Tag Archives: Cape Cod

Cape Cod National Seashore

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Cape Cod National Seashore consists of forty miles of sandy beach, marshes, ponds and uplands supporting a wide variety of species. 

The views are spectacular including lighthouses, cultural landscapes and historic buildings, wild cranberry bogs and beaches for swimming. Not a swimmer, no problem there are walking and biking trails to be explored.

I lived north of Boston for so long that I didn’t begin to explore the wonders of the Cape until recent years. Even now I still have to remind myself that it’s just a short jaunt for me even with the summer  traffic. One of the rangers said he likes to tell people it’s only two hours from the heart of downtown Boston. My response…depending on traffic.

The Cape Cod National Seashore has 2 Visitor Centers. I am most familiar with the one in Eastham known as the  Salt Pond Visitor Center. It’s right off RT 6 so you really can’t miss it. This was the Visitor Center I stopped at where the ranger told me about the whales. But I have been to this one several times before. I have enjoyed the movie they offer and walked most of their trails. There is still one “spur” trail that I haven’t covered yet. I am going to have to make a point of it this summer.

At the tip of the Cape in Provincetown you will find the Province Lands Visitor Center. This center has an awesome elevated deck with ocean views. I was there once last summer with my friend JR. That was a great day.

But back to the Salt Marsh Vistior center in Eastham, the Buttonwood Trail is a short, easy walk with a boardwalk over a pond.This time of year you can’t even see the pond  because of all the Buttonwood plants growing in it. I’ve seen a lot of red wing blackbirds and ducks there.

The Nauset Marsh Trail is a bit longer but still an easy hike. That trail runs alongside a pond  until it reaches the marsh. At that point a wooden bridge leads you over the marsh.

On my most recent visit the pond was filled with white swans. I bet there was a dozen or more. As I crossed the little bridge near the pond I also spotted a little rabbit. He was hiding in the shade under the bridge. I stayed very still and pretty soon he popped back out again.

Crossing the marsh bridge the sky was beginning to cloud up and the air was getting heavy and humid. The birds seemed to sense a storm coming so there weren’t too many flying. I have watched hawks hunting and loads of other little birds flying around when I’ve walked this path before but today it was quiet.

Once you cross the bridge the trail climbs through the woods before leveling out again and opening up to overlook the marsh and the ocean in the distance. I didn’t complete the walk today but I have walked it many  times in the past.

Those are just 2 of the many trails that wind through the National Seashore. I believe there are 12 “self-guided” trails that are open year round. Buttonbush and Nauset Marsh that I just mentioned; Fort Hill, Red Maple Swamp and Doane trails are all in Eastham.

In Wellfleet which is farther south heading toward the lower cape you can walk the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp and Great Island Trails.

In the Truro- Pamet Area you’ll find Bearberry Hill Overlook, Small’s Swamp, Highlands Woods Walk, and Pilgrim Spring trails.

Not to be left out is Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod. Here you’ll find the Beech Forest Trail.

This year is special for the Seashore because Cape Cod National Seashore’s 50th anniversary celebration is underway. There will be special programs along with commemorative items at the park bookstores and visitor centers. The special logo was designed by Eastham’s own Joe Fish a 2010 graduate of Nauset Regional High School.

I love the cape..not just the National Seashore but the whole area. There’s always something new to discover. I am really hoping to get to try some of the bike trails as well as more hiking trails before the season ends. There just never seems to be enough time.

From swimming and sunbathing to fishing and whaling, clams and cranberries, artists colonies and galleries, Pilgrims and Native Americans, glass blowing and jam making, even a great white shark or two looking for a quick-lunch on the seals off Monomoy Island there’s certainly something for everyone to do and see.

Just watch out for traffic jams in the summer months! I’m sure I’ll be making many more visits here and will share all my experiences with you.

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Thar Be Whales Out thar!

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Wednesday 3/30/11

I am still on my quest for National Parks Stamps and stickers. It’s a bit early in the year for me to be running down to the Cape but it’s such a pretty day and the weather is supposed to go back to winter for the end of the week. In fact they are saying we’re going to get an April Fool’s Day Nor’easter. With that in my future I couldn’t pass up a sunny, spring day like today.

I got a late start for a number of reasons and almost changed my mind about taking a drive like that (about 1 1/2 hours) just to turn around and come back but I justified it by promising myself I would stop in Bourne to take some pictures on my way back. As so often happens with my “seat of the pants” plans, that was not to be. But I would not be disappointed either.

The drive down was uneventful, the traffic this time of year isn’t bad and I reached the Salt Pond Visitor Center around 2pm. I was getting my Passport stamped and chatting with the clerk in the gift shop when one of the rangers rushed in with a pair of binoculars in his hand.

He said they were seeing the whales off the coast with the bird spotting scope. He was heading out to the deck to see if he could see them with the binoculars. He said the Right  Whales were in the area and the Humpbacks were just returning. He hadn’t seen them himself yet but one of the other employees had said she was seeing breaching behavior which is typical of Humpbacks.

He suggested I go down to Nauset Light or Coast Guard Beach to see if I could spot them from the shore. He told me Nauset Light was a little higher ground so that was where I headed.

In spite of the sun, it was  pretty brisk with the breeze off the ocean. I layered on a hoodie and winter jacket, grabbed my binoculars and camera and headed to the stairs down to the beach. At the head of the stairs is a landing with a bench so I made myself at home there. I no sooner set my things down and turned to look out to sea when I saw my first “blow”. Another followed and then another! I grabbed the binoculars first as they have more range than the camera. Through those I could see a whale flipper slapping and rolling on the surface. The only whales that I know for sure do that behavior are humpbacks. A few minutes later there was another spout but this one was a definite “V” shape, a trademark of a Right Whale.

A mother and her son came down to join me so I pointed out where I had been watching. The mother was skeptical but it wasn’t too many minutes before the little boy yelled that he could see it, pointing excitedly in the same direction I had been looking. More people joined us adding their opinions as to what kind of whales we were most likely watching. The show went on for probably 1/2 hour, maybe 45 minutes. My co watchers slowly drifted away, I think because of the cold. I tried to get a couple of pictures just to confirm the sightings but I knew it was a long-shot.

I watched as the various spouts worked their way up the coastline eventually disappearing altogether. I packed up my gear, snapped  a picture of Nauset Light and headed home. I made 1 stop at the Christmas Tree Shop in Sandwich where I was finally able to see where the trail goes up over the Sagamore Bridge. I have been saying for ages that I wanted to climb that bridge and get pictures from there. Now I know where to get access.

From there I headed home. I was tempted to make that stop in Bourne but it was too early for sunset shots and I didn’t feel like “hanging around”. I was more than satisfied with my day after seeing the whales.

As a surprise ending I saw a rainbow trying to form as I pulled around the rotary in Taunton. It was very faint but I tried to capture it. It was a great ending to the day.

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