Eastham, Massachusetts
Salt Pond & Nauset Marsh
Photo: Chris M Morris, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A kettle pond the sea broke into, a tidal marsh full of birds, and a 1.3-mile loop that comes home through a forest growing back.
Written for ages 4–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
Salt Pond started as a kettle hole. When the glaciers melted away, about 18,000 years ago, they left giant chunks of ice behind. When those melted, they left holes in the ground, and the holes filled with fresh water. Then the ocean broke through and cut a narrow channel into this one. Now the tide flows in and out twice a day, the pond is salty, and it is full of clams, oysters, mussels and fish.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about an hour and a half at the park.
- Parking
- Free. Park at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, 50 Nauset Road, just off Route 6. No dogs are allowed on this trail — the Seashore does not permit them on any of its walking trails.
- Underfoot
- A 1.3-mile loop, rated easy, with some log steps and a moderate grade; about an hour. Parts can be underwater at the highest tides, so ask at the visitor center first. Take care where it crosses the bike trail.
- Stroller
- No good for a stroller — carry the little ones.
- Bathrooms
- There are bathrooms.
- Food
- Nothing to buy on the trail. A trail extension, about a mile each way, leads to the Doane Picnic Area.
22 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
4 things to spot, 3 photographs to take and 3 things to work out.
Every game includes this one
Where The Sea Gets In
Find the narrow neck where the sea runs into Salt Pond. Work out which way the water is going right now.
A few of the others
A Spectacular Vista
The trail has several places where the whole marsh opens up in front of you. Stop at one and name the farthest thing you can see.
The Whole Marsh Behind You
One photo of everybody with the marsh spread out behind.
On The Log Steps
Find the log steps on the slope. One photo of everybody standing on a different one.
Their Turn
Hand the phone to the youngest. They take one picture of whatever they want.
It Used To Be Fresh
This pond was fresh water until the sea broke through. Work out what had to leave and what arrived.
A Forest Growing Back
The last stretch runs through forest that is still growing back. Find something that shows it is young.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Also around Eastham
Cape Cod National Seashore — Fort Hill
Eastham
A whaling captain's bright yellow 1868 house, a boulder where Native people sharpened tools, and a one-mile loop over open fields above Nauset Marsh.
The Three Sisters
Eastham
Three little lighthouses in a clearing in the woods, set out in the order they stood on the cliff. From the sea they looked like women in white dresses.
Play this at Salt Pond & Nauset Marsh
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.