Madeline Bilis | Travel and Leisure | August 20, 2019
https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/eastern-massachusetts-hikes
The gentle hills of Greater Boston aren’t exactly known for their heart-pumping hiking trails. The same goes for the sloping dunes of Cape Cod — you’d be hard-pressed to find gaggles of L.L. Bean-clad hikers trekking out to sandbars in Eastern Massachusetts the way some groups scale the mountains of Western Mass. And that’s exactly why it’s so wondrous to go hiking there.
I know this because I spent the better part of last year hiking around Eastern Massachusetts to write an aptly named guidebook, “50 Hikes in Eastern Massachusetts.” It details some of the most well-known trails beyond Boston, as well as the area’s more secret, under-the-radar walks.
Indeed, one of the region’s biggest strengths as a hiking destination is a refreshing lack of other humans. Maybe uncrowded trails are a given, but until you go for a leisurely stroll among centuries-old trees — without seeing another person for hours — you might not understand the magic. (During my almost seven-mile jaunt along Wellfleet’s Great Island Trail, one of the only other living beings I saw besides my hiking partner was a harbor seal splashing in the bay.)
The other thing that makes this overlooked spot shine is its varied landscapes. There’s the option to climb a 635-foot hill to see views of the Boston skyline in the Blue Hills, or just 14 miles down the road, find flat walking trails that meander through abandoned military bunkers at Wompatuck State Park. Pleasant pond walks, island adventures, and foliage-filled journeys are all within an hour’s drive of each other.
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