Concord Transportation

Maps of things to see & do, transportation, walking tours, historic houses, picnic spots, biking, canoeing, scenic walks, shops, dining, lodgings and nearby farms.

MBTA Commuter Rail trains on the Fitchburg Line depart Boston’s North Station hourly from 5:30 am to 10:50 pm on weekdays for the 40-minute trip to Concord. On weekends there are eight trains from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm.

The trains can also be boarded at the MBTA Red Line’s Porter Square subway station in Cambridge. From Harvard Square, take the Red Line subway toward Alewife to the next stop (Porter Square). On foot, walk north from Harvard Square along Massachusetts Avenue for 1.2 miles (1.9 km) to Porter Square.The station is at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue.

Bicycles are allowed on all weekend trains, and on weekday trains except during rush hours (mornings inbound to Boston, and mid- to late-afternoon outbound from Boston). You may want to ride along the Minuteman Bikeway to Concord, then take the train to return to the city.

Trains arrive at the Concord Depot, 80 Thoreau Street at Middle Street, which is a 10- or 15-minute walk (0.6 mile, 1 km) from the Concord Visitor Center and Monument Square, the town center. Trains continue to West Concord, 2 miles (3.2 km, 7 minutes) west of Concord Center.

MBTA Buses 62/76 (Alewife to Bedford VA Hospital via Hanscom AFB) and 76 (Alewife to Civil Air Terminal) touch the eastern edge of Concord and Minute Man National Historical Park at Hanscom Air Force Base, but the bus stop is 4.5 miles (7.24 km) east of Monument Square in Concord Center. If you're a hiker, you can walk the length of the Battle Road Trail to reach the center.

Otherwise, public transportation from this point is very limited. The free Concord Trolley shuttle bus may be in operation between Meriam's Corner, Monument Square, and other stops in Concord Center and West Concord. More...

From the MBTA Red Line subway's Alewife station, take Bus 62/76 (those that go “via Hanscom AFB”) or Bus 76, and ride 40 minutes. Get out at the stop named Old Mass. Ave at Marrett Road, just across Old Mass. Ave from the Fiske Hill parking lot. This is the eastern end of the Battle Road Trail in Minute Man National Historical Park, a 5-minute walk east of the Minute Man Visitor Center. Fifteen more minutes’ walk west (0.6 mi/1km) along Battle Road Trail brings you to the Paul Revere Capture Site. Another 50 minutes' walk west (2.6 mi/4.2km) along the trail is Meriam's Corner. From there, it's a 30-minute (1.4-mi/2.25-km) walk west along Lexington Road to Monument Square in Concord Center.

Concord is 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Boston along MA Route 2.

From Boston & Cambridge

From the center of Boston, follow Storrow Drive west to Soldiers Field Road to Harvard Square; then Massachusetts Avenue northwest to MA Route 2. Follow Route 2 to Exit 125 (Concord, Cambridge Turnpike) for Monument Square or, 1 mile (1.6km) farther west along Route 2, turn left on Walden Street (MA Route 126) for Walden Pond, or right on Walden Street for Concord Center.

Via Interstate 95 North

Driving north on Interstate 95, take Exit 45B for Route 2 West to Concord. Follow Route 2 West to Exit 125 (Concord, Cambridge Turnpike) for Monument Square or, 1 mile (1.6km) farther west along Route 2, turn left on Walden Street (MA Route 126) for Walden Pond, or right on Walden Street for Concord Center.

Via Interstate 95 South

Traveling south on I-95, take Exit 45B to MA Route 2A West, which will take you via Battle Road toward Concord.

The road follows a route parallel to the Battle Road Trail (a foot- and bike-path), past the entrance to the Minute Man National Historical Park Battle Road Visitor Center and the place where Paul Revere was captured by a British patrol after his historic ride to alert the countryside to the British expedition.

After 2.6 miles (4.2 km), bear right at a Y-intersection with a blinker onto Lexington Road, following signs to Concord Center, and you'll arrive in Monument Square.

Parking in Concord is governed by a confusing, unintuitive web-based parking app showing restrictions and time limits. When you first access it, it shows you a map of West Concord, not Concord Center.

Free parking lots include the Concord Town Lot (first choice, with a 2-car e-vehicle charging station) on Keyes Road off Main Street behind the Concord Visitor Center, and behind 14 Walden Street (often full; enter between 12 and 14 Walden Street) near the US Post Office.

Parking on residential streets a block or two (5-minute walk) away from the center is free and easy.

Parking meters were installed on Main and Walden streets in Concord Center, but they were decommissioned in 2023, and most were removed in 2024. It is no longer required to pay for parking.  There's more info—most of it confusing and/or misleading—on the Town's parking page.

Concord offers nine ChargePoint public charging stations for electric vehicles. Here's the town's map.

You can take a rideshare (Uber, Lyft, etc.) or taxi to Concord from Boston, Cambridge or Lexington. If you take the MBTA Commuter Rail train to Concord, you can then take a rideshare to the equally historic town of Lexington for a visit, then take MBTA Bus 62 or 76 to Cambridge’s MBTA Red Line Alewife Station to return to Boston.

Coming to Concord, ask your driver for Monument Square, the Colonial Inn (48 Monument Square), or the Concord Depot train station (80 Thoreau Street) as your destination so you’ll be dropped in Concord Center.

The Minuteman Bikeway extends from Cambridge’s MBTA Red Line Alewife Station subway terminus through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford’s Depot Park (map). From near the park, the Minuteman Bikeway Extension, more commonly called the Reformatory Branch Trail (unpaved) continues to its terminus at 126 Lowell Road in Concord Center. Click here to download the Reformatory Branch Trail Guide.

You can bring your bike on the train from Boston. If you don't have one:

Minuteman Bike Share station behind the Concord Visitor Center, 58 Main St.

Minuteman Bike Share offers shared bike rentals in Concord Center behind the Concord Visitor Center at 58 Main Street, and in West Concord on the east side of 40 Beharrell Street, on the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail a three-minute walk north from the West Concord Commuter Rail train station.

There are two additional rental stations in the neighboring town of Acton. Minuteman Bike Share uses the Koloni smartphone app.

These bikes are most useful for trips within Concord, such as to Walden Pond (but not on Walden's trails, where bikes are not allowed); the North Bridge, and Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge. If/when a bike rental station is established in Lexington, Minuteman bikes will be useful for one-way or round-trip visits to this Revolutionary War town as well.

Concord is eminently walkable, except for Walden Pond, 1.8 miles (2.9 km, a 40-minute walk) from Monument Square, or 1.7 miles (2.74 km, a 35-minute walk) from the Concord Depot (train station). Also, Minute Man National Historical Park’s Battle Road Trail is five miles (8 km) long, so bike or car are good to have there. See my Walking Tours for more.