The booklet, The Fern & Fins Guide to Sidewalk Journeys in Needham, states that Rosemary Lake began as a glacial kettle hole over 10,000 years ago. In the 18th century the lake was dammed to make a mill pond for powering local industries, including an unsuccessful effort to cultivate silkworms. In the 20th century the town of Needham built a recreational complex with a pool, concession stand, terraced seating and sandy “beaches”.
Unfortunately, you cannot circumnavigate the lake along its shoreline but you can make a nice loop through the woods on the "orange dot" trail. To get to the entrance nearest to stage #1, take Highland Avenue to Rosemary Street, cross over the railroad tracks and look on your left for the entrance to the Rosemary Pool Complex. The road to the lake does not show on the map, but we assure you that it is there! You’ll see the trailhead in the left corner of the parking area. The coordinates listed above are for stage #1, which is a short distance from the trailhead. A bit of bushwhacking is needed at most stages and the ground can get a bit squishy in parts after a significant rainfall. This is a "log only" cache so there is no need to bring trade goods or coins.
Rosemary's Baby is a 1967 best-selling horror novel by Ira Levin. In 1968 Roman Polansky wrote the screenplay that had Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes in the title roles. The book and movie center on Rosemary Woodhouse, a young woman who with her husband Guy, live in an old Gothic style New York City apartment building. Their neighbors, Minnie and Roman Castevet, befriend them. Rosemary does not care for their company but Guy enjoys visiting with them. Rosemary does some investigating and finds out that her neighbors are the leaders of a coven of witches. When Rosemary is told that her newborn son died at birth she knows that he is to be sacrificed at a coven ritual. The horrible truth proves to be not what the coven plans to do with the baby--but what the baby is.
5/20/14 - We found the final coords a bit off today. If you can't locate the final, add .005 to the North coordinate. Also, at stage #4, unclip the clasp to get the coordinates. Please reclip it so that the animals don't carry it away.