Unforgettable Cape Cod Vacations: The
National Seashore Gift
by: Cliff Calderwood
Take a captivating trip through the Cape Cod National Seashore
with miles of white sandy beaches, trails and hikes to take your breath
away, and majestic dunes. Just keep reading and you can visit all those
places right now.
The Cape Cod National Seashore is a 4,308-acre park set aside
by an act of congress in 1961 to preserve and protect a unique geological
area and wild life habitat of New England.
Cape Cod is about 60 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts. It was formed
when the last glaciers to visit the region melted about 12,000-years
ago leaving a large lake. Because of special features and material surrounding
the glacial lake, the water drained out exposing the sediment and deposits
left by the glaciers from earlier times.
With the rising sea level and the protection from the battering ocean
provided by Georges Bank gone, nature started to reshape the whole of
Cape Cod -- especially the Atlantic facing National Seashore area.
The relentless shaping of the Cape continues even today. But this is
the place to come to escape. This is the place to come to experience
nature.
So let’s take a brief Cape Cod vacations trip together. Are you
ready?
Nauset Beach…
The first stop on your trip is Nauset Beach in the town of Orleans.
The entrance to Nauset beach is located in East Orleans at
the end of Beach Road, where there’s a large parking lot. The
lot is about 2 miles from Routes 6/6A. During the summer months you’ll
pay to use the lot.
Protection is the name of the game at Nauset not just for the dunes,
but the birds nesting in the spring. Always pay close attention to beach
erosion and bird nesting protection signs anywhere during your Cape
Cod vacations. Heeding the signs means the area could still be here
next time you visit.
At the entrance to the beach you can turn left and walk North, or take
the South walk by turning right. Both walks offer spectacular views
and hidden areas of the Cape even many residents haven’t discovered.
Time your walks to be at low tide so you’ll be walking on exposed
sand bars on the North walk, or have a dry crossing to Pochet Island
on the South walk.
In the summer Nauset beach is very popular with vacationers, but there
always seems to be room even at the busiest times. Swimming is good
-- but stay close to the shore. It’s the Atlantic Ocean so it’ll
be a little cooler than on the Cape Cod Bay side or the Nantucket Sound
beaches.
National Seashore Eastham Visitors Center…
The Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham is your next Cape
Cod vacations stop. It'll orientate you to the park, and provides short
films, a museum, and free maps for hiking and biking trails.
Note: The Salt Pond Visitor Center building has been closed for renovations
since 2003. It’s due to reopen in 2005 – in fact right about
now!
Starting from the visitor center is the short and easy 1-mile loop
Nauset Marsh Trail that follows a path around the salt pond and Nauset
Marsh before returning to the visitor center. It’s a varied terrain
of salt marsh grasses, juniper and bayberry bushes, and a great place
for bird watching due to the proximity of the marsh.
The salt pond itself is a glacial kettle pond that was once freshwater
but the ocean has seeped through.
The Lighthouse Beaches…
Two wonderful beaches to visit in the Eastham area are Coast Guard
Beach and Nauset Light Beach.
Coast Guard Beach can be reached by bike from the bike trail from the
Salt Pond Visitor Center, or by car from Nauset Road off Route 6 directly
after the Visitor Center -- just follow the signs to the lot on Doane
Road. This beach is a favorite walk of mine at low tide, and was the
area where Henry Beston wrote The Outermost House. Sadly the blizzard
of 1978 washed the cottage where he lived while writing the book --
out to sea.
Yet another example of the awesome forces continually sculpturing the
Cape Cod National Seashore.
But here's another gem of a beach for you...
Nauset Light Beach can be reached from Brackett Road also off Route
6, and then Cable Road and Ocean View Drive. The parking lot is small
and fills up quickly in the summer.
Close by the beach is Nauset Lighthouse. Originally built in Chatham
in the late 19th century, it was moved here shortly after, and moved
again in 1996 when erosion of the cliff threatened to collapse the lighthouse.
The beach is popular for the imposing and towering cliffs and clean
white-sand, and walks that create memorable Cape Cod vacations.
Great Island Hike in Wellfleet...
The Great Island hike in Wellfleet is a 6-mile hike, so allow
yourself at least half-a-day to explore this wonderful area.
Located on the Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape in Wellfleet, drive to
the trailhead off Chequesset Neck Road, and prepare yourself -- and
camera -- for an exhilarating hike. The area is pretty open and so take
sunscreen and a hat.
What will you see?
Marvelous views of Wellfleet Harbor and Cape Cod Bay await you once
on the island (hint: it’s not really an island anymore).
Another hint: this is a real nature hike. There’s no sandwich
bar or coke machine waiting for you at the end, so take your own snacks
and drinks. Of all the trails in the Cape Cod National Seashore Park,
this is perhaps the most remote -- and I like that!
Out on the Island itself there used to be a secluded Tavern used by
Whalers and the like. Nothing remains of it today except for a sign
to mark the spot where it was.
National Seashore Province Lands Visitors Center…
The visitor center in Province Lands is off Route 6 and on Race Point
Road. This is the northern tip of the park, and marks our final stop
together on this Cape Cod vacations trip.
The Visitor Center itself has an observation deck where you can view
the majestic surroundings of ocean, forest, and the omnipresent towering
dunes. The area includes two swimming beaches -- Race Point and Herring
Cove -- a bike trail, and a walking trail. There’s also a beautiful
lighthouse at Race Point.
The bike trail is a challenging 5.25-mile loop that you can start from
the visitor center. I’d describe it as undulating bordering on
hilly.
There’s also a fair amount of hairpin turns, and so helmets and
a safe speed are a must. Believe me the downhill stretches are so exhilarating,
but you can easily forget and misjudge bike traffic coming the other
way. I’ve seen many a tangled mess -- Ouch!
And that’s the end of this brief trip.
Wow! You did a lot in a few minutes – from your chair. But now
it’s time to do the real thing. Are you ready?
About The Author - Cliff Calderwood is the owner and
contributing writer of www.New-England-Vacations-Guide.com. This is
an excerpt from a longer article on the White Mountain National Forest,
and you can read the full article and get a free downloadable copy of
his complete travel guide at http://www.new-england-vacations-guide.com/.
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