Trail Hound

Hungry? Hike to Harwich

 Cape Cod is full of interesting contradictions.  Among the most interesting is that one of the best restaurants on the Cape happens to be located on industrial Queen Anne Road next to the Harwich Highway Department.  And in between these two sites, mundane yet essential in their own way, is the trailhead to one of Harwich Conservation Trust's newer and more circuitous pathways, the Island Pond Trail.

 First, the food.  If what matters are taste, freshness, and reasonable prices, you can't beat Dave's Cape Cod Smokehouse at 291 Queen Anne Road, previously mentioned in Cheap Eats.  Dave's barbecued ribs or chicken, and awesome sides like baked beans with rib meat and corn bread with real kernels of corn, make perfect take-out for messy backyard eating.  And, he's offering free samples of his new smoked bluefish or cod pâté specialties made with fish caught by members of Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman's Association.

It was a trip for ribs the other night that led me to the brown trail sign which appeared by the adjacent lot not too long ago.  I returned by bike the next day to explore.  According to the trail map secured in the new kiosk in the small parking area, if I kept going straight for three junctions, then left, then three rights, I would go around Cape Cod Lavender Farm and Island Pond and end up on the Harwich/Chatham spur of the Rail Trail.   

Walking with my bike on the slightly overgrown path which skirted the highway department, I forged ahead as the trail wound this way and that, descended into cool glades and ran along a cranberry bog or two.  The actual trail didn't much resemble my mental map, and I briefly regretted not bringing my GPS unit.  Somehow, I ended up back where I started.  The Harwich Conservation Trust received a state grant last fall to improve this trail, and I'm told a town-wide trail map is coming out soon; so I'll finally be able to see where I was going.

 The trail held many delightful finds, including an Eastern box turtle traversing the path - slowly  - but there is no geocache hidden in the woods and wetlands.

The southern section of the Island Pond trail system is accessible off of the main Rail Trail, near the mile 4 marker and sign for the William D. and Barbara Lang Hacker Wildlife Sanctuary.  This new enhancement to the Rail Trail has a small bike rack (cyclists are asked to keep the wheels off the trail here) and well-marked path, which does go by the Lavender Farm and Island Pond, and through to the Chatham/Harwich spur.

 For the nature-lover with an enthusiastic palate, a Harwich hike-and-bike topped off with smoked fish and barbecued ribs is a satisfying way to savor some of the Cape's enduring complexities.

Photos, from top:

Dave's Smokehouse Cafe on Queen Anne Road

An Eastern box turtle along the Island Pond Trail near the highway department

A bog pond by the trail

The Hacker Wildlife Sanctuary trailhead at mile 4 on the CC Rail Trail

Follow-up note:  As of July 2009, there is now a cache on the trail, "A Nice Walk or Ride."  It's a good one.