Crow's Pasture, East Dennis

      It is heading toward the end of the winter on Cape Cod. The good part is a day like yesterday. 50 degrees that felt like 70. When we have a day like this I call it ……… What a day, What a life, What a country. The first of 2011 and hopefully we have many more to follow. Since it was so nice I decided to hike a trail I have wanted to try but hadn’t yet. I decided on Crow’s Pasture in Dennis, and am I glad I did.
        Crow’s Pasture is off of Rte 6A by the Dennis - Brewster line. Go north on School St. and take the first right which is South St., follow to the end of Quivet Cemetery and park in the posted area if you want to hike the whole trail. There is a narrow dirt road that goes toward the beach with more parking along the way.
         You start off walking through a narrow wooded trail with a big marsh to your right. There are a few paths off the trail that give you a nice view of the marsh. The trail leads to a wide open pasture with the marsh on one side and the ocean ahead. Even though it is wide open you can see the trail that winds around the perimeter. The other side is the dirt road which leads to the beach for permitted off road vehicles. In my younger my friend Pete and I would go 4-wheeling late night, calling it Rat Patrolling, named for a WWll  tv show in the 60’s, but that’s some stories for another day.
           Once at the beach I first went east and walked for about a mile before I turned back. It was so nice I walked by the tail entrance without even noticing.
I came to the point where the water goes into the marsh area before I realized. I found it when I was looking for it, and this time followed the dirt road. It seemed like it was leading me away from where I started. A few vehicles drove towards the beach and I came across some other people enjoying the day. I was curious where this road would come out. There were a few hills and curves. I came around the last corner and there was my car. Huh !! I thought I was going the other way, lol. On the way out I decided to go to Dunkin Donuts on 6A in Brewster, which was about 2 miles away for a coffee. I noticed at least 2 more trails to explore another day!! Awesome !!

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Ratings 1- the cellar  2- shoddy  3- tolerable  4- worthy  5- wicked good

Accessibility - 5
Parking - 5 - plenty - in more than one area
Length-   5 - 3 miles to. beach and back -add more with beach
Degree of Difficulty-  5   easy
Dog Friendly- 5 - pasture and beach supply open areas
Good for Family- 5 - same as above
Trail Markings-  5  easy to follow
Trail Maintenance-   5-.
Variation - 2 - can a little but mostly to the beach and back
Scenic  - 5- Wow

Beach -   Crowe’s Pasture

What I like - Great for a nice day, The mixture of wooded trail - pasture then beach
What I don’t like- not for inclement weather

Overall Rating-    47 out of 50