The Shining Sea Bikeway, Falmouth, Cape Cod

The Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, Cape Cod

-----Doesn't that name just speak to you? How could anyone NOT want to enjoy this Rails to Trails pathway?

While we don't have a Sea to Shining Sea trail here on the mid-Peninsula or in the Silicon Valley, we do have some wonderful places to ride, both by the bay and in the hills. Ask, and I'll point you in the right direction to a trail that's right for you.

The delightful Falmouth trail gets its name from the words of Falmouth's famous resident, Katherine Lee Bates, who wrote the poem, America the Beautiful. It is a 10.7mile pathway that goes between North Falmouth to the ferry terminal at the fishing village of Woods Hole, home to several major research institutions. It passes through salt marshes, cranberry bogs, ponds and woodlands, and passes by sandy beaches at several different points.

On our recent family vacation on Cape Cod I found myself enjoying this pathway 3 different times:

1. the first time four of us rode from downtown Falmouth to Woods Hole.
   
2. the second time my husband and I went early one morning and rode across town and then on the pathway to the north end of the trail.
3. my third venture was our last day of vacation, when I took our 8 year old granddaughter to ride on the trail. (She had just mastered the art of riding a bike, and desperately wanted to ride on the pathway like we older folks did--she rode about 2 miles, with me running alongside and behind--quite a workout for me, and a successful journey for her.)

These videos clips are a couple I took during my morning ride with Gene.

Enjoy!