A fresh-air start: First Day Hike Cape Cod program offers 11 New Year walks in eight towns

What’s the best way to start the New Year? Nine local conservation organizations say it just might be getting outside to take a hike.

That ought to tick off a few boxes on the 2022 resolutions list, right?

The new First Day Hikes Cape Cod program on Jan. 1 includes 11 choices for walks of varying length, difficulty and scenery in eight towns. This initial collaboration between the local groups is also the first such regional effort in the country, according to organizers. All of the walks are free.

It was inspired by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s state parks First Day Hike program — but in its inaugural year the Cape program already offers four more walks in this county alone than are part of the statewide parks program.

“It’s pretty exciting, and you know, it makes sense because the Cape has so many wonderful natural assets,” said Sue Dahling Sullivan, director of communications for Barnstable Land Trust. “There are open, green, natural, special places that are so unique not only to each town, but to the Cape (compared to) the rest of the world.”

The isolation of the pandemic has prompted an increasing number of people to explore local trails and land, she said, and “others are just starting because they never thought it would last this long” so she expects many people to be outside more in 2022.

Sullivan said she hopes the Jan. 1 hikes “will raise awareness for people about not only what's in their community, but that this is a great time of year to travel to a different part of the Cape and not battle traffic and really get a taste of what's available in other towns, too.”

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Sullivan came on the job several months ago after working with the statewide Art Week collaboration, and said she thought the concept could work well with opportunities in nature, too. When she reached out to the other Cape conservation groups, they were immediately enthusiastic, she said, and the group quickly put together the First Day Hikes schedule.

Yes, it could be chilly out there on New Year’s Day, but walking at this time of year has much to recommend it.

Now that the leaves are down, the views are great,” Sullivan said. “There's plenty of wildlife to see out there that’s different than what's in the spring, summer or fall, but that's the beauty of getting out at different times of year.”

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The Jan. 1 walks range from Falmouth to Provincetown. “You can get history, you'll be on the ocean, you'll be on a pond, you’ll have a family event,” she said of the schedule. “It just naturally sort of fell out that they're all pretty different. … There are a lot of really knowledgeable and entertaining educators out there and a lot of these hikes will have some great leaders.”

Sullivan said she hopes the First Day Hikes will become an annual tradition, and also hopes this will be the first of many collaborations between area groups.

Take a hike

The focus of First Day Hikes is to encourage people to get outdoors in the colder weather to explore the Cape’s parks, trails and natural resources. Participants are urged to dress warmly, bring water as needed and pre-register because space is limited on several of the walks. Registration can be found on individual websites, but a full schedule of options is at www.blt.org/firstdayhikescapecod.

To start the New Year — and that means before sunrise — here’s where you can go:

6:15 a.m.: First Day First Light beach stroll and mindful outdoor experience with the Harwich Conservation Trust (www.harwichconservationtrust.org). The location is Red River Beach in South Harwich to experience the first light of the first day of the new year with naturalist and mindful outdoor guide Andrea Higgins. The program will include “a gentle stretch to greet the day, a slow beach stroll to admire and identify the gifts of the sea, and a mindful outdoor experience.” The approximately 90-minute walk will be about 1 mile in soft sand, plus sitting on the sand for a morning meditation. Directions will be emailed as part of registration confirmation.

6:45 a.m.: Sunrise at Sandy Neck walk with Kelly Barber, Barnstable Land Trust’s (www.blt.org) director of land stewardship. The 4.25-mile walk that starts at Sandy Neck Beach Park parking lot (425 Sandy Neck Road, West Barnstable) will include moderate to difficult terrain of smooth and loose sand, rolling dunes, and marshland trails. The endangered area includes freshwater wetlands, a salt marsh, and has been recognized by the state of Massachusetts as an area of critical environmental concern. Registrants are asked to be experienced hikers who can keep up a hiking pace of 2 miles per hour on that terrain.

9 a.m.: First Day Hike at John Wing Trail with the Brewster Conservation Trust (www.brewsterconservationtrust.org). With parking available at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History on Route 6A, the 1.3-mile hour-long round trip will go through habitats that include upland forest, salt marsh, salt meadow, sand dunes, and mud flats. Wing Island provides a rich environment for all living things. All ages are welcome, but no dogs.

