Nauset Marsh Trail - Cape Cod National Seashore

We continued our October 2021 trip to Cape Cod National Seashore with another hike. The Nauset Marsh Trail is an easy 1.3-mile loop hike that begins and ends at the amphitheater behind the Salt Pond Visitor Center. We hiked the loop in a counter-clockwise (or anti-clockwise for my British friends) direction. The first half of the trail has very little shade as it skirts the shore of Salt Pond, an embayment of the Atlantic Ocean. The half-way point is about at the trail junction for the Doane Memorial. The second half of the trail is almost entirely shaded.

The signed trailhead for the trail is to the right of the amphitheater. The trail ends by merging into the sidewalk running between the parking lot and the left side of the amphitheater. 

Topographic map with GPS route overlay

Amphitheater

Descending to the shore of Salt Pond

One of several benches along the trail

High tide encroaches on the path

Looking back toward the visitor center

A muddy mess for a short distance

A boardwalk raises the trail above the mud

A last look back at Salt Pond

Another bench

The trail is underwater...

...but a bypass has been created

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) on the bypass

Salt Pond's connection to the ocean

Looking back from the end of the bypass at the channel that connects Salt Pond to the ocean

Back on the trail

A bit of shade

Bridge on a dike that runs across the marsh

The stream that flows under the bridge...

...meanders through the marsh

The trail returns to the shore

Straight is a dirt road providing access for private landowners...

...the trail turns right and climbs away from the marsh

More climbing

Typical trail conditions in the woods

A short descent leads to...

...an overlook of Salt Pond Bay

Another view of the bay

Looking back at a couple of benches at the overlook

One more look at the bay

Saltbush (Baccharis halimifolia)

A right turn leads to the Doane Memorial in 0.9 miles...

...while the left fork leads back to the visitor center in 0.7 miles

Typical trail conditions

Switchback from left down to right

A bench with a back

First crossing of the Nauset Bike Trail

Single track through the woods

Crossing Jacques Road crossing

Second crossing of Nauset Bike Trail and beginning of the Buttonbush Discovery Trail

The rope provides tactile feedback to the vision impared

Restroom building at the visitor center

The trail ends at the amphitheater across the seating from where it began

Cape Cod National Seashore beach entrance fees are collected daily from late June through Labor Day, and on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to the middle of September at select beaches. The six national seashore beaches where fees are collected are Coast Guard and Nauset Light in Eastham, Marconi in Wellfleet, Head of the Meadow in Truro, and Race Point and Herring Cove in Provincetown.

When an entry fee is collected, a fee of $25 per vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per person is valid for the same day at Cape Cod National Seashore. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($80 for a lifetime), Access Pass (free with a documented disability), and Military Annual Pass (free for active-duty personnel). Also available is a Cape Cod National Seashore Annual Pass for $60.

The Cape Cod National Seashore website is https://www.nps.gov/caco/index.htm.