You Are Here: Poetry in Parks at Beech Forest Trail
in Massachusetts · centroid 49 mi from Boston
This picnic table at the trailhead of Beech Forest Trail is an art installation by the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón. Limón selected Mary Oliver's poem "Can You Imagine?" for this poetry installation as part of her signature project "You Are Here: Poetry in Parks." The project includes additional installations at six other national parks.
Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who lived in the Provincetown area for more than 50 years. Oliver was known for her nature poetry and Beech Forest was a special respite for her. She spent hours walking the trail and finding inspiration in the natural surroundings of the area.
Read more about Mary Oliver. What Would You Write in Response to the Landscape Around You? You Are Here, the signature project of the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, invites you to explore the relationship between language and the natural world through the words of poets and your own imagination.
- States
- Massachusetts
- Trail type
- National Seashore trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Boston, MA · 49 mi · ~1.4 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 42.0664°, -70.1945°
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/poetryinparks1.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 You Are Here: Poetry in Parks at Beech Forest 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
Beech Forest Trail
0 miles from this trail's centroid
Province Lands Bike Trail
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Head of the Meadow Bike Trail
4 miles from this trail's centroid
Pilgrim Spring Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Small's Swamp Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Great Island Trail
11 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.