Rail-Trails New England by Rails-to-Trails-Conservancy

Author:Rails-to-Trails-Conservancy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: eBook ISBN: 9780899977072
Publisher: Wilderness Press
Published: 2007-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

Contact: Friends of Bedford Depot Park

120 South Road

Bedford, MA 01730

(781) 687-6180

www.bedforddepot.org

MASSACHUSETTS

Cape Cod Rail Trail

Location

Barnstable County

Endpoints

South Dennis to South Wellfleet

Mileage

22

Roughness

Index

1

Surface

Asphalt

This 22-mile rail-trail serves up a genuine Cape Cod experience, stretching through quaint villages and along sandy beaches past a diverse landscape of salt marshes, pine forests, and cranberry bogs. The trail is paved, with few inclines, and trailheads sprinkled along the route offer restrooms, food, water, and swimming areas. You’ll also find trailside shops where bicycle—and even handcycle—rentals are a breeze.

The trail follows the former Old Colony Railroad right-of-way from South Dennis to South Wellfleet, via Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, and Eastham. The railroad laid the tracks linking Boston and Sandwich in 1848, and by 1873, it had pushed all the way to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod. As the cape gained popularity with vacationers, more railroad connections were made to New York, Connecticut, and other parts of Massachusetts. Passenger service ceased in 1937; transport freight hung on until the mid-1960s. By 1978, the trail was in place, and vacationers once again hit the corridor—this time on foot, inline skates, and bicycles.

Near its western trailhead in South Dennis, the trail is at its busiest. The first 4 miles offer ample opportunities to picnic, indulge in ice cream, or detour to other trails and towns. From a large, unique bicycle rotary in Harwich, the Old Colony Rail Trail continues through Harwich and the Hacker Wildlife Sanctuary and ends in Chatham. The beautifully landscaped rotary doubles as a gateway to the rest of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, providing a picnic area and trail information kiosks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.