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Long Walks on Cape Cod
Copyright 1998 Cape Cod Trails Conference
WALK THE LENGTH OF CAPE COD
There are people interested
in walking the length of Cape
Cod, that is, from Provincetown to the Cape Cod Canal. We
don't
particularly recommend it. We would rather just spend a nice
day
exploring one or another of the many scenic areas in a loop hike,
or occasionally a shuttle hike. That's what our guides to
long
walks are for.
But you can use our Long
Walks on Cape Cod to string together
a traverse across the Cape from Provincetown to Route 134 in Dennis.
Then we will describe in detail how to walk west to the canal,
with scenic detours through several conservation areas along the
way.
From Herring Cove Beach
in Provincetown, use both the
Province Lands and Race
Point walks to get to Race Point Beach.
Then follow the Head of the
Meadow hike on the beach to High Head.
Note our admonitions about selecting a day with perfect weather.
From there you can continue
the Head of the Meadow walk
inland to Highland Light. Pick up the Truro
Hills walk to take
you to Ballston Beach. Follow the Truro
Ponds hike to Gull Pond.
From the terminus of
the Truro Ponds hike on Gull Pond,
walk south briefly to Long Pond on the road from Gull Pond Road
to Long Pond Road and link with our Wellfleet
Ponds walk. Near
Duck Pond, walk south one mile on the utility right of way to the
northern end of the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Follow that south
for
1.5 miles to Old Kings Highway in our Marconi
Area walk.
Walk south on Old Kings
Highway to Eastham, and then south
on the rail trail to West Road in Orleans. Or you can take a longer,
but much more scenic route on our Eastham
Beaches walk. When you get
to West
Road in Orleans, walk south on it to cross Route 6A and get to
Lots Hollow Road off Eldredge Park Way. There you pick our South Orleans
walk
and continue on the east side of Route 6 on our Freemans Way
walk.
An alternative is to
walk west on the rail trail to Nickerson
State Park, then go
south through the park to connect to the Freemans
Way walk on the west side of Route 6. Both
east annd west meet at
Freemans Way, then walk on the east side of Route 6 to Route 137,
where you follow our Hawks
Nest State Park walk to Route 124.
Then you walk south
to pick up the Cape Cod Rail Trail
south of Route 6. Follow it to connect to our Herring
River
walk to Route 134.
Another alternative is
to walk north from Nickerson State
Park on Crosby Lane to follow our Brewster
Beaches walk. Walk
south on Paines Creek Road to Stony Brook Road and Run Hill Road
to follow our Punkhorn Parklands
walk. Walk east on Seymour Road
to connect to the Cape Cod Rail Trail and south to the Herring
River walk, leading to Route 134.
Detailed directions for the rest of the walk follow:
USGS Map: Dennis, Mass
Park at the lot for the
Cape Cod Rail Trail on Route 134,
south of exit 9 from Route 6. Walk west across 134 very
carefully; it is a very busy four-lane road. Find the railroad
tracks directly across the road, and walk northwest on the foot
path along the tracks. There are plans, as yet unfunded,
to
convert some of the railroad west of 134 to a paved trail.
In 0.3 mile from Route
134, cross Main Street in South
Dennis. You are in the parking lot for the Dennis Town Offices.
To your left, you will see a sign for the Indian Lands
conservation area. Walk northwest along the utility right
of
way to the foot path heading south into the Indian Lands.
This is a wonderful little
area for a short walk, renowned
for the ladyslippers, which bloom by the thousands in May.
Take
a scenic detour through it, if you have time, or continue walking
on the utility right of way, paralleling the tracks.
When you reach the railroad
bridge over the Bass River, in
another 0.8 mile, you have choices. The bridge is sound,
but some
people do not like to walk on railroad ties over open water.
If
you go to the right at the east end of the bridge, you will see
an
opening in the fence leading to an unused rest area.
From it, you can cross
Bass River on the highway bridge,
which has ample clearance between you and the traffic. On
the west
side, you can scramble under the fence easily where it is too high
for the the slope of the embankment, and return to the railroad
tracks.
Continue walking, now
west, along the tracks. In 0.9 mile,
the tracks cross Great Western Road, near Whites Path. You
can
see the tracks continue, straight as an arrow, to Station Avenue
in 1.4 miles. That will be our next parking point.
Park at the Village Plaza
on the west side of Station Ave.
in Yarmouth, 0.4 mile south of Route 6 at exit 8. Village
Plaza
is just to your right, after crossing the railroad tracks.
