Extending the Cape Cod Rail Trail to Barnstable

The Cape Cod Rail Trail is a scenic, relatively flat, protected off-road paved path that runs approximately 25 miles from South Yarmouth to Wellfleet. It is used on a daily basis by thousands of residents and visitors. The newest spur of the trail, opened in Spring 2019, extends from Peter Homer Park in Yarmouth to the former trailhead in Dennis. This new extension boasts three bridges, spanning Route 134 in Dennis, Station Avenue in South Yarmouth, and the Bass River.  

Plans to extend the trail further into Yarmouth and Barnstable are now underway. The Towns of Yarmouth and Barnstable are collaborating on the extension of the Cape Cod Rail Trail into West Yarmouth and a portion of Barnstable. 

The proposed Phase III extension project will construct a new section of the rail trail from Peter Homer Park in Yarmouth to Mary Dunn Road in Barnstable. The route will follow an existing shared-use path and add a newly constructed shared-use path. The project will include a new bridge spanning Willow Street in Yarmouth and new trailhead parking lots on Higgins Crowell Road in Yarmouth and on Mary Dunn Road in Barnstable.   

You are invited to learn more during a Virtual Design Public Hearing that will be published on October 9, 2020. 

The design hearing will include a pre-recorded webinar that will be available for public viewing and comment on MassDOT’s website on October 9, 2020. The comment period is open from October 9-23, 2020. 

The project is currently at the 25% design phase and is fully funded for construction, slated to begin in 2023.  

Public comments and support letters are encouraged to be submitted by email or mail to MassDOT. 

Please email comments to:  dot.feedback.highway@state.ma.us  

Please mail comments to:  

Patricia A. Leavenworth, P.E., Chief Engineer 

MassDOT, 10 Park Plaza 

Boston, MA 02116 

Attention: Project Management 

Project File No. 607398.