Thoreau’s Bear Garden Hill
Bear Garden Hill is a part of the Fairhaven Hill area, one of Thoreau’s favorite places in Walden Woods.
"My thoughts expand and flourish most on this barren hill, where in the twilight I see the moss spreading in rings and prevailing over the short, thin grass, carpeting the earth, adding a few inches of green to its circle annually while it dies within.”
Bear Garden Hill was a favorite place for moonlight walks and it is a locale featured in Thoreau’s "Moonlight" papers.
Preservation
In the late 1980s, Bear Garden Hill was slated for commercial development. In response to this threat and the proposal on Brister’s Hill, the Walden Woods Project was founded, and successfully protected the properties.
Recreation
The Walden Woods Project maintains Bear Garden Hill as public open space for passive recreation. A number of trails circle the property and connect to the Farm at Walden Woods, Town of Concord wellhead protection land, and other conservation land.
Management Challenges
Invasive plant infestations at Bear Garden Hill present a real management challenge that we are actively working to address. The abutting farm also has similar challenges.
Weeds are uncultivated herbaceous plants which do not bear handsome flowers. — Journal, 3 September 1856
