They do not welcome groups of teenagers and actually told me (college professor) for me and my students not to come because it may be full! Now are are precollege art students-- and want to visit for two hours to sketch and draw- they said don't waste your time!

It's hard to believe that Walden Pond is just outside of Boston. But it is and - believe or not - it is serene. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes. The pond isn't a pond unless it's the biggest pond I've ever seen. It's a lake and it's a hike to go all the way around it. Don't worry - it's not a long or taxing hike. We did it in an hour (stopping to take pictures of the pond at every conceivable angle). Thoreau's cabin is long since gone. But Louisia May Alcott's father remembered where it was and passed along his knowledge. There's a neat tradition of adding a rock to a pile of rocks near where the cabin once stood. The only thing that marred the experience was a group of really loud teen-agers. There's nothing like being at one with nature while learning that Charlie is so much better looking than Zach.

We really enjoyed visiting Walden Pond. It is a beautiful setting and in July, at the time of our visit, there were swimmers enjoying private edges of the pond and swimming the expanses of the pond. We wished we had brought our suits, and also the mosquito repellent. We all had several big mosquito bites before we left. It took us a leisurely 2 hours to visit the Pond, walk around it, visit the associated sites and gift shop.

I became attracted to the writings of Henry David Thoreau because of his ideas and beliefs about life. So I figured why not a vacation there? So we planned a one week trip. To say it was fulfilling is an understatement. We saw not only Walden Pond, which is kept in pristine condition, but also Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Thoreau and all the other great writers of that area are laid to rest. There are many replicas throughout the town of Concord of the house that Thoreau built on Walden Pond to live in for 2 years. To look at the replicas gives you an idea of the house itself, which is very accurate. But the image that will be burned in my mind forever is when I went to Walden Pond and stood at the actual house site. I was overcome with many different emotions as if I was able to feel what Thoreau himself was conveying in his writings. I felt as if I was on hallowed ground. And I was. After reading Walden and then actually visiting the spot he was referring to was transcendental.
The Lyceum, which is next to the house where Thoreau lived, was filled with many artifacts that he actually used.
In closing, I would recommend this trip for anyone interested in Thoreau and his writings. You can never know or feel what it is like unless you stand on that original house site at Walden Pond.
Also, as an added bonus, Concord is the birthplace of the Revolution. So there other areas to explore relevant to that, especially the bridge site where the British first crossed and the farm house beyond the bridge from where the Colonists fired the first shots.
Overall not only educational, but transcendental.