Between Yarmouth and Orleans, the trail follows the Cape Cod Central Railroad, completed in 1865. The route follows 19th-century rail lines that carried vacationers to the once remote peninsula from Boston and New York City. Completely paved and mostly flat, the trail is a popular destination for families and recreational bicyclists. PROVINCETOWN: Nat?l Seashore?s Province Lands Visitor?s Center (Race Point Rd.Cape Cod’s briny seaports, sandy beaches, delectable seafood, and diverse landscape of salt marshes, pine forests, and cranberry bogs can all be experienced from the 27.5-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail. TRURO: Head of the Meadow Beach Parking Lot ? High Head Rd. WELLFLEET: National Seashore at Marconi Area ? LeCount Hollow Rd. ORLEANS: Orleans Ctr, Old Colony Way (off Main St.)ĮASTHAM: Salt Pond Visitor Center (Rt. 28 intersection ? Winifred Rd, off Old Queen Anne Rd. There is a gradual slope.īREWSTER: Underpass Road (off Rte. The terrain is flat and straight, good for walking, biking and horseback riding.
#CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE BIKE TRAIL FREE#
Eastham: access and parking at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, Wellfleet access behind the South Orleans General Store, free parking available. beside the Mid-Cape Home Center store or on Rock Harbor Rd. Brewster: access and parking on Underpass Road at the Rail Trail Bike Shop, or at Nickerson State Park on Rt 6A. It’s a nice, safe place to ride … but remind your kids to stay on the right! Harwich: access on Rt 124, near the parking area adjacent to Rte 6, or off Great Western Road. It roams through forests, fields, marshes and cranberry bogs all the way to Wellfleet. It begins in Dennis: access on Rt 134 - look for signs across from the Mid Cape Home Center. Now, every year, thousands of cyclists of all ages don their helmets and hop on the Rail Trail.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail is located in the mid-Cape area, in southeastern Massachusetts. If you look carefully as you ride along the trail, you can still see occasional relics of the Cape’s rail days. Trains continued to haul freight until the mid-1960’s, but then the tracks were torn up and the station-houses were razed or vandalized. Bridges to carry cars over Cape Cod Canal were opened in 1935, and in 1937 passenger service to the towns east of Dennis ended. But the railroad’s importance was soon surpassed by the automobile. With the growing number of visitors came train-loads of food and other provisions needed to meet their needs.
As the Cape’s popularity as a summer resort increased, the railroad was heavily used to transport visitors from New York and Connecticut, as well as other parts of Massachusetts. Railroad track extensions continued and by 1873, Old Colony had linked Boston with Cape Cod’s outermost point of Provincetown, offering a miraculously short, five-hour journey. By 1848, the Old Colony Railroad Company laid tracks that connected Boston and Sandwich. For more information call Nickerson State Park at 50.īefore the first railroad tracks were laid, the Cape was a relatively isolated area, accessible only by packet boat or stagecoach. For people with disabilities, a limited number of hand-cycles are available for rent at specific bike concessions. If you do not have a bike, bike rentals are available at many points along the way. Food and water are also readily available and public restrooms can be found at Nickerson State Park, Salt Pond Visitors Center at Cape Cod National Seashore and the National Seashore Headquarters. There are many opportunities to get off the trail and visit a beach. Need to rent a bike? Click here for the bike rentals and bike sales. The trail has a wide unpaved shoulder on one side to accommodate horseback riding, walkers, and runners. Its paved surface, few hills, and well-marked automobile crossings make it ideal for cyclists. The Cape Cod Rail Trail follows a former railroad right-of-way for 22 miles through the towns of Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet. Cape Cod Rail Trail – It All Starts in Dennis
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