while watching Miracle on 34th Street for the 34th time.
5. Decorate something. Put up a tree, or if that's out of your budget (trees are expensive, dude) decorate your doorways or string a frame of lights around a window or section of wall. Hang garland, ornaments or holiday cards around the lights. Don't forget to get some mistletoe!
6. Walk somewhere. If you're not up for decorating your place, enjoy someone else's decorations. Walk down Main Street to see the decorations in the stores and at city hall or at the local park. Stop and ponder just how long it must take to light all the trees on the town common. Or bundle up and find a neighborhood with excellent lights and ogle them. Travel mugs of cocoa (with peppermint schnapps, if you'd rather) make this a little warmer on windy nights.
7. Plan something. Christmas is pretty much the end of the year. Take some quiet time to think about what you're proud of this year and what you'd like to do differently. Because if you wait until January 1st to make your resolutions, you might end up with "drink less" and "eat less Brie and more vegetables" because those are the sins on your mind. You are getting the gift of a whole new year to do amazing things, so taking an hour or so to decide what's important is a small investment.
8. Wear something. Pick out a cozy sweater or a shiny blouse in red or green or silver. Find some dramatic snowflake earrings or an outrageous wreath pin. If you can't do it earnestly, organize an ugly holiday sweater event with your co-workers, and invite everyone to wear their most outrageous Christmas-wear. Look for something good at the thrift store when you donate those winter coats.
9. Make something. It doesn't matter if you are a master knitter or if your medium is magazine scraps and Elmer's glue. Decorate some cards or make a gift for someone special. Quick items like warm slippers or a handmade washcloth given with fancy soap make a thoughtful (and inexpensive) gift for a friend or relative.
10. Wrap something. It's tempting to wait until the last minute to wrap the gifts you bought and made this December. I mean, it's just paper, right? And isn't it more environmentally friendly to just give your presents in their shopping bags? Right, sure, but they look so nice all wrapped up, either under your tree or tucked in a corner of your living room. Put on the Christmas carol station on the radio and wrap gifts a few at a time.
Before you know it, Christmas will be here, and you, my skeptical, over-busy friend, will be ready. Happy Holidays!
Now I can't seem to find time to catch my breath, let alone catch the holiday spirit. There's the cooking and travel of Thanksgiving (not to mention all the dishes!) followed immediately by Christmas shopping, Christmas travel and cleaning for all the holiday company.
In years past, I found myself wandering the mall, foot-weary and wild-eyed, spending too much money on uninspired gifts for people I didn't care enough about to justify the stress I was experiencing. And with no snow yet, it all just seems pointless.
Even if you are without religious commitments for Christmas, there is still plenty to celebrate, including the end of another year, time with friends and loved ones and the Winter Solstice, which is on December 22nd this year.
Here are some ways to enjoy the magic of the holiday season without being caught up in religious or retail activities.
1. Watch something. Try a holiday classic for the whole family like A Charlie Brown Christmas or Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas. Charlie Brown is available on Hulu right now, and Emmet Otter is available for streaming on Netflix. If those are too wholesome, enjoy Die Hard, The Holiday, or Love Actually.
2. Mull something. Wine or apple cider, warmed with spices like cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods makes your house smell cozy and inviting.
3. Give something. Collect your gently worn clothing and winter coats and donate them to Goodwill or to a local coat drive. Someone will be warmer this winter because of your effort and you will get a head start on your "Out with the old" New Year's resolution. Or set up a small, regular donation to a local food bank or other charity of your choice. A few minutes spent this season will help your favorite organization throughout the year.
4. Bake something. Ask your mom or grandma for your favorite childhood cookie recipe. Or, heck, search the internet for something chocolate-y or cinammon-y that you can share with friends and co-workers, or polish off yourself while watching Miracle on 34th Street for the 34th time.
5. Decorate something. Put up a tree, or if that's out of your budget (trees are expensive, dude) decorate your doorways or string a frame of lights around a window or section of wall. Hang garland, ornaments or holiday cards around the lights. Don't forget to get some mistletoe!
6. Walk somewhere. If you're not up for decorating your place, enjoy someone else's decorations. Walk down Main Street to see the decorations in the stores and at city hall or at the local park. Stop and ponder just how long it must take to light all the trees on the town common. Or bundle up and find a neighborhood with excellent lights and ogle them. Travel mugs of cocoa (with peppermint schnapps, if you'd rather) make this a little warmer on windy nights.
7. Plan something. Christmas is pretty much the end of the year. Take some quiet time to think about what you're proud of this year and what you'd like to do differently. Because if you wait until January 1st to make your resolutions, you might end up with "drink less" and "eat less Brie and more vegetables" because those are the sins on your mind. You are getting the gift of a whole new year to do amazing things, so taking an hour or so to decide what's important is a small investment.
8. Wear something. Pick out a cozy sweater or a shiny blouse in red or green or silver. Find some dramatic snowflake earrings or an outrageous wreath pin. If you can't do it earnestly, organize an ugly holiday sweater event with your co-workers, and invite everyone to wear their most outrageous Christmas-wear. Look for something good at the thrift store when you donate those winter coats.
9. Make something. It doesn't matter if you are a master knitter or if your medium is magazine scraps and Elmer's glue. Decorate some cards or make a gift for someone special. Quick items like warm slippers or a handmade washcloth given with fancy soap make a thoughtful (and inexpensive) gift for a friend or relative.
