Last spring we were able to travel to Boston, Massachusetts so my husband could attend a business conference. While I actually think Boston is a small enough city that you can see a lot of the major attractions in a long weekend, we had the luxury of being there for five full days. With this extra time, we were able to venture outside of Boston proper to see some fantastic Massachusetts history: specifically, the literary spots in Concord.
As a former English teacher and lifelong book nerd, I get extremely excited when we are visiting somewhere with “famous author” sites. Some of my favorite places that I’ve visited have been former homes and haunts of some of my favorite historical authors. When I found out that we were going to be able to take a day trip into Concord, I was beyond excited. Concord has a surprisingly rich literary history for such a small town (just over 17,000 as of the 2010 census), and luckily for me (and for other nerdy visitors like me), most of the sites are close enough for a walking tour.
I don’t know how Concord ended up being the home of some of my favorite authors of all-time, but I’m so glad that so many of them chose to live in such close proximity! I knew there were quite a few literary sites to see in Concord, but I really struggled to find a ton of information on them before we visited. This inspired me to put together my own literary guide to Concord. I hope it’s helpful for my fellow bibliophiles who find themselves in the area in the future!
Of course we planned stops to see the Old North Bridge and the site of the “Shot Heard Round the World”, as pictured above, but what we were most excited about were the literary sites to be found in Concord. You’ll find the spots in the order we visited them below.
Step One: Getting There
Because we stayed in Boston for the entirety of our trip and most of our sightseeing was within walking distance, we didn’t have a need for a rental car during our stay. I actually think Boston is one of the most walk-able cities that I’ve ever traveled to, which is a major plus if you prefer foot traffic to actual traffic, like I do. There are a few different ways to get to Concord without having to rent a car, though if you do prefer the car route it’s only about twenty miles outside of Boston and seems to be a fairly easy drive.
- You can try to find a tour that stops there. We looked at a few options but either nothing fit our schedule or nothing fit what we were hoping to do (explore the literary guide) in Concord. One tour went past most of the author sites without actually stopping at them, and what’s the point of that?
- You can take public transportation. We actually considered this option seriously before deciding that we didn’t want to juggle our visit around train schedules. It does seem to be fairly easy (and pretty cheap) to take the train, so if you’re a budget traveler and have time to spare, I’d definitely recommend that option.
- Good old fashioned Uber. We are millennials, of course, so Uber is usually my go-to. This was probably the longest Uber ride I’ve ever taken (about 30 minutes from our pick-up in Downtown Boston to Monument Square in Concord), but it was worth it for the convenience of being able to leave whenever we wanted.
Step Two: Put on Your Walking Shoes
Here’s an important disclaimer: While all of the sites on this literary guide are in Concord and are relatively close to each other, this IS a rather extensive “walking” tour. We ended up putting on about ten miles throughout our day in Concord and I had very sore toes by the end. If you aren’t up for quite so much walking, feel free to Uber, use your rental car, or rent a bicycle from ata cycles to get around a bit easier! We knew the sites were a bit spread apart, but we were still surprised at the distance between some of them, especially Walden Pond.
We started in Monument Square because that’s what the directions I originally found online said to do. However, this added almost a mile to our walk on what was a very blustery and cold day. If you are in Concord strictly for literary sites, I’d suggest you get dropped off directly at The Old Manse, stop #1 below!
I’ve included addresses for each spot below, so you can easily map your way from stop to stop or switch up the order as you wish. There’s also a custom Google map embedded below. Click on the pins to see more information about each spot, or send it to yourself via email using the “share” link so you can consult it when you’re on the go! I’ve included a downloadable graphic at the end that includes the addresses as well.
(I do also have to give credit to New England Travel Planner’s Concord Walking Tour guide. This was the only information I could find online about how to visit each of the sites! I’ve borrowed from this for the order of the sites below, because this is how we visited them. I’ve also added my own notes based on our experience and what I wished I would have known before we set out that would have made our visit a little less cumbersome.)
Stop #1: The Old Manse (269 Monument Street, Concord, MA 01742)
Hours vary by season.
Grounds tour: Free / House tour: $10
Formerly the home of both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, this is a lovely old house within yards of the Old North Bridge, where “the shot heard round the world” rang out in 1775. While the bridge is not technically an author spot, it is beautiful and historic and will only add a few minutes to your trip.
To tour the manse is $10 for adults and tour dates and times vary by season. Unfortunately we did not get to go inside (as was true for several other houses due to the season of our visit), but it was neat to walk around the grounds and think about the amazing writers this house has seen.
