CAPE COD CANAL TRAIL LETTERBOX:
BUZZARDS BAY, MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: August 23, 2003
Length: Cape Cod Canal Trail; 7 miles
Railroad Bridge parking lot to Letterbox; 1/4mile
Herring Run Recreation Area to Letterbox; 3 miles
Sagamore Recreation Area to Letterbox; 4 1/2 miles
Difficulty: Easy. Flat, paved trail.
Directions:
From Route 25, take exit 1 to the rotary and follow the signs for Main Street and Buzzards Bay. The parking lot is located about a mile down Main Street on your left next to the Railroad Bridge.
From Route 3, take Canal Road off of the rotary, just before the Sagamore Bridge, for a 1/4 mile to the Sagamore Recreation Area parking lot.
Route 6 runs between these two rotaries and may be used to reach either parking lot.
This Letterbox is located along the northern or mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal Trail. A second trail is located on the southern or cape side of the canal. I hope to get back one day to complete the cape side and add a second box. The canal was constructed between 1909 and 1914 to save ships from traveling the 135 miles around Cape Cod. The channel is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, who also enlarged the canal during the 1930's. The two bike trails were originally constructed as service roads, but opened to the public in the mid-70's. They are completely free of road crossings, flat and travel alongside the canal, but can also be tough going when your riding into the ocean winds. For more information visit; CAPE COD RAIL TRAIL .
Starting from the Railroad Bridge parking lot in Buzzards Bay; you can visit the information center located in the old train station, as well as obtain maps and use the restrooms. Follow the trail out of the parking lot, past the gazebo and to the trails start, next to a restroom facility. You pass by a picnic pavilion and map sign board and come to a white fence. Look for an opening in the fence after the pavilion and to the left of a cedar/pine? tree. Underneath two large rocks is the Cape Cod Canal Trail Letterbox. This is less then a 1/4 mile from the parking lot and just a ways down from the start of the trail. The trail mileage is marked on the pavement every 1/2 mile, with white slashes indicating every 1/4 mile. The trail follows a flat, open course beside the canal for 1 1/4 miles, where it then passes beneath the Bourne Bridge. The terrain starts to get steeper as the land rises high above the water. The trail then passes by the Hearing Run Recreation Area at the halfway mark, 3 1/2 miles. Here you can observe the fish ladder that allows Alewife Herring to swim up a small stream each spring to spawn at inland ponds. Parking, restrooms and picnic tables are available here. Another mile takes you beneath the Sagamore Bridge and to the Sagamore Recreation Area. The Sagamore and Bourne Bridges were constructed between 1933 and 1935 and are identical in design. At 6 1/4 miles, you pass by a fishing pier and snack bar. There is also a parking lot here, but it charges a fee. A hiking trail leads from here up to Sagamore Hill. The final 3/4 miles takes you to Scusset Beach State Reservation at the mouth of the Cape Cod Bay. A parking lot is located here as well, but there is a parking fee.
HH
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
APRIL 22, 2008
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BIKE IT OR HIKE IT LETTERBOXING