MAY 2023

Cape Cod

Where: eastern Massachusetts

Directions: Route 6

Good to Know:  

* Dogs are not allowed in Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary in East Falmouth.

* Many small towns have restrictions against dogs, usually on lifeguarded beaches and in summer.

Why so good:   

For generations of New Englanders, a vacation has meant just one thing - “the Cape.” It wasn’t always so. Shortly after the Pilgrims landed in Provincetown in 1620 farming began and it wasn’t long before every tree on Cape Cod was cleared for cropland. The dune grasses that left behind were picked clean by by grazing cattle and Merino sheep. By the mid-nineteenth century there wasn’t much left on the land to support anyone. With improved rail transportation, wealthy Bostonians began coming to Cape Cod for rest and relaxation around 1900. By 1950 there were almost as much forestland back on the cape as there was 300 years previously. In 1961 Cape Cod denizen John F. Kennedy squelched housing development plans by creating the Cape Cod National Seashore (www.nps.gov/caco/) that encompasses most of the wide, sandy beaches of the cape’s east-facing Atlantic seaboard. There is no need to call the kennel when planning a vacation to Cape Cod. The beckoning finger of land features 559 miles of shoreline and some 60 public beaches.

THE NATIONAL SEASHORE.

At Cape Cod National Seashore, with 40 miles of coastline, dogs are permitted on the beach year-round, except on swimming beaches and where closures may occur to protect nesting shorebirds. Walking the beaches at Cape Cod is a special experience due to limited sight distance caused by the curvature of the coastline. The effect can be that of moving from one private beach to another as you travel from beach alcove to beach alcove backed by impressive highlands. In addition to Atlantic Ocean beaches, the park extends across the cape in places to include bayside beaches with gentler waves for doggie swims. Exploring Cape Cod with your dog becomes more problematic the further you move from the shore, however. Dogs at the national seashore are not allowed on most of the nature trails - and certainly not on the prime destinations such as Fort Hill, but are confined to a horse trail or bike path for the most part. Other popular trails, such as those at Wellfleet Bay, are under the auspices of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and also off-limits to your dog.

THE BARRIER BEACH.

If your dog is hankering for trail time in the dunes try Sandy Neck, a six-mile long barrier beach on Cape Cod Bay near the town of Barnstable. The complete circuit loop that travels past protected marshland and along 100-foot dunes fronting the open waters of the bay covers 13 miles but several cross-overs can shorten your dog’s explorations here to as little as 1.6 miles. It doesn’t take much for the Marsh Trail to go underwater so check tide charts before planning a full day’s adventure with your dog on Sandy Neck.

THE ISLAND.

Just off the southern coast of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard is an extremely dog-friendly resort destination. For canine hikers, the Sheriff ’s Meadow Foundation has conserved over 2,100 acres of land on Martha’s Vineyard in more than 100 separate parcels. From these protected lands the Foundation has created eight sanctuaries open to the public, including dogwalkers. The largest trail system is at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary where two miles of paw-friendly trails visit hilly woodlands, secluded ponds and a small sandy beach. Colonial Martha’s Vineyard was a vibrant place with butter churning from its inland farms and its ports a constant whirl of activity. However, British raiders during the American Revolution torched the towns and stole 10,000 sheep and 300 head of cattle from Patriot farms. The island economy was crippled until a small congregation of Methodists staged a religious camp meeting in 1835. Within 20 years the yearly retreat was drawing more than 10,000 attendees and Martha’s Vineyard was reborn as a resort destination. The tents from the camp meeting gave way to wooden cottages in Wesleyan Grove. Today more than 300 of these eclectic Victorian cottages remain clustered on the circular paths behind the main streets of Oak Bluffs. You and your dog can wander through the campground, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 on the Centennial of the historic Tabernacle, that served as the centerpiece of the camp meetings.