2 new letterboxes at Haley Farm State Park, in Groton,
CT (New London county).

Terrain: easy
Clues: easy
Time: about 1 and 1/2 hours

DIRECTIONS: Take Route 1 East through Groton, CT, turn
right onto Route 215.
After 0.6 mile, turn right onto Brook Street. After
0.5 mile, turn right onto Haley Farm Road, which
brings you to the parking lot of Haley Farm State
Park.

CLUES: Entering the park, notice the main trail (a
wide gravelly path, marked with a green sign that says
"Bike Route") but instead turn to the right on a
smaller trail and pass through two stone walls with
fence posts. Bypass a turn to the left that would take
you through a third stone wall into a large field, and
instead go straight until you have a second
opportunity to turn left and pass through the stone
wall. This small faint path will take you to an old
cemetary with gravestones dating back to 1802. The
gravestones contain wonderful old poems, if you can
make them out (it's worth the effort!). Continuing
past the cemetary, curve left then right to find the
three-sided remains of a small foundation. Here you
will find the Chester Cemetary Letterbox, in a pile of
rocks.

Backtrack about 8 paces to find a faint trail going
uphill. Follow this, cross over a small stone wall at
the top, and then bushwhack about 20 paces straight
ahead to get back onto the main trail. Turn left on
the trail and follow it until it comes out over flat
rock and then winds down into the upper end of the
large field that you passed on the way in. Follow the
trail across the upper section of the field and then
straight through a stone wall. Continue on this trail,
passing various other right and left junctions, until
it brings you down to the main bike route trail that
you saw when you first entered the park.

Turn right on the main bike route trail, and follow it
to the end at a green iron gate. Pass by the gate and
turn left, to find the covered bridge over the
railroad tracks. Cross the bridge and follow the path,
through another green iron gate, past a junction on
the left, until you pass the City of Groton Utilities
equipment enclosure on the right. A short way after
this, turn left onto a trail and then immediately
leave the trail on the right to climb uphill through
trees and up rock, come out on flat rock, veer left to
a flat grassy spot (makes a good picnic spot). Cross
the grassy area to find more rock. Carefully climb off
the edge of the rock to find the Picnic Spot Letterbox
under the ledge.

Return to the trail and turn right. Follow this trail
until you come to the railroad tracks and find a
tunnel under the tracks straight in front of you. Pass
through the tunnel. (Although the gate on the tunnel
entrance is usually open, if it should happen to be
locked, continue following the trail you are on, and
at the end turn right to get back to the covered
bridge.) Turn right when you come out of the tunnel
and follow the railroad fence for a short way until
you come to a trailhead on the left. Follow this trail
until you come to a junction on the right passing
through a stone wall. Take this trail and keep right
at the "Y" to arrive at a large rock known as Canopy
Rock. To your left is the main trail. Turn right onto
it, and follow it back to the parking lot.

from Karen in CT
thomsen_k@yahoo.com


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