Three Bears Letterboxes LbNA #14193 (ARCHIVED)

You are about to begin a search for the Three Bears Letter Boxes! To begin, travel Route 3 to exit 28(Treble Cove Road exit) in Billerica. Take a right off the exit and travel less than 1/2 mile to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park.
Once arriving at the Park, you will begin to fill in words as you follow the clues. The words just add to the fun and you do not need the answers to find the boxes.

There are 3 boxes hidden in the woods here at the park. Each of the 3 Bears hid a box in one of their favorite spots. We have made it easy for you to adjust the length of your visit by not hunting for all boxes in one visit if you choose. To find all 3, you will need about 1 1/2 hours. All are easy walking with just a few hills and some roots in the paths. Trails are clearly marked.

Here is your first question. How many markers are located in the middle of the traffic circle? _____________

Now continue driving down to the lower lot. Park your car and follow the paved path keeping the water on your right. What color is the gate in the road? _______________

Look on your right as you begin to walk on gravel. You will see the Bears' small stone house on the right. What is the Bears' house missing? ____________
Check to see if the Bears are home today? If they are not, you will need to look for them in the forest where they are hiding letter boxes.

To Find Papa Bear's Box(10 minutes), Continue on the gravel path past the playground. What sport does Baby Bear play on your left? ______________
Continue on until you come to the trailhead sign. Stop and take a look at the map. Next to the sign, you will see the entrance to the green trail.
Begin walking on the green trail. What number do you see on the tree up ahead? ___________
You will pass the blue trail but keep on going!
When you get to the orange trail junction, which way must you turn to take the orange trail? _________
Take the orange trail and walk past 2 orange markers up on the trees and then find a third on a fallen log. Stop at this marker! Turn to your left and climb up the hill toward the rocky top. Circle just to the left of the top level until you pass a broken tree and can stop under the huge pine that stands on the top of the rocks. Count 15 steps from this point staying just to the left of the top rocks. You will find Papa's box beneath Papa's favorite boulder.

Now to find Mama's Box (25 minutes from this point)Head back to the orange trail. You will turn left as you come to the trail to continue deeper into the forest with Papa's rocks on your left. As you walk, you need to step over lots of _________. What shape do you see painted on a tree in the middle of the trail? ____________ Just past this painted tree, watch for the orange trail to turn sharply to the left. Stay on the orange trail! Follow the orange trail for several minutes. You will go up and over a hill and eventually come to a rock mountain on your left. As you pass the rock mountain, turn left onto the yellow trail. Follow the yellow trail up and around the rocks. (We met a restoration detour and followed the new yellow trail as directed. If you don't see the restoration detour, you are on the original yellow trail. Either trail will work with these directions!)
When the trail appears to end at T, turn left and continue on the yellow trail. You will soon come to the intersection of the green trail, just before the intersection, look to your right and see a small grove of trees planted by Mama and Baby. What kind of trees did they plant? ______________
Turn left onto the green trail. Stop at the 4th green marker. You are very close to Mama's Box! Mama found a perfect tree to look for honey and bugs. It is on the left and has been a habitat for creatures for many years although it is still standing. What shape hole do you see near the top? ______________ Look behind this tree to find Mama's Letter Box.

Continue on the the green trail. You will soon see Papa's rocks off to your left. You have come full circle through the woods! At the intersection of the orange trail, go right and stay on green. Stop at the blue trail. You need to decide at this point if you want to look for Baby Bear's Box today or if you want to head back to the trailhead sign just ahead.

For the trailhead sign, stay on green.
For Baby Bear's Box, take the blue trail. This is a 15 minute walk but you will come out back at the Bear's house near the parking lot.
Follow the blue trail and go under the slanted tree. This tree is a favorite of Baby Bear for climbing. As you walk, you will see lots of white trees to your left, how many can you count? ___________ What is the name of this type of tree? _______________
Continue on, do you see houses off to your left, which one do you think Goldilocks lives in?_________________
Once you have passed all the houses, and the water is in front of you, stop at the 2 rocks that mark the junction in the trail. This is where Papa and Mama met to hunt for Baby! Turn right. Stop at the 2nd blue marker and then walk forward on the trail 10 steps. Stop! Turn to your right. You should see a small clearing. Enter the clearing and walk straight to the back. Step into a small pine grove. Baby loves to hide in these trees! On your left, you will see fallen branches which are are stuck in a tree. Baby Bear hid the box in this tree. Can you find it?

Once you are back on the blue trail, continue on keeping the water on your left. When you see the playground through the trees on the left, you can find a shortcut path which will bring you right back to the Bears' house.

We hope you enjoyed your hunt and will visit the Three Bears again some day!