Photo by Luke Boote

Walden Pond, known around the world as the place where Henry David Thoreau holed up to contemplate the magnificent spirituality of nature, is now a hot spot for some of the most competitive people in the Boston area. Each morning and evening, triathletes don their dry suits and stopwatches and set out on the one-mile round-trip freestyle from one end of the pond to the other. No, Henry would not approve.

Walden Pond, officially known as Walden Pond State Reservation, offers distance swimmers two things they can’t get at many other ponds: cool water and affordable parking. The water stays (relatively) cool, because the pond is deep. At 115 feet, it’s the deepest natural body of fresh water in Massachusetts. And the parking is affordable because the area is run by the commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Recreation, which sells season-long parking passes to any and all parks for $35, and charges $5 for daily parking.

In the vast recreational universe between contemplation and competition, there is much to do at Walden. For normal people, there is a lifeguard-attended beach, a boat launch (nonmotorized boats only), and miles of hiking (easy walking) trails through the reservation’s 400 acres. On weekend days and most evenings, kayaks and canoes glide across the water, often trailing fishing lines. Bathrooms and changing rooms are available beside the parking lot and the beach. At the pond’s northeast corner, visitors can view the site of Thoreau’s cabin, where he lived from July 1845 to September 1847 (a replica of the cabin stands beside the parking lot). A visitors’ center and gift shop offers information about the history and geography of the pond and sells Walden-themed souvenirs.

The bad news about Walden Pond is that no public transportation takes you directly there. Trains will get you to nearby Concord or Lincoln, both an easy bicycle ride from the pond. And many adventurous cyclists, presumably the same people who swim the length of the pond, ride out from Cambridge and Boston. To drive from town to Walden, take Route 2 out of Cambridge and turn left on Route 126. The site is well-marked. The reservation is open from 8 a.m. until sundown. One word of advice: the number of visitors is limited to 1,000, and on hot summer days, that number is often reached by noon. To find out if the park is filled to capacity before driving out, call 978-369-3254.

Art Jahnke can be reached at jahnke@bu.edu.