Fort Hill Trail
in Massachusetts · centroid 68 mi from Boston
Length: 1 mile loop, 1 hour. Location: 70 Fort Hill Road. Turn off Route 6 at the brown Fort Hill sign on Governor Prence Road in Eastham. Continue to the parking area on the left, across from the Captain Penniman House.
The trail may also be accessed from Hemenway Landing, just north of Fort Hill on Route 6. Pets: Pets are not allowed on Fort Hill Trail. Features: This loop trail crosses open fields, connects with the Red Maple Swamp Trail, and offers spectacular vistas of the Nauset Marsh area.
This is also a great location for bird enthousiasts. Conditions: Easy; solid surface, some log steps on slopes; seasonal restrooms near Hemenway Landing.
- States
- Massachusetts
- Trail type
- National Seashore trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Boston, MA · 68 mi · ~2.0 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 41.8181°, -69.9620°
About Cape Cod National Seashore
This trail is inside Cape Cod National Seashore, a national seashore managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-hill-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/caco/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Fort Hill Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Red Maple Swamp Trail
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Nauset Bike Trail
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Doane Trail
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Great Island Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Small's Swamp Trail
18 miles from this trail's centroid
Pilgrim Spring Trail
18 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.