You
can spot a car here for the first leg west from Route 134.
Walk west along the railroad
tracks, and continue northwest
under Route 6. When you get to the switch, notice that the
tracks
are in use here. Boxcars of compacted trash are carted off-Cape
from the transfer station to your right. Listen for the whistle,
and look for the engine. Fortunately, the train moves very
slowly.
After passing under Route
6, in 0.7 mile, the gritty face of
industry gives way to deep woods along both sides of the tracks.
Pass by Elisha's Pond to Pine St. which crosses just below Perch
Pond, one mile from Station Avenue.
Turn left, walk south,
and then immediately to the right is
the entrance to Camp Greenough, the Boy Scout camp. Walk
south on
the dirt road through the entrance and follow it southwest to the
crossroads, with a sign plainly marking same, in 0.3 mile.
Circle around to the
west on the dirt road, and follow it
northwest to the Upper Wampanoag encampment. Walk west through
the middle of the area to a pronounced foot path with red tree
blazes and red diamond markers.
You are now connected
to our Dennis Pond walk, which
will
take you to Willow St. in Yarmouthport. Follow the blazed
and
marked trail southwest for about one-quarter mile, then watch
carefully as it makes a sharp right.
Continue walking on the
red trail as it circles to the
northwest until it reaches an east-west woods road in another half
mile. Follow it west for another half mile and continue west
as
it goes through a little dump area to a foot path that connects
with an industrial road, that in turn intersects Summer St., and
leads shortly to Willow St.
Note: We used to route this portion of the walk along the
south
of Dennis Pond, but the area has been closed for maintenance.
USGS Map: Hyannis, Mass.
A good place to spot
a car on this leg is the Fleet Bank
parking lot on the west side of Willow Street, just north of Route
6. Walk across Willow Street to the railroad spur, then walk
south almost to the Route 6 bridge over the tracks. Look
for a
well-worn path heading west. It is used by mountain bikers,
but
has not been torn up by motorized dirt bikes.
Walk west on this trail,
which parallels Route 6. You will
be passing north and south of the fence that is supposed to
separate the highway right of way from private property.
Some of
the fence is old wire, some is new cyclone, and some is missing
altogether.
In about 0.5 mile, at
the crest of a hill, pause for the
winter view north to Cape Cod Bay. Continue walking west
to
the water tanks, another 0.7 mile. Walk out to Mary Dunn
Road on
the entrance road.
Walk north 0.2 mile past
Andrea Drive to a gravel road
on the left. Walk southwest on this road as it passes two
utility
rights of way, then heads due west paralleling Route 6. As soon
as
this road starts to turn northwest, look for a bike trail to the
west.
Another mile of walking
this trail along the fence on the
highway side, takes you to Old Hyannis Road, which is a
continuation of Phinneys Lane from the south. You are 2.8
miles
from Willow Street. Walk west across the bridge and turn
around
to the right. You will see a whole panel removed from the
fence.
Walk down to the road,
and then walk south on Phinney's Lane
under Route 6 for 0.2 mile. At the second entrance to Old
Phinney's Lane, a little triangle affords parking room for
a few cars. Walk south another 0.1 mile to a foot path heading
west to Hathaways Pond North, which is visible ahead.
This is a conservation
area of the Town of Barnstable, much
used for dog walking, nature tours, etc. It is a pretty little
secluded pond, just a few minutes from the Hyannis commercial
sprawl.
Walk north on the wide
shore path, then immediately left
to parallel the north shore of the pond. At the west end
of the
pond, continue walking west and northwest on the foot path.
As the road curves around to the east, look for a wide sunken
road heading west.
Walk west on this road
into the watershed area. The road
curves to the south. Bear right at the next fork, 0.8 mile
from
Phinney's Lane, on a road that soon heads due north. When
you
come to the golf course, cirle around to the right, following the
edge of the woods adjacent to the fairways.
Initially, you will be
walking north, then west. At the
tee for the 12th hole, you will turn sharply south to walk to the
clubhouse, visible ahead. At the clubhouse, walk out on the
entrance road to Route 132.
Then walk northwest on
the shoulder of Route 132 to the Park
and Ride parking lot behind the Burger King Lot, at exit 6 of the
Mid-Cape Highway. This will be about 0.5 mile. Walk
to, or park
at, the far western end of the Park and Ride Lot.
