MARBLEHEAD RAIL TRAIL LETTERBOX:
MARBLEHEAD, MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: July 21, 2002
Length: Northwest Trail; 2 miles
Southwest Trail; 2 miles
Roundhouse Road parking lot to Letterbox; 1 mile
Tower School to Letterbox; 0.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy. Flat, stone dust surface with a ½ mile of paved surface.
Directions:
Take I-95/Route 128 to Route 128 and take exit 25A to Route 114 east.
To start from Tower School; Follow Route 114 into Marblehead (watch the signs carefully, as there are a lot of unexpected turns). Just past Salem Harbor on your left you will see the Marblehead town line sign. After this point, at the second traffic light you will take a left down W Shore Drive. This is about 5 ¼ miles from the Route 128 exit ramp. Just down this road on the right will be Tower School. Just past the entrance, next to where the trail crosses will be a parking lot on your right. Cross over the street to the trail and the Letterbox.
To start from Roundhouse Road; Follow Route 114 for 6 miles into Marblehead (watch the signs carefully, as there are a lot of unexpected turns) to the intersection of Route 129. Continue straight through this intersection on Pleasant Street for a ½ mile, then take a left onto Bessom Street. There will be a public parking lot up this road on your right on Roundhouse Road. The trail starts across the street at the yellow cable.
The two trails that make up the Marblehead Rail Trail are abandoned railroad lines of the Eastern Railroad Company. The Northwest Trail follows a line built in 1839 from Marblehead towards Salem. The Southwest Trail follows a line built in 1873 from Marblehead towards Swampscott. The lines were abandoned in 1959.
Starting from Roundhouse Road; Pass through the yellow gate and you
will soon cross under the Village
Street
Bridge. You emerge at an electrical station with a choice of two trails. The left
trail takes you to the southwest and the right takes you to the northwest and
the Letterbox.
Heading
right on the Northwest Trail.
After a ½ mile on this trail there will be two paths on your right that bring
you to a small swamp. The second one has a boardwalk. This is the Hawthorn
Pond Conservation Area. Nice side trip. Continuing along the trail you come
to the
Tower
School
on your left, then cross over West Shore Drive. You now enter the Wyman Woods Conservation Area. Take
note of the telephone poles along the trail on your right hand side. Cross over
a small stream and look for the telephone poles to switch over to the left
hand side of the trail. At this point, start counting the poles. Just after
the seventh pole will be a small path on your left. This is about 0.3 mile from West Shore Drive
and a mile from the parking lot. Head up this path a short distance until you
come to the remnants of a stone wall crossing the path. Take 13 steps to the
right along the stone wall. You'll notice a dead tree above the wall at this
point. Just below the end of the tree, in the center of the wall, behind a piece
of bark and one rock, is the Marblehead Rail Trail Letterbox. Returning
to the trail, continue onward if you have time. You will soon cross over two
bridges, with a view of
Salem
Harbor. Cross over Route 114, where the trail then becomes paved for the last ½ mile
through an industrial area and ends at Canal Street.
Heading left on the Southwest Trail; Bear to the left at the electrical station. This trail is a bit rougher then the Northwest Trail in spots, but also has recently improved sections as well. After a ½ mile, you cross over Pleasant Street via a cross-walk. Please use caution, as this is a well traveled road. Another mile and the trail then utilizes a paved driveway, straight ahead, for a short distance. You cross over Cliffton Ave, where the trail narrows for a bit, before broadening out again. The trail ends after 2 miles at Briar Lane. A proposal is being considered to develop the trail further.
While you are in the area, I would suggest taking a drive, or if you don't mind some on-road biking, of Marblehead Neck. From Pleasant Street, take Ocean Avenue across a causeway, with a view to your left of scenic Marblehead Harbor and its 1,600 moored boats. A road loops around the Neck with scenic stops at Castle Rock and Chandler Hovey Park and its lighthouse. Great views of Marblehead Harbor and the Massachusetts Bay. For more information visit; MARBLEHEAD .
HH
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
AUGUST 23, 2009
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