The Trail
If you are ambitious while biking the Cape Cod Rail Trail you can extend the trip with the trails in Nickerson State Park. Alternatively, it is a nice few hours for a light biking day. Many people come to Nickerson specifically to park for the day and bike and have a picnic lunch. The main paths are paved but there are dirt trail options on the sides and by the power lines. Steep hills on the paved areas keep the trails interesting.
The best thing to do before you start peddling is to go to the main hut and get a map of the bike paths. There aer a few loops and a final spur. I cantt imagine getting compeletly lost, but it could become frustrating as they can all start to look the same. Many of the trails touch the main road at the park, so that is a good safety plan if all else fails.
Our last visit had the goal of going our to Ruth Pond, which was a loop that we had never done before. Many of the bike trails are well traveled, but when we got out to this loop, we did not see any other bikers. The pond has a small path on the far side to walk down to a small sandy beach to see across the pond. It was really pretty in the fall with all of the lily pads turning colors and the lilies blooming.
The return trip was a little confusing as we thoght the Nook Road Trail was the way back, but it actually went both ways so we went to the end of the park instead. At least now we have seen all of the trails. The park map thatyou can get frmo the rangers has hearts on the map that I though signified harder trails. This was not the case. It meant easy to moderate. I realized this after I took all the hard trails to avoid the heart trails. I certainly learned a hard lesson that day.
Getting There
Take Exit 12 from Route 6 and follow the signs for camping (west). The park entrance will be on the left.