Cape Cod Rail Trail

August 9, 2020 Sunny

Cape Cod Rail Trail runs through 6 towns on the Cape, from South Dennis to Wellfleet, and stretches 22 miles. There are numerous parking areas and entry points to the trail. We started at the Cape Cod National Seashore, which is near the northern end of the trail. But first we stopped at Marconi Beach.

This area is named for Guglielmo Marconi, who transmitted the first wireless signal across the Atlantic in 1903 from this area. All that remains today is the concrete base of radio towers, but it’s a very picturesque spot.

The sand here is fine and white, and the ocean very blue.

We also saw a bunch of seals just offshore. You can just see them in the photo below, above the sandy beach. They look like a mass of black dots.

In any case, we started south on the trail from Wellfleet at Marconi Beach road (Mile Marker 21). The trail is wide, well paved, and shady. It’s also mostly flat, with minimal inclines, which makes it good for kids. The distances and road crossings are all well marked.

The day we visited (a Sunday afternoon) was surprisingly quiet for such a lovely weekend day.

Although much of the path is shaded, it opens at times to views of marshy areas.

We reached Mile Marker 15 in Orleans, where we stopped to check out some scenic ponds, Herring Pond and Depot Pond, just on either side of the bike trail.

At this point, Miles was pretty tired (having peddled the whole way on his little BMX bike) so we turned around and headed back north. Fortunately, the way back to Wellfleet was easier, with more downhill stretches that provided a little boost.

All in all, we did about 12 miles on a warm summer day, and were very happy with this bike trail. Next time, we’ll explore the other section of the trail from the start in South Dennis up to the town of Brewster.

• This trail is shady, scenic, and well maintained. Highly recommended.
• Long, flat, shady, with wonderful views of ponds close to Orleans. Well marked.
• Ryan and Miles slowed us down the whole time, and it was pretty boring scenery.
• The rail trail was fine but it was long.
• A 5.5 bike trail long and fun and there was a parking lot that we saw and a pond that we took pictures that was the end.

For more information: Cape Cod Rail Trail official site