Over the Bridge

Crowes Pasture - A Hidden Gem in Dennis

Crowes Pasture is a beach area only accessible by four wheel drive located in Dennis. The area is known as Quivet Neck/Crowes Pasture and is a 138-acre town owned beach, acquired by the Town of Dennis several years ago. It consists of freshwater ponds, Quivet Creek and Cape Cod Bay in the northeast region of Dennis.

Crowes Pasture encompasses a few miles of pristine beach, salt marshes and dunes. Because of the rather difficult accessibility, I was not surprised at the lack of people there.  The road leading into the area was an adventure in itself, narrow and very bumpy. But once one traversed the rough terrain, the end result was well worth the trip.

Wanting to learn more about this area, I found a study conducted by the Mass. Environmental Review Team (ERT) on this area which comments on the Wildlife Habitat of Crowes Point:

"Most of the coastal forest woodland on Quivet Neck occurs as dense thickets with occasional mature oaks. These thickets are ideal habitat for shrubland birds such as rufussided towhee, brown thrasher, gray catbirds, common yellowthroats, Carolina wrens and song sparrows.  Coastal thickets are also important stopover habitats for migratory songbirds in both the spring and summer as well as the hawks that hunt them during migration. Mature oaks provide acorns used by a variety of species, including deer, squirrels, chipmunks, white-footed mice and voles. These habitats are also used by cottontail rabbits, black racers, box turtles, redback salamanders raccoons, skunks, foxes, weasels and coyotes. Grasslands and very early successional stages of forest provide habitat for common grassland species as well as species that utilize both open habitats and forest edges. These include meadow voles, goldfinches, field and chipping sparrows, prairie warblers, Great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, kestrels, garter snakes, green snakes, box turtles and Fowler's toads. Bats, swallows, dragonflies and butterflies will forage over and in these habitats and woodcocks may use them for their mating displays. It is possible that some of these habitats-especially Crowes Pasture-might be used by less common species, such as northern harriers, grasshopper sparrows, meadowlarks and hognose snakes. Wet meadows and wet depressions (possible vernal pools) in these habitats could potentially support spotted turtles and Eastern spadefoot toads, two state-listed species."

If you have a four wheel drive vehicle and are looking for some adventure, Crowes Pasture is located in East Dennis off of South Street. Follow the dirt road (about 2½ miles round trip) and enjoy this unspoiled treasure.