We are fortunate here in New England to have many places to take day trips to. Visiting Louisa May Alcott’s house has been on my bucket list for a while now and my sister and I planned a day around it.

Our itinerary here was for two women in their forties so keep that in mind 🙂 Plus it was a cool early April day.

Orchard House

I bought our tickets for Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House tour ahead of time and that is where we started our day. It was a rainy morning but the tour was full. I love history and listening to people’s stories; if you are a fan of Little Women this tour is a must do.

You aren’t allowed to take pictures inside, fyi.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

From Orchard House we stopped quickly at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s House, which was closed to visitors. I stopped and snapped a picture. A few minutes from there we were at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. We had no problems finding parking on site all day in Concord.

Lunch at Cafe Nero

From the cemetery we found parking near the downtown Concord area and had lunch at Cafe Nero. There are lots of great sit down restaurants but we wanted something quick. Cafe Nero was a perfect spot.

Minute Man Trail

After digesting our yummy sandwiches we set off to walk the trail. We drove to one of the many parking lots off the Minute Man Trail, choosing one a little bit of a ways from the Paul Revere site in order to get in some good steps. It started to hail on us and along came a downpour accompanied by thunder and lightening. Fun times!

We had the good sense to bring an extra pair of shoes. I wore a poncho so the top half of me stayed dry. We realized we needed extra socks too! I had seen some at the Louisa May Alcott gift shop; we drove back there after our walk and each bought new socks. Live and learn.

Once our feet were dry, and just so happens the sun came out, we drove over to the Manse House area of the Minute Man Trail and walked the North bridge over to the Visitor’s Center.

Walden Pond

From Manse House we drove to Walden Pond. With an out-of-state license plate I had to pay $30 to park there. The only time I had to pay to park all day so I didn’t sweat it.

I was blown away by the beauty of the clear water of Walden Pond! You are allowed to swim in the warmer months and I hope to return to do just that one day.

We walked from the parking lot to the site of Thoreau’s cabin and back.

Colonial Inn

After seeing the charming Colonial Inn while in Concord we decided to make reservations for dinner there, at the Merchants Row. I had a delicious seafood salad with a pot of tea. Warm heart after a fun sister day!