Parking
Salt Pond Visitor Center at 50 Nauset Road. The trail is beside the amphitheater; the entrance is behind the restroom building.
Overview
About Buttonbush Trail
Why go
- A boardwalk bridge crosses Buttonbush Pond in a short loop.
- Braille panels and a guide rope make it a distinctive sensory walk.
Heads up
- Too short to anchor a full hiking day.
- Log steps and a moderate grade on the second half.
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Cape Cod alerts
- CautionSharks active in park waters through OctoberSharks are active in Cape Cod National Seashore waters through October; heed all beach guidelines and signage before entering the water. Check current park conditions before entering the water.Official details
- CautionHarmful algal bloom advisories at Snows and Slough PondsDo not swim in or swallow water at Snows Pond or Slough Pond; the Town of Truro currently lists harmful algal bloom advisories at both ponds.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cape Cod Tour Guide
Your drive to Buttonbush Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cape Cod National Seashore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Cape Cod audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Salt Pond Visitor Center0:00 / 0:31
“Salt Pond Visitor Center is up ahead, a useful stop if you're still choosing what to do today. Ask a ranger for help, then take in the view across Salt Pond and Nauset Marsh from the lobby.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cape Cod Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Coast Guard Beach via Little Creek
- Doane Rock and Picnic Area
- Red Maple Swamp Trail
- Fort Hill and Captain Penniman House
- 56 audio storiesacross Cape Cod’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Gray Seal, Coyote, Red Fox, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 32 trails, 55 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Buttonbush Trail
The short loopButtonbush Trail is a 0.3-mile loop beside Salt Pond Visitor Center.
Buttonbush Trail is a 0.3-mile loop beside Salt Pond Visitor Center. It takes about 15 minutes, longer if you stop at the Braille panels or do the family activities. It’s an easy, compact nature walk; add it while you’re at the visitor center or choose the longer Nauset Marsh Trail nearby if you want a fuller outing. Pets are prohibited.
Find the entranceStart at Salt Pond Visitor Center, 50 Nauset Road.
Start at Salt Pond Visitor Center, 50 Nauset Road. The loop is beside the amphitheater; visitors locate the entrance behind the restroom building. Restrooms are at the center.
Through the woods and pondThe route winds through forest, crosses Buttonbush Pond on a boardwalk bridge, then passes over…
The route winds through forest, crosses Buttonbush Pond on a boardwalk bridge, then passes over formerly cultivated land. The total elevation change is 32 feet. The second half has log steps and a moderate grade, so this is not a uniformly smooth walk.
A sensory trailThe park designed Buttonbush for visitors with low or no vision.
The park designed Buttonbush for visitors with low or no vision. Braille panels, a guide rope and steps marked for visibility give you things to follow and notice along the way. Those features don’t make it step-free: the log steps are part of the route.
If you want more walkingNauset Marsh Trail begins beside the same amphitheater and makes a separate 1.
Nauset Marsh Trail begins beside the same amphitheater and makes a separate 1.3-mile loop along Salt Pond and the marsh. Keep its mileage separate from Buttonbush. A couple of recent visitors mentioned mosquitoes on Buttonbush; if they’re out, repellent and keeping moving may help.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cape Cod
461 sightingsGray SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
85 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
300 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
49 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
264 sightingsHorseshoe CrabMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
74 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cape Cod. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
