Parking
Doane Picnic Area, one mile east of Salt Pond Visitor Center on Nauset Road toward Coast Guard Beach; follow the brown signs. Picnic tables, a shelter, interpretive information, and seasonal restrooms are beside the parking area.
Overview
About Doane Trail
Why go
- Easy, paved loop through pine-and-oak woods
- Doane Rock is right at the start
Heads up
- A brief, low-key woodland walk rather than a substantial hike
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
1 active Cape Cod alert
- CautionSharks active in park waters through OctoberSharks are active in park waters through October; heed beach guidelines and signage before entering the water.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cape Cod Tour Guide
Your drive to Doane 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.
Recorded for this trailhead
Doane Rock and Picnic Area0:00 / 0:28
“Up ahead is Doane Rock, Cape Cod's largest known boulder left behind by a glacier. Ice carried it away from its original home, then dropped it as the glacier melted.”
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
- Salt Pond Visitor Center
- Nauset Light and the Three Sisters
- Keeping Pace with the Waves
- 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 Doane Trail
A short, easy loopDoane Trail is a paved 0.
Doane Trail is a paved 0.6-mile loop at Doane Picnic Area, about a mile east of Salt Pond Visitor Center. It’s an easy walk with 33 feet of elevation change, and the estimated time is about 30 minutes. The path winds through emerging pine-and-oak forest with interpretive text. It’s a good fit for a short, accessible walk; plan on a gentle woodland outing rather than a long hike or a big viewpoint.
Doane Rock at the startThe trail begins beside Doane Rock, a huge glacial erratic left on Cape Cod as the Laurentide…
The trail begins beside Doane Rock, a huge glacial erratic left on Cape Cod as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated. It’s the largest known boulder left on the Cape. The rock is the loop’s clearest landmark. For a photo, step back far enough to include the full boulder and some of the path and low shrubs around it; that gives the stone a sense of scale.
Getting thereStart at Doane Picnic Area, one mile east of Salt Pond Visitor Center on Nauset Road toward…
Start at Doane Picnic Area, one mile east of Salt Pond Visitor Center on Nauset Road toward Coast Guard Beach; follow the brown signs. The picnic area is beside the parking lot, with picnic tables, a shelter, interpretive information, and seasonal restrooms. The trail is open year-round and needs no reservation; there is no activity fee, though park entrance fees may apply. Leashed pets are allowed.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cape Cod
459 sightingsGray SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
84 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
297 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
49 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
263 sightingsHorseshoe CrabMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
73 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.
