LocationsMassachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
The North Bridge
A wooden bridge over the Concord River where farmers were first ordered to fire on British soldiers, with a bronze minute man on one bank and a granite obelisk on the other — one marking where the militia stood, the other where the British did.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
On the morning of the nineteenth of April, 1775, about four hundred farmers and militia stood on the hill above this bridge, and a company of British soldiers stood at the bottom of it. The farmers thought the town was being set on fire, so they marched down the hill towards the bridge. The British pulled back across the river. Then somebody fired — nobody has ever agreed who — and two British soldiers fell. They are buried a few steps from where you are standing. Sixty years later a poet who lived in Concord called it the shot heard round the world.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about an hour and a half at the park.
- Parking
- The Park Service gives 280 Monument Street, Concord for the North Bridge and Minute Man Statue lot. There is a second lot at the visitor center, 174 Liberty Street, up the hill. Both free, and there is no entrance fee. Note the park's own warning that satnavs get this park wrong — follow the brown signs once you are close.
- Underfoot
- A short walk down from the lot to the bridge, then across it. The bridge has a rail and steps up on either side. The visitor center sits up a hill.
- Stroller
- A stroller works on some of it.
- Bathrooms
- Bathrooms, but only in season.
21 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
Every game includes this one
The North Bridge
Get to the North Bridge and stand right in the middle of it.
A few of the others
The Stone By The Wall
Find the small grave stone tucked in beside the stone wall, and read it.
Stand Where They Stood
Find the tall pointed stone monument, then stand on the same bank of the river the British soldiers were on.
The Shot Heard Round The World
Find the poem carved into the statue's stone base. Read the last line out loud.
A Farmer And A Soldier
Look at the statue by the bridge. He's holding a gun. Find the farm tool beside him, and work out what his other job was.
Everybody On The Bridge
One photo of the whole crew on the bridge, with the river behind you.
Behind You
Without turning around, say what's behind you. Then turn around and check.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Play this at The North Bridge
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.