Small's Swamp Trail
in Massachusetts · centroid 53 mi from Boston
Length: 0.6 mile loop, 30 minutes. Location: Pilgrim Heights Road, Truro, MA. Turn right off Route 6, 1.2 miles past the brown Head of the Meadow Beach sign, at the Pilgrim Heights area sign. Walk begins and ends at the covered shelter.
Features: Chosen by Native People for living sites for thousands of years for water, protection, and food sources, early-European settlers also sought to make a living on this landscape. Gradually, the soil gave out, farms were abandoned, and the landscape began its slow recovery. The forest here now hides most, but not all, of the former land uses in this area.
Conditions: Easy; some log steps; moderate grade; short boardwalk surface; picnic area and seasonal restrooms in adjacent parking area.
- States
- Massachusetts
- Trail type
- National Seashore trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Boston, MA · 53 mi · ~1.5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 42.0554°, -70.1063°
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/small-s-swamp-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 Small's Swamp 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
Pilgrim Spring Trail
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Head of the Meadow Bike Trail
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Beech Forest Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
You Are Here: Poetry in Parks at Beech Forest Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Province Lands Bike Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Great Island Trail
9 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.