|
|
Hard to Beat, Impossible to Forget Hyannis, Cape Cod, MA Spring 2001—Cape
Cod soft adventure is hardly for softies. With rail cycling trails
and dozens of other bike paths, hiking and walking trails all
around the Cape, marshes, dunes and salt flats, visitors will
work up a lather while getting acquainted with the Cape—its
flora and fauna, Windsurfers ride our wave crests
at Cape beaches all year and wet-suited die-hards laugh at our
occasional snowflakes and winter temperatures (January’s
mean temperature is 37 F°). Sea kayaking and canoeing Cape
Cod’s 556.9 miles of coastline and 365 crystal clear glacial
ponds are Each of Cape Cod’s 15 towns
and scores of serene coastal hamlets and
Woods Hole’s OceanQuest provides a 90-minute thrilling discovery excursion adventure aboard research vessel Tiger Shark, for all members of the family. Sea creatures and denizens of the deep are hauled up in traps and inhabit the on-board touch tanks. The crew of professional educators, scientists and mariners supervises passengers and also teaches basic lessons in oceanography. Another enjoyable maritime pursuit is fishing. Whether surf casting, fishing the Cape’s hundreds of ponds or deep sea fishing, the adventure and challenge of hooking a really ‘big one’ has no equal anywhere. Cape Cod Central Railroad, which departs Hyannis, provides access to the ‘hidden’ Cape during its two-hour narrated tour as far as the Cape Cod Canal. Passengers sit back and ‘explore’ cranberry bogs, marshes and heath and Cape ‘hinterland’ from a perspective not available in any other way. Brewster’s Punkhorn Parklands, 835 pristine acres with 45 miles of unpaved hiking and mountain biking trails, ponds and marshes features excellent terrain for picnics, hikes, cycling and getting away from it all. Tours to Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge (off Chatham’s coast) include lighthouse stays, guided birding, children’s day camps, marsh cruises, kayak and canoe expeditions and evening bat watches. Brewster’s Cape Cod Museum of Natural History features a fabulous avian display, fish tanks, Native American artifacts, geological exhibits and guided and self-guiding trails and walks. |
Canal,
dunes, trails, villages, natives and bowered byways all year
long. Hikers can experience the Cape’s ‘outback’—thousands
of acres of unsullied terrain, much of which has never been trodden
by humans—and where they may be the only welcome ‘intruders.’
increasingly
popular pastimes nearly year round. These craft provide access
to otherwise inaccessible, but incredibly beautiful and deserted,
Cape precincts. One way to access the dunes is on an organized
Provincetown dune tour (April 15-November 15). The National Seashore’s
surreal environs within the towering dunes has to be experienced—it
is a dramatic and unforgettable sojourn. Active and curious visitors
can readily find their own unique places to play and exercise
year round—and all within sight of our shifting sands, towering
dunes, stunning natural beauty and less than a few minutes’
drive from something else to do, somewhere to shop or a wonderful
seafood meal.
villages has set aside wonderful walking paths including boardwalks,
conservation areas, wildlife sanctuaries, parks and walking trails—more
than 75 in all. Cape Cod National Seashore alone maintains 11
self-guiding hiking and three bicycle trails. One walk not to
be missed is Great Island Trail in Wellfleet—a wonderful
spot for beachcombers or seekers of solitude. The ‘Island,’
actually a peninsula connected by a sand spit, offers more than
seven miles of sandy trails along the inner marshes, water and
windswept dunes. Brave beachcombers should venture to Jeremy
Point at the tip (be certain the tide is on its way out, not
in). Whatever the Cape trek destination, bring a picnic lunch,
binoculars, camera and canvas—make a day of it!
the
east coast to bird watch and more than 360 bird species have
been accounted for. Salt Pond Visitor Center, off Route 6 in
Eastham, and Province Lands Visitor Center, off Race Point Road
in Provincetown, provide orientation films, exhibits, brochures
and maps and access to Park Rangers.