Stop #2: Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (Bedford St, Concord, MA 01742)
Hours: 7a-7p daily
Free
While it may seem a little dark to include a cemetery on a guided tour of a town, I’ve always thought visiting historical grave-sites was pretty interesting, and for a literature buff, this cemetery holds the jackpot. What you’re looking for here is a section called Authors’ Ridge. On this raised hill you’ll find the graves of Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau. Although the graves themselves may be more spread out than you picture, what an immense amount of talent in one small town, right?
To get to Sleepy Hollow, there are two options. The first option is to walk into the backside of the cemetery on part of the Bay Circuit trail. This trail starts on an unmarked path right before Barttlet Road. We opted for this walk, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you are visiting in the winter or early spring. There was still snow on the ground during our visit in March and the trail was somehow both very icy and exceptionally muddy at the same time.
Option two is to go in through the front gates and proceed to the far right corner of the cemetery. There’s even a stone that points to where Authors’ Ridge is if you enter this way, so it’s a little (okay a LOT) easier to navigate.
Stop #3: Ralph Waldo Emerson House (28 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, Massachusetts 01742)
Open April to October. Tours vary daily.
House tour: $10
Once you’ve had your fill of the macabre (and likely left a pencil or two at the headstone of your favorite author for luck and prosperity in writing), head back out the front gates and to The Emerson House. When we visited, this landmark was unfortunately closed for the season. If you want to visit, make sure you check the hours on the website above.
Stop #4: The Orchard House (99 Lexington Road, Concord, Massachusetts 01742
Open year round; hours and tours vary.
House tour: $10
Childhood home of Louisa May Alcott and her family, this is where Alcott wrote her debut novel, Little Women, that is loosely based on her life with her sisters. Because Orchard House is open year round, we were able to take the tour here, which was really nice and led by passionate and well-spoken guides. The tour is also the only way you can see the full house and get the insider scoop on the family. You’ll see where Louisa wrote and lived, and then you can stop in the gift shop and pick up copies of her books as well as other bookish apparel and items.
Stop #5: The Wayside (455 Lexington Rd, Concord, MA 01742)
While the Alcott’s also once lived in this house, I was more excited that this spot was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s residence in Concord. Right next to Orchard House, this is a large and grand-looking house. Unfortunately our timing was off again, and it was closed for the season. The Wayside was recently remodeled in 2016, and I believe that free tours are given here, but it was very difficult to find any information online. There is a phone number on the Google listing, so if you have your heart set on seeing the house, I recommend making a phone call before you go!
Stop #6: Walden Pond (915 Walden St., Concord, MA 01742)
Open 8a-4:30p daily.
Free
For me, this was the pinnacle of our itinerary. Walden is one of my all-time favorite books, and somehow the older I get, the more I understand why Thoreau wanted to live completely alone in the woods.
Besides the replica of his cabin, there is an excellent Visitors Center here. Inside, there is an interactive digital map of the world where you can place your own “Walden” using touch screens. Everyone who has visited has left their mark on the map, and it’s fun to see the variety of places. I thought this was really neat and I can see kids really enjoying this as well.
Directly across from the visitors center is the aforementioned replica of his cabin as well as a statue of him. If you cross the road, there are trails that lead to the real Walden Pond. It’s about .5 miles to the site of his original cabin. The foundation of the cabin remains as well as a sign bearing a quote by Thoreau. If you have read Walden, it’s definitely worth this short walk to see the site, even on a wintry day. If the weather is fair, you can also choose to walk a path that circles the entire pond. This path is about 1.7 miles in its entirety.
A literary guide to Concord- a recap and my top tips:
This may be my longest blog post ever, but I really wanted to make it easy for anyone who was searching out the literary spots in Concord and needed an itinerary. Even in the freezing March winds of Massachusetts, this was one of the most fun days I’ve spent while traveling. If you use this information for your visit, let me know how it goes! I’d be happy to update the post with newer information or other tips that you uncovered.
- Wear comfortable shoes if you plan to walk the entire route.
- Be prepared to have to wait and/or pay if you want to tour the houses. Nearly all of them are paid and guided tours if you want to see the full interiors.
- Plan ahead for closures based on the time of year you visit.
- Bring pencils or pens to leave at the gravestone of your favorite author. You never know, maybe it’ll bring you inspiration to pen your own great American novel. 🙂
Happy reading and nerding out, fellow bibliophiles! 🙂
Read some of my favorite books by the authors featured in my literary guide to Concord:
About Post Author