10. Wrap something. It's tempting to wait until the last minute to wrap the gifts you bought and made this December. I mean, it's just paper, right? And isn't it more environmentally friendly to just give your presents in their shopping bags? Right, sure, but they look so nice all wrapped up, either under your tree or tucked in a corner of your living room. Put on the Christmas carol station on the radio and wrap gifts a few at a time.
Before you know it, Christmas will be here, and you, my skeptical, over-busy friend, will be ready. Happy Holidays!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Walden Pond
Walden Pond Reservation is one of my favorite parks in central Massachusetts. It is perfect for a summer beach day, if you don't mind the crowds, it is beautiful and quiet for a quick swim on a fall morning, and it is beautiful for a walk when the weather is too cold for swimming. It's easily accessible from Route 2, and parking is $5 per car.
It turns out it is also amazing in the fall. Walking trails wrap all the way around the pond.
Walden Pond also has the unique opportunity to see a replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin, the place where he wrote Walden.
The original cabin site is there too, further into the woods on the other side of the pond.
We got to the MBTA railroad tracks that border the north edge of the pond.
Back at the main beach, I lost my ever-loving mind, took off my shoes and socks and waded into the pond. Confidentially, that was my plan all along, and if it hadn't been quite so leafy, and if I had remembered my towel , I would have waded in a little further. It was beautiful! And it made a passerby say "Hot diggity!" People are strange.
Anyway, I highly recommend this as a day trip. In the summer, DCR recommends that you call ahead and make sure they haven't hit their cap of 1,000 visitors at a time. I've never had this problem, but I avoid going when it's super hot. The main beach features a building with bathrooms and changing areas. There is often an ice cream truck on site when you're all heated up from swimming or hiking. I get why Thoreau picked it, even if I think he might have been a selfish tool. A great writer, don't get me wrong, but a tool.
Total time: 2 hours
Distance: Nearly 1 mile along the Esker Trail, about 1 mile around the east side of the pond. Total: A bit less than 2 miles.
Cost: $5 for parking
Words of Wisdom: Bring a map because the trails are not clearly marked. It's very difficult to get lost, but we had a lot of questions and uncertainty along the way.
It turns out it is also amazing in the fall. Walking trails wrap all the way around the pond.
Walden Pond also has the unique opportunity to see a replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin, the place where he wrote Walden.
The original cabin site is there too, further into the woods on the other side of the pond.
Anyway, Kevin and I went west along the pond from the main beach and then went up to the Esker trail when we reached the boat launch area. There were tons of families with young kids, couples, teens and other, larger groups all around the pond, but once we got up to the Esker trial, people were more spread out and it was a very nice walk. The leaves remaining on the trees were beautiful, and so were the golden leaves all over the trails.
 |
| Two roads diverge in a wood...I know, wrong New England writer. |
 |
| I really like this shrub, so much that I wanted to see the pond through it. Don't judge me. |
 |
| Wyman Meadow is a little damper than I usually like my meadows, but it is supposed to be top notch for wildlife viewing. |
We got to the MBTA railroad tracks that border the north edge of the pond.
Then we followed the pond around to Thoreau's Cove and the site of his original cabin. Apparently people bring rocks to the site to commemorate...something... This is where they thought the original house was, until they found the remains of the chimney in 1945.
These stones mark the boundaries of the original cabin.
From there we crossed a cute little boardwalk, then accidentally ended up back at Route 126. We ducked back into the woods and took the Ridge Path and the Sherwood Trail (maybe?) back to the beach.
 |
| See how happy we were about it? |
Back at the main beach, I lost my ever-loving mind, took off my shoes and socks and waded into the pond. Confidentially, that was my plan all along, and if it hadn't been quite so leafy, and if I had remembered my towel , I would have waded in a little further. It was beautiful! And it made a passerby say "Hot diggity!" People are strange.
 |
| Moderately chilly. |
The pond itself is a glacial kettle-hole, 102 feet deep at its deepest point. That's one reason swimming across it is forbidden, which, um, I didn't know...on my last visit. I am bummed that I missed the chance for an October swim this year. Maybe I can get back in the early spring, before the crowds of sane people dust off their beach towels.
 |
| This is right after Kevin said "Be careful or you will get your pants wet." It is clearly too late. |
Once my feet dried a little, we went back to the cabin replica, and I checked out the signage while Thoreau looked confused about Kevin's phone.
 |
| Oh, I always wondered what my pond looked like from the air! |
Here is a really cool post describing the construction of the house and giving some stats. The cabin is cozy and it makes me want to buy a Kindle and retreat from real life for the winter. Which, I'm pretty sure, is the modern equivalent of what Thoreau did. He was all, "You guys, stop being so commercial! It's way lame! Hey, Emerson, can I borrow some money and land so I can be Transcendental for a while? BRB and I'll dedicate my book to you, I swear!"
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| Excuse me while I fantasize for a moment about ditching all my belongings and moving in here. |
Anyway, I highly recommend this as a day trip. In the summer, DCR recommends that you call ahead and make sure they haven't hit their cap of 1,000 visitors at a time. I've never had this problem, but I avoid going when it's super hot. The main beach features a building with bathrooms and changing areas. There is often an ice cream truck on site when you're all heated up from swimming or hiking. I get why Thoreau picked it, even if I think he might have been a selfish tool. A great writer, don't get me wrong, but a tool.
Total time: 2 hours
Distance: Nearly 1 mile along the Esker Trail, about 1 mile around the east side of the pond. Total: A bit less than 2 miles.
Cost: $5 for parking
Words of Wisdom: Bring a map because the trails are not clearly marked. It's very difficult to get lost, but we had a lot of questions and uncertainty along the way.
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