The Upper Cape includes four towns – Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich – and their respective villages. As you enter Cape Cod, you’ll cross either the Bourne Bridge or the Sagamore Bridge, both of which take you over the Cape Cod Canal from the off-Cape side of Bourne.
Your journey from there can take many different routes, depending on how you want to spend your Cape Cod vacation. Of course, you’ll want to hit the beaches and visit some restaurants, but there’s more to the Cape than eating and lounging.
Hiking, for example, is a popular pastime for locals and visitors because it takes you away from the crowds and into the middle of pine and oak forests featuring swamps, ponds, rare plant species, and wildlife.
Each of the Upper Cape’s towns has excellent hiking trails, so in part one of a two-part series, here’s a look at two significant conservation areas in Falmouth and Bourne, Massachusetts.
Four Ponds Conservation Area in Bourne
Upon entering Cape Cod on Route 28, you’ll drive into the town of Bourne, which features waterfront villages, beaches, and tons of natural areas. Heading south, you’ll travel for about five minutes before reaching the turnoff for Barlows Landing Road, and that directs you to the Four Ponds Conservation Area.
Four Ponds, which sits in Pocasset Village, isn’t the largest hiking area by any means. The park is just off Route 28 and close to Pocasset’s main commercial area, however, so it’s one of the most convenient places to hike in Bourne.
Town Forest Trail and Pine Trail, the two longest hiking paths, wind through the forests and into some swampland. Pine Trail has smaller unmarked trails that will take you directly to the swamps, marshes, and bogs, which provide excellent wildlife-viewing opportunities. You can also access Pine Train from Pocasset Town Forest, an adjoining park north of Four Ponds on Valley Bars Road.
Town Forest Trail starts near the Pocasset River and passes Upper Pond. It’s a 2.2-mile loop that will eventually bring you back to the parking lot, and it connects with Pine Trail in numerous locations, making for a longer hike.
You’ll find shorter walks on Lions Trail and Eagle Trail, neither of which venture far from the parking lot. Lions Trail is a quick loop around Freeman Pond, while Eagle Trail curves around The Basin. There’s a smaller unmarked trail to Sheep Pond on Eagle Trail, too. These hikes are perfect for trekking with children because they each take about 30 minutes to explore.
The oak and pine woodlands through this area are full of ferns and swamp azalea, and if you’re lucky, you’ll come across some painted turtles, spring peepers, or pickerel frogs. One thing to keep in mind is that all of these ponds are human-made, but you’d never know it once you experience this beautiful section of Bourne.
The Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth
Moving south from Bourne, you’ll quickly reach Falmouth and the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area, a massive state park that’s broken into three distinct sections.
The western part of the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area is located where Route 28 and Route 151 meet in East Falmouth. There’s a small dirt parking lot there, but it’s unmarked. You’ll want to look up its location before you arrive because it’s easy to miss. This western section of the park has a dirt road running through it, in addition to countless trails. Mountain bikers frequent the western section because of its hills and wide paths.
The eastern side of the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area is also along Route 151, but it features more access points and far less tree cover than the western portion. This area has some open fields, making it a stunning place to go for a walk, although you can also head into the woodlands if you prefer the tree cover. There’s a flying field here, too, where members of the Otis Model Aero Club launch their model planes.
You’ll find the southern section of the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area south of Route 151 between Currier Road and Sandwich Road. Keep in mind that this part of the park doesn’t have trail maps and is a popular hunting area from the middle of October through November during quail and pheasant season. Much like the eastern portion, the southern section of the park is a mix of open fields and trees.
The Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area combines forests and meadows, depending on which section you hike, and is a great place to view butterflies and birds. You’ll also find beautiful wildflowers and 15 threatened plant species in the park. You could spend much of your Cape Cod vacation at the Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area and still not see everything, although you’ll probably want to check out some other places from time to time.
Just Some of Cape Cod’s Hiking Trails
The Upper Cape is full of outstanding ways to spend your holiday, and if you book a vacation rental in the area, you’ll be close to some of Cape Cod’s best hiking areas. A bonus is that most of these hikes are minutes from bars and restaurants, giving you the chance to cool off indoors or on a patio after exploring the woods.
In the next part of this two-part series, we’ll look at some outstanding hiking opportunities in Mashpee and Sandwich that will make your vacation to the Cape even more memorable.