Immediately north of
the lot, about 40 yards down the
embankment, is a dirt bike trail heading west. Walk west
for
one-quarter mile to the utility right of way. Walk west along
it on the dirt road, across Oak Street, to a gravel road at 0.9
mile.
Walk north on the gravel
road for another 0.1 mile to a blue
house on the left. Walk west on the dirt road passing adjacent
to
the house on its south side. Soon you will begin a very pretty
woodland walk. First a swamp appears to the north, then Spruce
Pond.
Cross the utility right
of way to the foot path on the other
side. Next is little Sandy Hill Pond. At the fork,
bear left,
moving away from the pond. At the triangle, turn right. walking
northwest. Soon you come to a cranberry bog. Walk around
the
south side of the bog to the paved road that is Pine Street.
USGS Map: Sandwich, Mass.
Walk northwest on Pine
Street, passing a picturesque pond
and farm with stone walls. It is much photographed and reproduced
in visitors' guides. Stone walls are rare on Cape Cod.
Continue
walking on Pine Street to where it intersects Church Street.
Then
walk northwest on Church Street to Route 149. The distance
from
the park and ride lot at exit 6 is 3.4 miles.
You can park on the side
road near the church, if you wish,
or at the little parking lot for our Barnstable Hills walk, 0.4
mile to the south. Or walk south along Route 149 to the service
road, just south of the ramps for exit 5 on the Mid-Cape Highway.
See the guide for the
Barnstable Hills walk. Follow it to
the town boundary road. You will know it when you come to
a T
intersection in about 2.5 miles. Turn right and walk north
about
0.5 mile to the service road paralleling Route 6.
We had considered continuing
west on the utility right of
way, but it is a dismal walk. The Town of Sandwich has proposed
a trail from Town Line Road at the utility right of way to the
Round Hill Country Club to the northwest, passing through the
Maple Swamp conservation area. Alas, it has not been realized.
We found walking the
service road a great deal more pleasant
than we had anticipated. It is obviously an old highway,
two-lane
and narrow. Also, it has not been developed until you reach
the
golf course. Then the side roads to housing areas with quaintsy,
cutesy names begin.
From Town Line Road to
Route 130 at exit 2 on the Mid-Cape
Highway is a little over five miles. You can park on the
service
road near exits 3 and 4, if you wish. Or if you are game
for a
long walk, spot a car at the information booth lot just north of
exit 2 on Route 130.
From there, walk north
along Route 130 for 0.4 mile to
Shawme Road. Turn left and follow it as it curves around
below
Upper Shawme Lake. The sign tells you that it is a "scenic
road,"
so enjoy the walk.
USGS Map: Pocasset, Mass.
At the intersection of
Shawme Road and Highland View Drive,
a gravel road continues north. You are now in Heritage Plantation.
Follow the road north for 0.5 mile to the parking lot next to the
admission building. Directly across the road is a fire road
with
a vehicle barrier across it.
Follow this road briefly
west to the fork. Bear right and
walk northwest. At the next fork, walk north; and at the
next,
continue north, climbing the side of a hill along the way.
When
you come to wide woods road, go left. Soon you will see blue
trail markers, indicating that you are in Shawme-Crowell State
Forest.
USGS Map: Sagamore, Mass.
Turn right at the next
woods road, heading north. Soon you
will come to a paved road with signboards. One points down
the
road you are on to proclaim "Heritage Plantation 1 mile."
It's
not that far. We measured 0.6 mile from Pine Street in Heritage
Plantation.
Missing is a signboard
pointing the way to the park entrance.
Fortunately, it is a small park. It is, in fact, just a scrap
north of Route 6. The original park was vast, but was leased
to
the armed forces as part of the Massachusetts Military Reservation.
We are trying to get it back.
Just walk west on the
paved road as far as you can go, and
then north to the entrance road which will take you to Route 130.
That will be about three miles from the information booth.
Walk
along 130 to the northwest for 0.4 mile to the intersection with
Route 6A. Cross 6A to Tupper Road.
Walk along Tupper Road
for 0.9 mile to Freezer Road on the
left. Follow that down to the parking lot for the bike trail
on
the south side of the canal. This is a good parking terminus
for
the last leg of the walk. It is a little less that five miles
from exit 2 on the Mid-Cape Highway.
Congratulations!
You have walked from Provincetown's
Herring Cove Beach to the Cape Cod Canal, a distance of about
seventy-five miles.
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