Parks & Nature

The Concord River Boater’s Trail begins at the confluence of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers, at Egg Rock, where they join to become the Concord River. The river is slow-moving and easy to paddle in this section, so you can appreciate the rich natural and cultural sites along the way. 

Community gardening in Concord had its beginnings in 1973, when Dan Monahan, the Director of Natural Resources at that time, investigated the concept being practiced in other parts of the U.S. by those who remembered the success of the WWI and WWII Victory Gardens in local communities throughout the country.  

One April morning in 1872, William Brewster (1851-1919) took the train from Cambridge to Concord to go birdwatching with a friend. Making their way to a nearby farm, a local resident expressed surprise at their coming all the way from Boston to hear a Woodcock sing. 

Our New England days lose daylight and might even be a bit bleak at times, but it helps to keep our eyes out for warm colors and interesting nature to brighten our days. Reflections of water and ice often glow. The slanting light of winter and patterns of ice are delightfully complex in contrast with the direct light of summer. 

While the term “park ranger” might bring to mind the brown-hatted, uniformed men and women that we see so often, managing a national park requires a diverse staff of dedicated employees to conduct the many facets of park operations including visitor safety, building preservation and maintenance, landscape restoration, public education, and administrative duties. They may not all wear the brown hat every day, but they are all part of the park ranger system. Here is a snapshot of just a few of the rangers who work at MMNHP.

Concord is well known for its rich history and stunning natural beauty. As the warm days of summer arrive, residents and visitors alike deeply appreciate having access to national and state parks which provide a great way to get outside and enjoy nature. Here, we present the key features of two of our most popular destinations. 

There is so much to see in our natural world; colors, birds, flowers, critters, lovely patterns, and even pretty and interesting insects. To help you see as much as possible on your outdoor adventures, bring a camera, a nature app like iNaturalist, and a guide book such as the Audubon New England Field Guide, the creation of which happens to have been led by Concord resident, Peter Alden. The more we see and the more we learn, the more we want to know. When we are outside there are intriguing sights, even in our own yards. 

Artists, transcendentalists, abolitionists, civil rights advocates, and revolutionaries have been drawn to Concord from its very earliest days. There’s something in the air here…or perhaps it’s the ancient waters of places like Walden Pond…that moves a person to take action to protect this place.  We sat down with musician and passionate conservationist Don Henley, a founding member of the legendary band The Eagles, to learn more about what moved a native Texan to save a place that was precious to one of his own role models – Concord’s Henry David Thoreau.

Outdoor exploration is a fabulous means to slowly emerge from our strange, long year of hibernation. What better way to enliven ourselves than to view art in nature. Both have an extreme impact on our happiness index.

The Go Out Doors project was initiated by The Umbrella Arts Center in 2020 with the goal of bringing art to public spaces and answering the questions: What happens if you open the door and step outside? What happens if the opportunity to engage presents itself? What might we discover if, on foot or wheel, we find ourselves on a path through the woods – hidden from the roads we travel daily?

There are 812 acres of working farmland surrounding Concord and Carlisle and summertime provides a bumper crop of fresh fruit and vegetables; the options are beyond abundant. These working farm stands use every acre of farmland to provide healthy options for salads in every home! The standard fare of crisp lettuce, ruby red tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, and spicy hot peppers are available throughout the summer months. There are some standout varieties that provide unique twists at each farm stand. It is worth the wait and time to travel to these ‘grocery stores’ of summer. In a dash, the harvest can go from your grocery tote to dinner plate without needing more than a splash of oil and vinegar.