Cape Cod Rail Trail

The original rail line here dates to the 1860s. Penn Central went bankrupt by 1970, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased the corridor in 1976, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation converted a portion of it to trail in 1980. The result: 25.5 paved miles through Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet, connecting at a bike rotary in Harwich to the Old Colony Rail Trail toward Chatham, and brushing the edge of Nickerson State Park in Brewster. Westward expansion toward Barnstable is ongoing.