LocationsMassachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Thirteen blocks of a whaling city you can walk in an afternoon — a sailors' chapel, a customs house, and the street where Frederick Douglass chose his own name.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
Ships sailed from this harbor to hunt whales, and were gone for years at a time. The oil they brought back lit lamps all over the world, before anybody had a light switch. And in a house on one of these streets, a man who had just escaped from being enslaved sat down with the family who took him in and chose himself a brand-new name. He picked Douglass.
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 visitor center is at 33 William Street. Free to walk the park; the whaling museum charges its own admission.
- Underfoot
- Thirteen blocks of city streets, some of them cobbled and steep down toward the water.
25 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
Every game includes this one
Johnny Cake Hill
Find the street called Johnny Cake Hill and walk all the way up it.
A few of the others
Upside Down
Find something growing or hanging upside down.
Somebody Fixed This
Find something outside that somebody has patched up or repaired.
Old Next To New
Find something old standing right next to something brand new.
Smallest Door
Find the smallest door you can. It does not have to be for people.
Look Up
Find something interesting higher than a grown-up can reach.
The Sailors' Chapel
Find the little chapel where whalers came to sit before they sailed away for years.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Play this at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.