LIMESTONE QUARRY LETTERBOX

LOCATION: Concord, MA, Estabrook Woods, Middlesex County

PLACED: May 15, 2002 by Docscience and GJourneys

TIME: One to one and half hours round trip

TERRAIN: Moderate, some poison ivy

MAP: No trail maps available, except for the New England orienteering Club map #33, which has a scale of 1:15000. Estabrook Woods is a beautiful 900 acre tract of land that is owned by Harvard University and the Town of Concord.

From the center of Concord, take LOWELL ROAD north. Cross the Concord River. Pass Liberty Street on the right, and at the blinking red light, go RIGHT on BARNES HILL ROAD. Take the first LEFT on ESTABROOK ROAD...

Drive to the end of this road (gated), turn around and park on the RIGHT side of the road in the designated area.

The Estabrook Trail starts just past the gate. Continue a short distance on this main trail to a four-way intersection. Go LEFT on this trail, which is the continuation of Estabrook Road; it will eventually go to Carlisle. This is the road on which the Minutemen marched on their way to battle at the Old North Bridge.

Pass a trail on the right, that says, Posted, No Hunting. You will pass Mink Pond on your right; a small trail goes down to the shore. This is a wonderful pond for wood ducks, and there is a big beaver lodge at the far right-hand end. Continue on the Estabrook Trail. A smaller trail will angle off to the right (The Esker Trail). Continuing on the main trail, notice an historical granite marker on the right side of the trail.

Go a short distance, and turn LEFT on a smaller trail; it passes through a stone wall. In about 1/8 of a mile, pass through another stone wall; find a small side trail going RIGHT up over a fallen log step. This trail winds around to the right of a small limestone quarry.

At the beginning of the first small quarry, the path passes by a rocky outcrop on the right. From this point, go 12 paces. On your right, notice a dead oak tree leaning at a 45degree angle against another dead oak. It is forked at the end. Look for your treasure at the base of the leaning dead oak. Stamp in!! Carefully replace the stones and branches.

In these small quarries, limestone was quarried and made into ground limestone for gardens, and used in plaster. There are beautiful saxifrage, baneberry, barberry, jack-in-the pulpit and columbine plants, growing around the limestone quarries, but there is also poison ivy! Beware!!

You can continue on this meandering woods trail back to the main trail. Turn RIGHT, and follow this trail back to where you parked the cars. This conservation area is very large, so dont take any side trails. People are known to end up on another street!

Read the Waiver of responsibility and Disclaimer before setting out.