Cape Tip: Province Lands Bicycle Trail Loop

Sand dune landscape of Province Lands with green islands of shrubs or trees

The northern-end tip of Cape Cod was mostly covered by a mixed forest of beech, maple and oak trees before the first European colonists started clearing parts of it for planting and grazing. Today's bicycle trails north of Provincetown provide easy access for bicyclists and day-hikers to explore the remaining forest, access fresh-water ponds and enjoy the magnificient sand-dune landscape with cross-dune views of the Atlantic Ocean.  

Province Lands loop trail map

According to an informational board at the Province Lands Visitor Center, the tip of Cape Cod formed about 4000 years ago. The rest of the cape had already been shaped by glaciers. With global temperature increase, the sea level was rising. Currents carried sand from other sites, deposited it northwest of the precursor tip and formed the sandy Province Lands, which became stabilized and were kept in place by soil formation and pioneer vegetation growing into mature forests. The “Islands in the Sand” quote further below describes this process in more detail.

In this post, I am following the paved loop counter-clockwise, starting at the beech forest parking area on the left side of Race Point Road north of Highway 6 to Herring Cove Beach. Alongside the trail, you will find various interpretive panels featuring interesting subjects of local interest and beyond.

The first 1.8 miles next to Race Point Road wind through mostly open pine forest and over sandy hill sides toward the Province Lands Visitor Center. On a hill top with amazing views, a panel explains, how this land—used over thousands of years by the Pamet branch of the Wampanoag people for hunting, fishing and harvesting wild fruit—became Province Lands:

Just 20 years after the creation of the Boston Common, Plymouth Colony set aside the tip of Cape Cod in 1654 as our nation's second-oldest common land. Eventually called the Province Lands, the area provided resources, like timber and fish, critical to the colony's survival. 

 

Continuing downhill, you will soon arrive at the amphit theater and visitor center within the sand-dune landscape. The sand surface pattern of higher and lower elevations continues beyond the shoreline, where sandbars are a common features. A Cape Cod National Seashore panel at the visitor center points out:

When a ship got too close to land and struck a sandbar, there was no escaping the elements. Fierce winds and powerful waves could break up a wooden ship in minutes.

View from the visitor center deck

Westward from the visitor center, the trail soon crosses Race Point Road, where you will find yourself at be a trail junction. Unless your plan is to side-travel to Race Point Beach or to the Race Point Light Historical Site, turn left. It takes about half a mile to get to the underpass leading south of Province Lands Road. Then the trail roughly parallels this road in south-southwest direction to another junction, from where the right-turn trail takes you to Herring Cove Beach. The loop trail continues on the left in eastward direction.

“Islands in the Sand”

In my opinion, this is the highlight section of the loop. The trail leads to the top of a sand hill, where a panel introduces “Life in the Dunes” and “Islands in the Sand”:

As you look around the dunes you will see “islands” of vegetation. These plants are the result of a long process of soil-building, which starts when a combination of minerals, green algae, bacteria, and fungi form form a crust on the sand, drawing nutrients from the air and water. Lichens, which consist of algae and fungi, also coat the dunes. When these organisms die and decay, they contribute organic matter to the sand beneath them, and prevent the evaporation of water, thus forming soil. As soil builds up, grasses, shrubs, and even small trees, such as bear oak and black cherry can take root. As this process of succession—the change in vegetation species structure—continues, more areas of the dunes become forested.

Trail entering dense forest

The loop trail continues downhill and soon enters the forested lands. This beautiful, shady section of the loop trail leads back to our starting point through dense forest. Sand dune views are gone. Occasionally, you will find a narrow spot from where a fresh-water pond can be approached to scan water lily bloom or search for rare golden club plants.

Fresh-water pond seen through opening forest greens