Massachusetts
Where to Swimrun in Massachusetts
Looking for safe and fun place to swimrun in Massachusetts? Check out our Swimrun Guide from swimrunners around the globe on their favorite spots.
Swimrun in Concord, MA
Name: Greg D. of the Boston Wet Sox
City, State and County for your training course: Concord, MA, USA
Give us a brief description of the course and what you like about it.: Walden Pond of Henry David Thoreau fame is a crystal clear lake surrounded by woods and miles of trails about a 30 minute drive outside of Boston. The pond is a local hot spot for triathletes, open water swimmers, and trail runners. The pond itself is one of the cleanest in Massachusetts and is closed to motor boats making it an excellent place to swim. The pond is about a half mile wide swimming straight out from the boat house and a quarter mile wide in the other. Numerous meandering wooded trails surround the pond. Additional trails are easily accessible across railroad tracks and on the other side of Concord Road. Trails range from rooted single track to wider groomed trails; nothing super technical. For a SwimRun course, the pond can be accessed from any of a dozen or more coves and small beaches around the pond and with the numerous meandering and crisscrossing trail network it is easy to put together a SwimRun of any length from a few miles to more than 20.
Any important details that swimrunners should know about?: Walden Pond is a state reservation with strict capacity limits. On hot weekend days it will close to additional visitors before 8 AM. It will re-open later in the day, but when is never specified. The best way to check up on closures is their twitter account (@waldenpondstate). Parking is $8 to MA residents and $30 for non-MA residents (assessed based on license plates) paid at the automated kiosks around the lots.
In non-covid times, the small souvenir shop at the main visitor's center offers small snacks and fluids when running low on fuel. But when doing a long SwimRun I usually leave a bag of water bottles and snacks on the main beach and return as needed. The bath house on the Main Beach has toilets and sinks and is relatively clean. I would recommend bringing your own drinking water though as the one water fountain has been out of order for a few years now.
Temperature wise the pond is swimmable with a wetsuit from mid-May to late October (though heartier soles can stretch that from March to November). The water temp is usually too warm for a wetsuit June to August. If life guards are out swimming just outside of the guarded area is prohibited, but the majority of the lake is fair game. Watch out for early morning fishermen.
Unfortunately running is prohibited on the Pond Trail which rings the pond closest to the water. But many other trails make wider loops around the pond and offer great views of the water. Don't hesitate to cross the railroad tracks to the southwest of the pond (these are active commuter rail tracks so look both ways before crossing). Many more trails can be found in the public woods on the other side. If you're feeling really adventurous you can swim in the Sudbury River on the far side of Adams Woods (I've done it a few times, but note that water quality in the river is not monitored and the shores become overgrown with reeds and vines in the summer months).
What is the total distance of your course?: 5 to 25 miles
Share with us any Strava, Garmin Connect or other gps links of your course:
https://www.strava.com/activities/3679336905/overview
https://www.strava.com/activities/3751883481/overview
https://www.strava.com/activities/3467016529/overview
Please include anything else that we forgot to ask: Our 4 year old daughter loves to play in the sand and splash in the water along with numerous other kids and families. Thus making the beach a good spot for the family to hang while you're out prancing through the woods in neoprene and knee-high compression socks. My wife, daughter and I can be found at Walden Pond almost every weekend over the summer. If anybody reading this wants to meet up for a weekend SwimRun session hit me up by email or Instagram (@gdierksen).