Our area to explore today was the northern section of the Cape, along Cape Cod Bay, before the land turns north towards Provincetown. We actually stopped at Breakwater Beach and Paines Creek Beach in Brewster, but decided that both were too crowded for us. Even though it was Sunday, during Covid, there were still a lot of people crowding the beaches.
Our next stop was Grays Beach in Yarmouth. This beach is along the great salt marshes, and has a super long boardwalk into the marshes. The parking lot was small, but we lucked out and got a parking space right next to the beach. Peter found a bench to sit on, overlooking the marshes, boardwalk and beach. So he sat and enjoyed the view. I, of course, had to walk out on the boardwalk. The actual beach was crowded, and was, well, just a beach. The boardwalk, on the other hand, was really neat. Nice benches at the end of the boardwalk to watch the boats and beaches. You also had a great view of the marshes, and the open streams through them.
On our way over to Barnstable, we stopped at the Audubon Barnstable Great Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. Big name for some nice trails through the woods, with a few views of the marshes and a little, scummy pond. I was underwhelmed. No wildlife.
Our last stop was at Sandy Neck Beach and Lighthouse. Since the lighthouse was several miles down the sandy beach, we didn't see it. We got to the park at 4 pm, and the parking fee of $25 stopped being charged at 5 pm. We didn't really want to pay that much, so we parked in the gravel just outside the entrance and walked in to the beach. Unbeknownst to us, however, the trail we were directed to was a good mile, mostly through sand, and over to the beach. We thought to turn back several times, but thought maybe, just around THAT bend would be the water. Then, just as we were turning back, some folks passed us and did say, yes there's the turn off to the trail to the water. We did get to the water, but it felt like we had walked through the Sierra desert. We plopped down on the beach, on our blanket (fortunately, we hadn't carried beach chairs) and just relaxed for quite a while. We then found out that instead of going back through the desert, and through the marshes, we could walk along the road along the water, back over to the public beach. We actually were on the section of the beach were folks with a beach pass could just drive their cars right on to the beach. Well, this trip back was MUCH shorter and easier and cooler to hike.
By this time, it was dinnertime. So, we found a really delightful Tuscan restaurant, with a large open air patio, good beer, and a very tasty dinner.
Grays Beach photos:
Audubon Great Marsh Sanctuary photos:
Sandy Neck Beach photos:
Tuscan Restaurant dinner photo:
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