Bridge Creek, Barnstable MA.

       It’s funny 34 degrees, sunny, not much wind at the end of March feels a lot warmer than it did a month ago. It was nice enough to hike a different Cape Cod trail so I  decided to try my second one in  Barnstable. I picked  Bridge Creek Conservation Area which “has an  informal network of trails leading past old stone walls, abandoned fields and cranberry bogs encircled by a wooded upland landscape“. The map showed two parking areas. One on Rte 149,  behind the West Barnstable Fire Station, in between Rte 6 and 6A. The other on Church Street. I parked on Church Street and used the entrance labeled The Jenkins Wildlife Sanctuary. I brought a map with me, I’m not taking any chances after getting lost last week off the Horse Pond Trail in the woods only 2 miles from my house LOL.
        The trail heads north into the woods along side a stone wall. It starts out wide with a lot of roots sticking out of the ground. Usually the roots are big by the base of the trees but there were some areas that the trees weren’t even close. I noticed that there were blue makers on the trees. There weren’t as many as Punkhorn Parklands, but it was better than most of the trails. Crossing over boardwalks and bridges leads to the marsh and ends at the railroad tracks, with  a few benches along the way and then loops back towards the beginning.
        On the way back I saw a lady and her dog, Jack, they were looking for the red trail. I knew there was a trail that went towards the fire station to the west and figured I past it when I saw a trail that followed another set of stonewalls earlier. As I was showing her the map Jack ran off with her following, I hope the map helped them get back. I took the trail by the stonewall and headed west. A short way down the trail I saw  red marker and followed them over 2 x 4 planks, many that were broken, to the fire station. There were a lot of roots on this side too. I must have tripped 10 times. Still not as bad as the last trail that had piles of Horse (you no what) all through the trails. At least there was so much I couldn’t miss it. I can’t believe didn’t slip and fall into the s##@ and fall down one of those steep hills. Haha!!  Maybe I’m luckier than I thought !!

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

Accessibility - 5  easy to find  between Rte 6 and 6A on Rte 149
Parking - 3-  Two areas with room for 3 cars, on Rte 149 behind the fire station and on Church St 7/10 mile from 149
Length-   5 -  about 6 miles but can be more there is another trail that heads east towards Rte 132 and Cape Cod Community College (4 C’s)
Degree of Difficulty-  4 -easy but look out for the roots
Dog Friendly-  4 - some narrow paths
Trail Markings-  4- red trail and blue trail markers on some trees - need more
Trail Maintenance-   3 good on blue side - red side could use some work
Variation - 5  loops and 2 separate sides plus another that heads east
Scenic  - 2 - the blue side looks over a marsh
Worth Returning - 4 - just not on a gorgeous day
Beach -   no
Facilities - no
What I like -  The length , I always liked stone walls
What I don’t like-  planks, mud

Overall Rating-    39  out of 50