PHOENIX BIKE TRAIL LETTERBOX:
FAIRHAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: August 24, 2003
Length: Phoenix Bike Trail; 4 ¼ miles
Mattapoisett Bike Path; 1 mile
Shaw Road to Letterbox; ½ mile
Difficulty: Easy. Flat, paved trail.
Directions:
From I-195, take exit 18 to Route 240 south to Route 6.
To start from the eastern end of the trail; Take a left onto Route 6 east and travel a couple of miles. Turn right down Shaw Road and park alongside the road where the trail crosses.
To start from the western end of the trail; Take a right onto Route 6 west and travel 1 ½ miles. Turn left down Main Street (before the bridge) and go about a ½ mile to South Street, where the trail begins. There is a parking lot here, but I'm not sure if it's a public lot. You may also find parking along the street. To park at Fort Phoenix, turn left on South Street and then right down Fort Street, straight into Fort Phoenix State Beach.
The trail is built on an old rail line that first started operating back in 1854. The Fairhaven Branch Railroad operated between the Cape Cod Branch Railroad in Wareham and a ferry that linked New Bedford. It later incorporated with the Old Colony Railroad and then the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. In 1953, the line shut down and in 1999, was turned into a bike trail. Plans call for extending the trail Eastward into Mattapoisett and Marion. A second Letterbox is located along the Saulnier Bike Trail in nearby New Bedford. See; SAULNIER BIKE TRAIL LETTERBOX . For more information visit; PHOENIX BIKE TRAIL . The bike trail currently extends from Main Street in downtown to Mattapoisett Neck Rd in Mattapoisett. Mileage markers are painted on the trail every quarter mile.
Starting from the western end of the trail;
From Main Street
and South Street, the trail starts off alongside Willow Park, a small bench lined
track of land. The first street
crossing you contend with is Fort Street.
Note;
Taking a right down this residential street for a ½ mile brings you to Fort
Phoenix State Beach. Here, a public parking lot, pavilion, restroom
and beach reside to your left, while the remnants of Fort
Phoenix
reside to your right. The earthen fort contains cannons overlooking
Buzzards Bay. There is also a hurricane barrier that you may ride halfway out to where the
boats enter New Bedford Harbor. For more information visit; FORT
PHOENIX STATE BEACH .
Note;
Taking a left up Fort Street
brings you to a T intersection.
Going either left or right takes you up to the stunning town hall and other
magnificent buildings in the area.
Continuing east along the bike path, there are numerous street crossings along this more urban section of the trail. Once you cross Egypt Lane, the scenery gets greener, with marshes and views of the bay. Just past the mile mark, you will pass the eastern edge of the hurricane barrier and another ¼ mile brings you to Neck Road. Please use caution, as there is no cross-light on this busy road. Next you pass through a saltwater estuary that provides you with a nice view of Little Bay and Nasketucket Bay. Just past the 2 mile mark, you cross over Weeden Road as the trail passes behind a residential area. Look for the 2 ½ mile mark on the trail and then a red fence to your left. Across the trail from the fence to your right will be 4 trees bunched together with a pile of rocks at there base. Go to the backside of these trees and under a rock is the Phoenix Bike Trail Letterbox. Another ½ mile brings you to Shaw Road, where the trail ends just a tenth of a mile further up.
Note; The trail has been extended another mile into Mattapoisett along the Mattapoisett Rail Trail to Mattapoisett Neck Road. I haven't checked out this new section yet. The next phase is scheduled to be constructed in 2011. For more information visit; MATTAPOISETT RAIL TRAIL .
HH
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
APRIL 01, 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
