GRAND TRUNK TRAIL LETTERBOX:
STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: May 11, 2005
Length: Grand Trunk Trail; 2 miles
Heritage Loop Trail; 1 mile
Heritage West Street School Trail; 0.7 mile
Difficulty: Grand Trunk Trail North; Easy. Flat and wide stone dust type surface.
Grand Trunk Trail East; Moderate. Flat hard packed surface w/ some rough spots.
Heritage Loop Trail; Moderate. Hilly with some rough spots.
Heritage West Street School Trail; Finished section easy with flat, compacted
surface &
Boardwalk. Unfinished section difficult with rocks and roots.
Directions:
From I-84, take exit 1 and follow signs to Mashapaug Road. Travel along Mashapaug Road for 2 miles until Breakneck Road crosses it. You'll see a brown sign for the water treatment plant on your right, but turn left here. You'll pass through a gate for the Westville Lake Recreation Area. I'm not sure if this gate is closed during the winter or not. Cross over the Quinebaug River and park in the first lot you see. This lot is open even when the gate to the Recreation Area is closed.
The Westville Lake Recreation Area is owned and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who constructed the Westfield Lake Dam on the Quinebaug River to control flooding and thus created Westville Lake. The park includes athletic fields, a picnic pavilion, grills and a boat launch. The Grand Trunk Trail winds along the northern side of the Quinebaug River and connects to the Heritage Trail that runs alongside the southern side of Westville Lake to create a nice loop trail.
The Grand Trunk Trail is a section of the Titanic Rail Trail that is planned to run from Palmer to Franklin. See; TITANIC RAIL TRAIL . The Grand Trunk Trail is actually the rail bed of a defunct railroad that never got built. Some called it the "Titanic Railroad" after its founder, Charles Hayes, went down with the Titanic. Another completed section of the planned Titanic Rail Trail is the Brimfield Trail in East Brimfield. See; Brimfield Trail Letterbox . For more information visit; GRAND TRUNK TRAIL .
In the parking lot you'll see a signboard.
From the signboard, follow the paved path up to your left to the Grand Trunk
Trail.
Note;
Heading right (north) the trail takes you up to the dam and the connecting Heritage
Trail. However, you need to head left (east) for the Letterbox.
Starting
out east along the Grand Trunk
Trail; Cross the road and pass by a
red and white gate. This section of the trail is hard packed dirt and stone and
can be a bit rough in spots. Below on your left you can see a road that
parallels the Quinebaug River as you follow it upstream. After about 0.4
miles, you'll notice that the road below crosses over the river. Soon after
you'll next cross over a culvert with stone sides then pass through a steep rock
cut at 0.6 miles. At ¾ miles you pass by a white stone marker to your left,
next to a tree with red and white markings. Just past this point a hiking trail
crosses the trail where you'll have a view of a concrete spillway in the river.
The river is rough below this spillway and calm upstream. Where this hiking
trail heads uphill, on the right side of the Grand Trunk Trail, you'll
see a large boulder. Go to the backside of this boulder and lift up a flat stone
to reveal the Grand Trunk Trail Letterbox. Continuing along the trail,
you'll come to a bend in the trail at 1.2 miles. Here you can see the old stone
abutments where the rail bed used to cross the river. Now the trail crosses the
river just ahead at the Ed Calcutt Bridge, a narrow steel bridge. As you
cross over this bridge, look below it to spot an old stone pier foundation. When
we ere there, a goose was sitting on its nest, protecting its eggs. The trail
currently ends after you cross over the bridge at 1 ¼ miles, but plans are to
continue the trail up to Route 15 , next to the "Hebert's Candies"
store, just off exit 2 of I-84. As of
Heading
north along the Grand trunk Trail;
Pass by the yellow gate. This section is also flat, with a very smooth sand
base. You'll pass by the Recreation Area with its picnic tables and pavilion and
get a first look at the lake and dam at a ¼ mile. A ½ mile brings you to
one of several informative signs placed along the trail by the Boy Scouts.
You then cross over a bridge to the dam. Below, the narrow rock channel diverts
the water to the 3 flood gates. A set of stairs lead up to the top of the dam,
but you can continue up along the front of the dam to the top. Here, just past
the signboard, the Army Corps of Engineers has their project office,
where parking is also available. This is about the ¾ mile mark. Be sure to
check out the views from the top of the dam. The trail now connects with the
middle of the Heritage Trail.
Note;
To return to the parking lot, you'll head right down the Heritage Loop Trail,
which runs along the opposite side of the lake, starting from the project
office. However, you can also take a side trip by turning left and heading down
the entrance road. When you come to the white building, look for an iron gate on
the left. This is where the Heritage West Street School Trail
begins. Go past the gate and head downhill. About halfway down you'll see a
small brown trail sign on your right. Take this trail as there is a rock culvert
further down. When you come to the stone road, you may continue straight across
to the trail if you’re hiking and turn left down the road if biking. Bear
right at the bottom of the dam, to the right of the water inlet. Follow the
narrow path. This short section is tough going by bike, with rocks and roots,
but is very scenic as it parallels the
Quinebaug
River, surrounded by White Birch trees. At around 0.4 miles, you come to the finished
section of the trail. A couple of benches are situated next to the river here.
The trail is flat and wide with a nice compacted surface. More benches are
scattered along the trail as you cross your first boardwalk. The first of two
soccer fields is on your right. You'll come to a second boardwalk at a ½ mile
and then a third. This last boardwalk has a nice viewing platform that abuts the
river. There is also a set of stairs leading up to the second soccer field. A
lot of beaver activity here. If you look across the river you can spot the old
field stone embankment. Finally a cement handicap ramp leads you up to the end
of the soccer field. Here, a couple of informative signboards detail the history
of the area. The trail ends at a small parking area just below West Street
School after 0.7 miles. You
may return to the dam the same way you came or you can head up the drive to West
Street and take a right. After passing by the school and baseball fields, take
your first right onto Mashapaug Road, then your next right where a brown sign
for the Westville Lake Dam indicates the dam's entrance. This will bring
you back to the top of the dam where you can then take the Heritage
Loop Trail back to your car.
This section of trail is rougher, narrower and hilly. Head downhill from the Army Corps project office, passing by a birding area that includes an Osprey platform (no nest when we were there, however we did spot a Loon). You'll cross over a footbridge at 1.2 miles where the trail surface improves to hard packed sand, but becomes steep and winding as you make your way down to river level. At 1 ½ miles, the trail utilizes Old South Street, which is closed to traffic, to take you back over the river to the parking lot for a 1.8 mile loop.
HH
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
MARCH 6, 2009
TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION
BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER
BIKE IT OR HIKE IT LETTERBOXING
