Walking the Cape and Islands: A Comprehensive Guide to the Walking and Hiking Trails of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket

by David Weintraub

Overview

The best walking and hiking trails in the beloved Massachusetts region

Pine forests, windswept dunes, freshwater ponds, salt marshes, and wave-washed beaches, enjoy it all as you stroll along the beautiful trails of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. Walking the Cape and Islands is the only comprehensive guide to this incredible area. Experience scenic Cape Cod National Seashore, Nickerson State Park, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket land bank and conservation areas, Massachusetts Audubon properties, and many other parks and open spaces.

Suitable for all abilities, the book’s 72 walks and hikes range in length from less than a mile to just under 11 miles. Families with children will especially enjoy many of the shorter, easier walks. Each entry includes a Walk Summary, which provides a helpful snapshot of the route. Plus, the book describes the area’s rich human and natural history, climate, geology, and more. At-a-Glance Info offers details such as distance, difficulty, walk time, trail surface, facilities available, and whether bicycles, dogs, or hunting area allowed.

Now in full color, the new edition offers photographs and professionally drawn maps, paired with descriptions that take you step by step along the route. So whether you are a visitor or resident, let author David Weintraub guide you to some of the best walking and hiking trails in coastal New England.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634040341
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	05/12/2020
Edition description:	2nd Revised ed.
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	430,410
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

David Weintraub is a writer, photographer, and educator based in South Carolina and Cape Cod. His other books are Adventure Kayaking: Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area, Top Trails: San Francisco Bay Area, East Bay Trails, North Bay Trails, Monterey Bay Trails (all published by Wilderness Press), and Peninsula Tales and Trails (Graphic Arts Books). David’s articles and photographs have appeared in such magazines as the American Bar Association Journal, Audubon, Backpacker, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Hemispheres, Photo District News, Sierra, Smithsonian, and Sunset, and in books such as San Francisco: The City’s Sights and Secrets (Chronicle Books), The World of Shorebirds (Sierra Club Books), and Cape Cod on My Mind (Falcon Publishing). David is an avid walker, birder, kayaker, and cyclist.

Read an Excerpt

Outer Cape: Truro, Cape Cod National Seashore, Pilgrim Spring Area

37. Pilgrim Spring Trail

Key At-a-Glance Information

• General
• location N42º 3.3035' W70º 6.3404'
• website https://www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/pilgrimspring.htm
• distance 0.7 mile
• type of walk Loop
• difficulty Easy
• time to walk 1 hour or less
• scenery Dunes, forest, marsh
• exposure to sun Partial
• trail traffic Moderate
• trail surface(s) Dirt, pavement
• trails open year-round, sunrise–sunset
• fees/passes None
• facilities Restrooms and water (seasonal); picnic tables, interpretive shelter
• Trail Use
• bicycles Not allowed
• dogs Not allowed
• hunting Not allowed
• Health Stats
• number of steps 1,575
• estimated calories burned 147
• Directions to Trailhead
• From the intersection of Routes 6 and 6A in North Truro, take Route 6 north for 2.1 miles; then turn right on Pilgrim Heights Road, signed pilgrim heights. Go 0.5 miles to a large paved parking area on the left side of a one-way loop. Two trails are served from a trailhead on the northwest edge of the loop. The trail to Small’s Swamp goes left, toward the interpretive shelter. A trail to Pilgrim Spring branches right from this trail. (Restrooms, water, and picnic tables are a short distance south, adjacent to the next parking area.)

Walk Summary

Where the Pilgrims first found fresh water, you can enjoy a quiet ramble amid a variety of native trees and shrubs on this short, easy loop. Trailside markers identify some of the common plants. (While here, also visit the Small’s Swamp Trail, which departs from the same trailhead as the trail to Pilgrim Spring.)

Description

Just before reaching the interpretive shelter, veer right on a dirt trail and enjoy a level, forested walk. Soon on a curvy course, descend gently to an overlook, about 0.2 mile, where the view extends eastward across a freshwater marsh to a line of dunes. A narrow corridor of shrubs leads moderately downhill via dirt-and-wood steps to a clearing with a picnic table, near the paved bike trail. Less than a week after making landfall in Provincetown, a party of Pilgrims found their first supply of fresh water here. The seep is beside a nearby split rail fence, and the event is commemorated by a metal plaque in a nearby rock.

With a paved bike trail on your left, turn right and climb moderately via dirt-and-log steps carpeted with pine needles. The pines here are respected elders, their limbs twisted with age and exposure to the elements. After a switchback and a moderate ascent, find level ground amid the pines. Soon reach a paved path that skirts restrooms and leads through a picnic area at about 0.6 mile. When you reach a large parking area, cross it and ahead find the continuation of the trail, now a level dirt track. At a grassy area, climb an embankment to reach the east side of the first parking area.

Flora

Pitch pine, scrub oak, black cherry, arrowwood, bayberry, beach plum, highbush blueberry, lowbush blueberry, saltspray rose, and winterberry add botanical interest to the route. The ever-present poison ivy is here, as are bullbrier, Virginia creeper, blackberry, honeysuckle, and wild sarsaparilla.

Fauna

Two small but vociferous songsters, the common yellowthroat and chipping sparrow, may be seen and heard here during summer.

