Cape Cod Rail Trail 22, South Wellfleet MA.jpg
John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cape Cod Rail Trail is a 3.7-mile out-and-back in Cape Cod National Seashore near Wellfleet by the Sea, MA. It is mostly level, with 54 ft of elevation gain. It scores 12/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.

Elevation

0 mi10 – 89 ft4.1 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Bell Road 41.92793, -69.97904
Nearest town Wellfleet by the Sea, MA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Cape Cod Rail Trail

3.7 mi · ▲ 54 ft · 1 hr 16 min

Elevation 9–88 ft

Out & Back · Cape Cod National Seashore

Trailhead: Bell Road · 41.92793, -69.97904

Weather Sep 20: Drizzle, high 63°F / low 52° · precip 61% · wind 10 mph · sunrise 6:26 AM · sunset 6:43 PM

  1. Start on Bell Road, heading SW.
  2. 0.4 miBear left, heading S.
  3. 0.2 miTurn right, heading S.
  4. 50 ftTurn left, heading S.
  5. 0.2 miBear left, heading S.
  6. 250 ftContinue straight onto Cape Cod Rail Trail, heading SE.
  7. 0.4 miBear left, heading SE.
  8. 150 ftBear right, heading SE.
  9. 0.2 miSharp left, heading SE.
  10. 0.3 miSharp right, heading N.
  11. 0.2 miBear right, heading N.
  12. 50 ftReach the turnaround, then head back the way you came.
  13. 50 ftBear left, heading N.
  14. 0.2 miSharp left, heading SE.
  15. 0.3 miSharp right, heading S.
  16. 0.2 miBear left, heading SW.
  17. 0.5 miBear right, heading NW.
  18. 0.2 miTurn right, heading NW.
  19. 50 ftTurn left, heading NW.
  20. 0.2 miBear right onto Bell Road, heading NE.
  21. 0.3 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

48% dirt20% sand16% paved16% unspecified

Weather

DrizzleTemperature 63°F52°
Precip61%Wind10 mphUV2Humidity89%
Rained 1.1″ 7 days ago
Hourly temperatureRain chance
65°50° 4 AM: 4% rain5 AM: 18% rain7 AM: 1% rain8 AM: 1% rain9 AM: 1% rain10 AM: 2% rain11 AM: 2% rain12 PM: 6% rain1 PM: 12% rain2 PM: 19% rain3 PM: 33% rain4 PM: 61% rain5 PM: 48% rain6 PM: 38% rain7 PM: 20% rain8 PM: 25% rain9 PM: 26% rain10 PM: 33% rain11 PM: 33% rain
Sunrise 6:26 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 6:43 PM
Mon 62°57° 56%
Tue 61°56°
Wed 61°56°
Thu 62°57° 27%
Fri 61°56° 50%
Sat 60°57° 50%

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 1.3 mi in (~32 min). Leave by 5:50 PM for the 6:43 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:32 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Other ways to reach this destination