The Trail
After much debate, we have decided this is our favorite trail on the Cape. This took many years to decide. We tried this half a decade ago several times and I found the hills too hard. I loved the dunes, and I loved seeing the ocean at the tops of the hills. I loved taking the Race Point Beach Spur to the ocean. But the hills were just too much for me. This time we went in the opposite direction. For the first time I saw Pilgrim Monument. I made it up the hills. It was not too hot. I don't know what it was, but something clicked. It all went beautifully.
The ride is a bit more challenging than the Cape Cod Rail Trail due to many hills, but it is a lot shorter and you can combine the bike ride with the day at the beach. It winds through some of the loveliest lands in all of Cape Cod. The loop trail is only a brutal 5.45 miles, but the Herring Cove Beach spur can add 1.1 miles (one way), Bennett Pond Spur (.25 miles one way) and the trip from the parking lot at Race point beach (.5 miles one way) allowing you to peddle 10 miles, half of which will be up hill.
There is a Visitor's center and a coast guard museum at Race Point if you take the Race Point Beach Spur (or you drive to the Race Point Beach Parking Lot) that is worth a visit if you are interested in shipwrecks and how people rescued the sailors. We visited this during our first ride on the trail and really liked it. We wanted to go see what the building was al about and were excited that we could actually go in.
Getting There
This trail is in Provincetown. We travel up Route 6 past almost everything until we see a sign at a traffic light that says Race Point with an arrow pointing to the right, and we turn right accordingly. Very soon after there is a parking lot on the left indicated by a sign telling us to park on the left and so we do. There are other parking areas, but we like to keep it simple.