Table of Contents

Map Legend

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Preface

Introduction

Overview Maps

Cape Cod: Upper Cape

• Bourne, Four Ponds Conservation Area, Town Forest Tour
• Sandwich, Briar Patch Conservation Area, Boiling Springs Pond
• Sandwich, Maple Swamp Conservation Lands, Moraine Scramble
• Sandwich, Murkwood Conservation Area, Scorton Creek Marsh
• Falmouth, Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon), Grassy Pond
• Falmouth, Beebe Woods, Punch Bowl
• Falmouth, Falmouth Town Forest, Long Pond
• Mashpee, Lowell Holly Reservation, Two-Pond Two-Step
• Mashpee, Mashpee River Reservation, West Side Trek
• Mashpee, South Mashpee Pine Barrens Conservation Area, Anything But Barren

Cape Cod: Mid-Cape

• Barnstable, Bridge Creek Conservation Area, East Side Ramble
• Barnstable, Sandy Neck, Great Marshes to Cape Cod Bay
• Barnstable, West Barnstable Conservation Area, Many Many Up, Many Many Down
• Yarmouth, Callery-Darling Conservation Area, Grand Traverse
• Yarmouth, Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, Nature Trail
• Dennis, Crowes Pasture, Shoreline Loop
• Dennis, Indian Lands Conservation Area, Bass River Ramble

Cape Cod: Lower Cape

• Brewster, John Wing Trail, Bay and Back
• Brewster, Nickerson State Park, Cliff and Little Cliff Ponds
• Brewster, Nickerson State Park, Silas Road
• Brewster, Punkhorn Parklands, Calf Field Pond
• Brewster, Punkhorn Parklands, Eagle Point
• Brewster, Punkhorn Parklands, Grand Tour
• Harwich, Bells Neck Conservation Lands, West Reservoir Circuit
• Harwich, Hawksnest State Park, Kettle Pond Stroll
• Chatham, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Morris Island Trail
• Orleans, Kent’s Point Conservation Area, Kent’s Point
• Orleans, Paw Wah Point Conservation Area, A Little Pleasant (Bay) Walk

Cape Cod: Outer Cape

• Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore, Nauset Marsh and Coast Guard Beach
• Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore, Red Maple Swamp and Fort Hill
• Wellfleet, Cape Cod National Seashore, Atlantic White Cedar Swamp
• Wellfleet, Cape Cod National Seashore, Great Island Trail
• Wellfleet, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon), Bay View Trail and Fresh Brook Pathway
• Wellfleet, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon), Goose Pond Trail
• Truro, Cape Cod National Seashore, Truro and Wellfleet Ponds
• Truro, Cape Cod National Seashore, North Pamet Area, Bearberry Hill and Bog House
• Truro, Cape Cod National Seashore, Pilgrim Spring Area, Pilgrim Spring Trail
• Truro, Cape Cod National Seashore, Pilgrim Spring Area, Small’s Swamp Trail
• Provincetown, Cape Cod National Seashore, Beech Forest Trail
• Provincetown, Cape Cod National Seashore, Long Point
• Provincetown, Cape Cod National Seashore, Race Point and Hatches Harbor

Martha’s Vineyard

• Aquinnah, Gay Head Moraine Preserve, A Quirky Loop
• Chilmark, Fulling Mill Brook Preserve, Fulling Mill Brook
• Chilmark, Great Rock Bight Preserve, Rock and Roll
• Chilmark, Menemsha Hills Reservation, A Hill Too High
• Chilmark, Middle Road Sanctuary, Hill and Dale
• Chilmark, Peaked Hill Reservation, Peaked Hill Loop
• Chilmark, Waskosim’s Rock Reservation, Waskosim’s Rock
• West Tisbury, Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary, Beach, Pond, and Forest
• West Tisbury, Long Point Wildlife Refuge, Sandplain Sortie
• West Tisbury, Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, Shrubland Sally
• West Tisbury, Sepiessa Point Reservation, Tisbury Great Pond
• Tisbury, Ripley’s Field Preserve, Forest and Field Foray
• Tisbury, Tisbury Meadow Preserve, Esker Escapade
• Tisbury, West Chop Woods, Woodsy Walk
• Oak Bluffs, Trade Wind Fields and Farm Pond Preserves, Runway Ramble
• Edgartown, Caroline Tuthill Preserve, Garrett Family Trail
• Edgartown, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon), Jessica Hancock Memorial Trail
• Edgartown, Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon), Woodland Wonderland
• Edgartown, Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, Spruce Circuit
• Edgartown, Chappaquiddick Island, Poucha Pond Reservation, Salt Marsh Stroll
• Edgartown, Chappaquiddick Island, Three Ponds Reservation, Brines Pond Reserve
• Edgartown, Chappaquiddick Island, Wasque Reservation, Ocean’s Edge

Nantucket

• Nantucket, Altar Rock, Moorish Delight
• Nantucket, Gardner Farm, Forest, Meadow, and Marsh Meander
• Nantucket, Long Pond, Pond Promenade
• Nantucket, Masquetuck, All But the Kitchen Sink
• Nantucket, Middle Moors Serengeti, Serengeti and Mt. Kilimanjaro
• Nantucket, Sanford Farm, Ram Pasture, and The Woods, Barn and Back
• Nantucket, Smooth Hummock Coastal Preserve, Miacomet Pond
• Nantucket, Squam Swamp, Squam Swamp Interpretive Trail
• Nantucket, Tupancy Links, A Link to the Past

Appendix A: Best Walks

• Easy Walks (2 miles or less and mostly flat)
• Moderate Walks (1 to 5 miles with some hills)
• Difficult Walks (more than 5 miles)
• Walks Where Dogs Are Not Allowed
• Walks Where Hunting Is Not Allowed
• Best Birding Walks
• Best Nature Walks
• Best Off-Season Walks
• Best Scenic Vistas
• Best Walks with Children (nature/visitor center available)
• Best Wildflowers

Appendix B: Recommended Reading

Appendix C: Information Sources

Index