Sandy Point - Plum Island LbNA #60858 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Feb 20, 2012 |
| Location: | Sandy Point State Reservation |
| City: | Newbury |
| County: | Essex |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | pi beachcomber  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Not yet found! |
| Last found: | N/A |
| Status: | m |
| Last edited: | Mar 6, 2017 |
MISSING; we went to check on the status of our letterbox on March 5, 2017 and discovered that it was missing.
To start your quest for this letterbox, proceed to the Parker River Federal Wildlife Refuge located on Plum Island in Newbury, Massachusetts. There is an admission fee to enter the refuge ($5 per car/$2 bicycle or walking) but it’s worth it. Plan to spend the day; in addition to the letterbox quest, there are miles of beautiful trail hikes and 7 miles of pristine beach.
Drive along the refuge roadway, passing various parking areas that provide access to the beach and nature trails in the marsh. What you seek is at the very southern tip of Plum Island, 6.5 miles from the gate. About halfway there, the paved road becomes a gravel surfaced road; continue on.
At the end of the road, you will eventually end up at the very last parking lot within the federal refuge. There are only about 20 parking spaces here; there are also restrooms and the trail off to the left leads onto the beach. However to the right side of the small parking area there is another road entered through a white metal gate. When you pass through this gate, you have left the federal refuge and have entered Sandy Point State Reservation. Many people are unaware that the southern-most tip of the island is a Massachusetts State Park and not part of the federal refuge. In the summer, this gate is open and you can drive down this access road to another parking area. The rest of the year the gate is locked but the road is open to pedestrian traffic; the center of the gate has a narrow opening you can walk through. From the last refuge parking lot to the Sandy Point lot is only about 0.2 of a mile.
Upon entering the Sandy Point parking area, you will see off to the right another metal gate similar to the last one, near another restroom. Proceed though the pedestrian opening in this gate. On the other side of the gate there is a wide grassy track that you should follow. There is a small sandy path that forks off to the left, you don’t want this. Stay straight on the grassy track; you will be traveling more or less northwest at about 290 degrees. Along the way, Stage Island Pond and salt marsh will be off to your right and this side of the track will be continuously posted with signs marking the boundary of the federal property. On your left will be tall brush with occasional small birch trees.
After walking 0.46 of a mile you will have marsh grass on both sides of you. Then look for an opening through the marsh grass and brush on your left with a wide sandy path. A few yards into this opening, the path will divide right and left; you want to turn left.
Note that in the wildlife refuge you are not allowed to leave the marked trails; however at this point you are in a state park and it is OK to follow these smaller paths leading off the main trail.
Along the path in front of you is a clump of very small birch trees. Proceed past this clump of trees and you will immediately see another, larger clump of 5 or 6 birch trees sitting in a bowl shaped hollow in the sand. What you seek is among these birch trees.
One birch is slightly larger than the rest; to its left look for a diamond shaped rock resting on the sand, the letter box is beneath. Be cautious; listen for the approach of muggles. Someone may suddenly appear over the sand dunes and discover you. Make sure you carefully re-hide the letter box and smooth over any footprints you made in the sand.
You have found your prize; help yourself to one of the shells in the box as a souvenir of your quest. You can return the way you came, or treat yourself to a beach walk and beautiful scenery by returning over a parallel shore route. Continue on past the clump of birch and follow the sandy path as it veers right, up over the top of a sand dune. You will then have a view of Ipswich Bay and straight ahead you see the water tower on the heights across the bay. The path zig-zags back and forth a bit, but keep going until you enter the beach. Turn left on the beach heading south along the shore for about a mile and this will bring you back to the Sandy Point parking area.
For more info about the federal refuge and state park go to:
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/parkerriver/visit.html
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/sndp.htm
To start your quest for this letterbox, proceed to the Parker River Federal Wildlife Refuge located on Plum Island in Newbury, Massachusetts. There is an admission fee to enter the refuge ($5 per car/$2 bicycle or walking) but it’s worth it. Plan to spend the day; in addition to the letterbox quest, there are miles of beautiful trail hikes and 7 miles of pristine beach.
Drive along the refuge roadway, passing various parking areas that provide access to the beach and nature trails in the marsh. What you seek is at the very southern tip of Plum Island, 6.5 miles from the gate. About halfway there, the paved road becomes a gravel surfaced road; continue on.
At the end of the road, you will eventually end up at the very last parking lot within the federal refuge. There are only about 20 parking spaces here; there are also restrooms and the trail off to the left leads onto the beach. However to the right side of the small parking area there is another road entered through a white metal gate. When you pass through this gate, you have left the federal refuge and have entered Sandy Point State Reservation. Many people are unaware that the southern-most tip of the island is a Massachusetts State Park and not part of the federal refuge. In the summer, this gate is open and you can drive down this access road to another parking area. The rest of the year the gate is locked but the road is open to pedestrian traffic; the center of the gate has a narrow opening you can walk through. From the last refuge parking lot to the Sandy Point lot is only about 0.2 of a mile.
Upon entering the Sandy Point parking area, you will see off to the right another metal gate similar to the last one, near another restroom. Proceed though the pedestrian opening in this gate. On the other side of the gate there is a wide grassy track that you should follow. There is a small sandy path that forks off to the left, you don’t want this. Stay straight on the grassy track; you will be traveling more or less northwest at about 290 degrees. Along the way, Stage Island Pond and salt marsh will be off to your right and this side of the track will be continuously posted with signs marking the boundary of the federal property. On your left will be tall brush with occasional small birch trees.
After walking 0.46 of a mile you will have marsh grass on both sides of you. Then look for an opening through the marsh grass and brush on your left with a wide sandy path. A few yards into this opening, the path will divide right and left; you want to turn left.
Note that in the wildlife refuge you are not allowed to leave the marked trails; however at this point you are in a state park and it is OK to follow these smaller paths leading off the main trail.
Along the path in front of you is a clump of very small birch trees. Proceed past this clump of trees and you will immediately see another, larger clump of 5 or 6 birch trees sitting in a bowl shaped hollow in the sand. What you seek is among these birch trees.
One birch is slightly larger than the rest; to its left look for a diamond shaped rock resting on the sand, the letter box is beneath. Be cautious; listen for the approach of muggles. Someone may suddenly appear over the sand dunes and discover you. Make sure you carefully re-hide the letter box and smooth over any footprints you made in the sand.
You have found your prize; help yourself to one of the shells in the box as a souvenir of your quest. You can return the way you came, or treat yourself to a beach walk and beautiful scenery by returning over a parallel shore route. Continue on past the clump of birch and follow the sandy path as it veers right, up over the top of a sand dune. You will then have a view of Ipswich Bay and straight ahead you see the water tower on the heights across the bay. The path zig-zags back and forth a bit, but keep going until you enter the beach. Turn left on the beach heading south along the shore for about a mile and this will bring you back to the Sandy Point parking area.
For more info about the federal refuge and state park go to:
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/parkerriver/visit.html
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/sndp.htm