The Bourne Bridge Letterbox
Location: State: MA County: Barnstable Town: Bourne
Cape Cod Canal Bikepath/Service road - Mainland side

Planted by: Tweety and Mr. Coon 10/02/02

Difficulty: Easy on foot or on human powered wheels of your choice.

Driving directions: From Rt. 195 east go south on Rt.25 towards the
Bourne Bridge. Turn off at the last exit before the bridge, go around
the rotary (past the landlocked tugboat) and,

(1) if you want to cycle the canal - turn right into the town of
Buzzards Bay and continue along the main street until you see the
railroad lift bridge. The seven mile long bike path begins here. Turn
left into the parking lot for the Buzzards Bay Recreation Area. The
box is 2 miles east (north) along the bike path.

or (2) if you want to walk to the box - you may want to go farther
around the rotary and follow Rt. 6 under the bridge to parallel the
canal. There are two scenic turnoffs on the right side of the road,
the second of which gives spectacular views of the canal, its valley,
and the glacial moraines that form the part of Cape Cod next to the
canal on the other side. At the bottom of the hill lies the Herring
Run Recreation Area in Bournedale. There are restroom facilities
here. If you park and walk from here the box is about 1.5 miles west
(south). Make sure you check out the herring run and there is also a
nature trail that leads from here.

Directions to the box:
Near the 2 mile northward/ 5 mile southward mark look for a culvert
on the landward side of the path with a section of white fence behind
it, near this on the seaside edge of the path is a small
(2 or 3 inches in diameter) Corps of Engineers survey marker ( gps
269). The box hides behind the base of a utility pole with the number
270 on it in letters large enough to read from passing vessels. The
stamp is an on-site effort. Our motto is "Any stamp is good if it
gets people to go to places they might enjoy."

The Cape Cod canal was completed in 1914 (it opened 17 days before
the Panama Canal), but it was conceived far earlier. Miles Standish
and the Massachusetts Bay colonists contemplated digging a canal here
to connect two river valleys across this neck of land and President
George Washington was another early proponent of a canal here to
avoid British blockades. After several false starts in the late
1800's it was built by private company and then sold to the
government during WW I. The canal has since been maintained by the
Army Corps of Engineers. It is the world's widest sea level canal.
The channel is maintained at 32 feet deep. The Bourne Bridge is 2385
long and 135 feet above the water.

If you plan to ride the length of the path be advised that its often
quite breezy here so it might be well to take the wind into
consideration and start from whichever end you need to that day to
head into the wind so that the return trip will be easier. Most times
we've been there the wind has been blowing from Bourne (the west or
Buzzards Bay end) to Sagamore ( the east or Cape Cod Bay end).
If you want to go the Cape Cod end there are several good places to
park at the Sagamore end.
There are other boxes near the Scusset Beach end, including the
Sagamore Hill Letterbox and the Cape Cod Canal letterbox ( which is
listed as in Plymouth County ). If you continue on Rt 6 to the
Sagamore Bridge rotary ( intersection with Rt. 3 coming down from
Boston) take the first turn past the bridge (Canal Street) off the
Sagamore Bridge rotary there's a parking lot right near the base of
the bridge. If you take the second turn ( Scusset Beach Road) from
the rotary and follow it to the end it takes you to Scusset beach
and camping area, a place worth investigating anyway. Before the
campground there is a large parking area right next to the canal
where there are restroom facilities, snack bar and tables overlooking
the canal. The docks here are a popular fishing spot.