Cape Cod Trails Conference Home Page
Long Walks on Cape Cod
Copyright 1999 Cape Cod Trails Conference
Wellfleet Ponds
USGS Map:
Wellfleet
Trailheads: 1. 0.8
miles east on LeCount Hollow Road from
Route 6 in Wellfleet to Ocean View Drive;
north 1.0 miles to parking area.
2. 1.0 miles east on Cahoon Hollow Road from
Route 6 in Wellfleet, to parking area on
the left.
Guide: This guide has been rewritten as a combination of two
short walks from "www.cctrails.org/wellfleet.htm". The topo maps
cover each half.
Duck Pond
You will pass several of these forks with
rail fences (004). Stay
on the main track as it curves toward the north. It is a
pretty
walk in the woods, well-shaded in the summer. You will come to
the utility right of way (005). Walk north on it until a distinct
woods
road appears to your right, in another 0.2 mile (006). Follow it
north
to Duck Pond.
The road curves to the
left and ends in a parking area.
Just beyond
Is a little brown sign with regulations regarding use
of ponds.
Follow the foot path to the shore of Duck Pond (007).
Enjoy
the view!
NOTICE! At this point, the previous guide is revised!
We
have always followed a route around the north shore of the pond,
passing through private property to proceed to trailhead 2.
The
landowners object to that route, and we must comply with their
wishes.
Reverse to return to the utility right of way.
Follow it to
the west
for about 0.5 mile to a sandy track heading northeast (008).
Walk
northeast on it for another 0.5 mile to Cahoon Hollow Road (009).
Walk to Cahoon Hollow Road,
passing by Trailhead 2 on your
left. Walk east on Cahoon Hollow Road about 0.3 mile to a
point
just opposite the east edge of little Southeast Pond (010). Across
the
road to the south is a well-worn foot trail next to a rail fence.
Walk east and south on it, heading for Trailhead 1.
You are now about to enjoy a wilderness
adventure. Be prepared,
as the Boy Scouts say. Have your compass out and refer to
it at every
trail junction. The area is obviously well-known to local
residents;
it has evidence of frequent use on a multitude of paths.
You are in
a one mile square area bounded by Cahoon Hollow Road to the north,
Ocean View Drive to the east, the original woods road to the south,
and the utility right of way to the west.
Long Pond in Wellfleet
From the parking
lot for Great Pond on Cahoon Hollow Road
(01), look for an opening in the fence
at the northwest corner of the
parking lot. Walk out to a
deeply rutted woods road (05) and follow
it to the northwest past Turtle
Pond on your right until you come
to a second distinct fork (06).
Bear left, walking west, then northwest..
Shortly,
Dyer Pond appears on your left. Stay on the main
woods road as it passes by summer
houses, then curves to the
right, heading in a more northerly
direction. You will walk past
"fire road" cables along the way,
and also past summer houses on
Long Pond on your right.
About 0.6
mile from Cahoon Hollow Road, you will come out on
Long Pond Road (08), another two lane
paved road. Turn right, and in
about one-quarter mile, a deeply
rutted woods road goes off to the
left at an acute angle (09). Follow
this road as it travels northeast,
paralleling Long Pond for a bit.
You will
be on this track for nearly one mile. Along the
way, another woods road comes up
on the right from Long Pond
(20). In about 200 yards further, a major
fork appears (12). Bear
right to stay on the same course. The road
ends at a little parking area
enclosed by rail fences. To
your right is Spectacle Pond. Walk
down to its shore to enjoy the sights.
Come back
to the parking area and look for a foot path
heading
northeast, around the fence.
You will come out on Ocean
View Drive.
Cross Ocean View
Drive (13) and follow the foot path north to a
woods road that heads east
out to the cliff and a view of the
ocean (14)..
Reverse
to walk west on the woods road to Ocean View Drive, then
cross over to the woods road continuing
on the other side. Walk west
on the woods road for almost one-quarter
mile. At the utility pole (16),
walk southeast on the woods road
that passes by Kinnacum Pond (17).
Where it intersects the road to
Spectacle Pond (18), turn right and walk
southwest to the fork (20).
Bear left at the fork, walking south and then southeast to
Long Pond
Road (21). Cross Long
Pond Road and pick up the dirt road heading
south and southwest around Long
Pond. It is an access road for summer
houses (22), first to Long Pond on your
right, then to Great Pond on your left.
When you come to an intersection of woods roads
with a "fire road"
sign cabled across (07), you may either turn left and retrace the route
to the parking lot, or walk around Dyer Pond (27,28,29) and return.
The shorter walk is 5.3 miles. The loop around Dyer Pond adds an
additional mile.
