Car
Concord is
20 miles (32 km) northwest of Boston along
MA Route 2 (map).
From Interstate 95 take the exit for Route 2 West to Concord. At the intersection with MA Route 126/Walden Street, turn left (south) for Walden Pond or right (north) for Concord Center.
A slower but more interesting route
is via Battle
Road from Lexington: from Route 2, take Exit 57 and follow MA Route 4 north to Lexington Center and Lexington Green, site of the first battle of the Revolutionary War. Bear left at the Minuteman statue (southeast point of the Green) and follow Massachusetts Avenue to
MA Route 2A. Turn right on 2A and follow the signs reading Battle
Road.
This is
the route taken by the British troops going out
to Concord on April 19th, 1775, to search for arms stockpiled illegally
by the colonials.
The road follows a route parallel
to Battle Road Trail (a foot- and bike-path), past the entrance to the Minuteman National Historical Park Battle
Road Visitor Center and the place where Paul
Revere was captured by British soldiers after
his historic ride to alert the countryside to
the British expedition. Eventually, bear right along Lexington Road to reach Concord center and Monument
Square.
Parking in Concord
Free parking lots are the Concord Town Lot on Keyes Road off Main Street behind the Concord Visitor Center, and behind 14 Walden Street (enter between 12 and 14 Walden Street) near the US Post Office.
Parking meters in Concord accept coins, credit cards, and the Pay by Phone parking app.
Train
On weekdays, 20 MBTA
Commuter Rail trains
a day leave Boston's North
Station on the Fitchburg Line for the 40-minute
trip to Concord. On Saturday there are normally 12 trains,
and on Sunday, 8. More...
The train can also be boarded
at the MBTA Red Line's Porter Square subway
station in Cambridge (go
north on Massachusetts Avenue from Harvard
Square for about a mile, and the station
is next to the shopping center, under the iron
bridge).
Bicycles are allowed on noin-rush hour trains, so you can take the train one way and ride along the Minuteman
Bikeway the other way (see below).
The train arrives at Concord's Depot
on Thoreau Street at Sudbury Road (map),
which is a 10- or 15-minute walk (0.6 mile,
1 km) from the Concord
Visitor Center and Monument
Square.
Bus
The only bus transportation is a weekday commuter service operated by A Yankee Line, Inc. The bus departs Acton and Concord around 7:00 am and arrives in Boston at Copley Square around 7:50 am. Return buses depart Copley Square at 2:45 pm, arriving in Concord at 3:30 pm; and 5:05 pm, arriving in Concord at 6:00 pm. No weekend service. Obviously, this service is convenient for commuters, but not for day-trips from Boston to Concord. More...
Bicycle
The Minuteman
Commuter Bikeway extends
from Boston and Cambridge to
Lexington, Bedford and Concord.
More...
Boston - Concord by Bike & Train
MBTA Commuter Rail trains on the Fitchburg line depart Boston's North Station and Cambridge's Porter Square station and travel to Concord and beyond. Bicycles are permitted on non-rush hour trains, (the rules are here) so you can take your bike to Concord and back; or go one way on the train and ride along the Minuteman
Commuter Bikeway the other way, stopping in Lexington to see the sights (map).
Getting Around in Concord
The Concord Trolley is a free hop on-hop off bus connecting the MBTA Commuter Rail Concord Center station on Thoreau Street with the principal visitor destinations in town: Concord Visitor Center, Old North Bridge, Concord Museum & Emerson House, Orchard House & The Wayside, Meriam's Corner (Battle Road Trail) and Minute Man National Historical Park Visitor Center. Twice a day it also stops at the MBTA West Concord station. More...
Note that the trolley does not currently take you to Walden Pond, a 1.6-mile (2.6-km, 30- to 35-minute) walk southeast along Walden Street from the station.