10 a.m.: First Day Hike at Sea Street Beach with Julie Early, executive director of the Dennis Conservation Land Trust (https://dennisconservationlandtrust.org/). With parking at the north end of Sea Street, East Dennis, this one-hour walk will be along the beach towards Cold Storage Beach at Sesuit Harbor. If weather permits, and walkers want to, the hike will continue to Salt Works Road and return to Sea Street Beach (approximately 90 minutes). For questions or registration: info@dennisconservationlandtrust.org or 508-694-7812.

10 a.m.: First Day Hike at Clapps Pond with Provincetown Conservation Trust president William Mullin and naturalist Dennis Minsky (www.provincetownconservationtrust.org). With parking along Route 6, across from the Provincetown Dog Park, the nature walk will be about 2 miles over two hours around Clapps Pond, a forest and pond system that inspired poet Mary Oliver. Walkers will look for winter shore birds, and there is an option for a shorter distance.

11 a.m.: A tour of the Baker-Biddle property on Bound Brook Island with Alice Iacuessa, a member of the Friends of Herring River (Wellfleet and Truro) board and a Cape Cod National Seashore volunteer (www.herringriver.org). The walk, sometimes on uneven grass, will include a history of the formerly privately owned property recently acquired by the Seashore and information on its use over the years by Native Americans, early European visitors, then intellectuals and writers in the 20th century. Parking is at the Atwood Higgins House on Bound Brook Island Road, Wellfleet, with carpooling from there. Driving directions will be e-mailed.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: A Nature Scavenger Hunt and Hike with Barnstable Land Trust (www.blt.org). The .4-mile hike through the Pogorelc Sanctuary, behind Barnstable Land Trust’s Conservation Center on Route 6A will include a viewing deck overlooking Popolo Pond as well as a winding trail through marshy woodlands. A “Wander Walk” will include interactive stops using QR codes (accessed from your cellphone) and a self-guided scavenger hunt ideal for families.

Noon: No Bottom Pond Wildlife Sanctuary Stroll led by Jeff Thibodeau, executive director of Orenda Wildlife Land Trust, Inc. (www.orendalandtrust.org). With parking on Route 137 (Old Long Pond Road) on the road’s east shoulder beneath the powerlines just south of Villages Drive, look for the trailhead kiosk sign. The stroll will be on a ¾-mile trail, which will include a short, steep climb, through forested upland and wetland habitats, that is part of a 27-acre wildlife sanctuary nestled on the rim of one of the Cape’s cleanest and steepest kettle hole ponds. The sanctuary is part of a larger assemblage of conservation land protected by Orenda, the Brewster Conservation Trust and the town of Brewster. The walk is designed to “allow for silent connection with nature’s blessings as we welcome in the light of the New Year.” Registration: email info@orendalandtrust.org with your name, phone number, and the number of people in your group. Use the subject line First Day Hike.

1 p.m.: New Year’s Hike in Beebe Woods with the 300 Committee Land Trust in Falmouth (www.300committee.org). Parking is at the hiker’s lot beyond the Cape Cod Conservatory on Highfield Drive for a trek through part of the 400 permanently preserved acres that include evidence of a glacier’s work in the past, with huge boulders, irregular hills and kettle hole ponds. Volunteer walk leaders will guide participants on hikes of about 3 miles over 90 minutes at a leisurely pace over varied terrain. Each group will go in a different direction.

1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.: Sylvan Gardens Walk with Dorothy Basset, executive director of the Chatham Conservation Foundation (www.chathamconservationfoundation.org). With parking access located at 88 Old Main St., off Route 28 in West Chatham, this is an exploration of part of nearly 10 acres of undeveloped land and 600 feet of freshwater pond shore that offers rustic trails winding through deep woods and open fields to broad pond views. The land was formerly a 1920s plant nursery, with ornamental and native gardens. To sign up: reservations@ccfinc.org with name, phone number and number of people in your group.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Ca[e Cod First Day Hikes program offers 11 New Year walks in 8 towns