Rail Trail Bike Shop: Cape Cod Rail Trail

Our bike shop is located directly on the Cape Cod Rail Trail off Underpass Rd. in Brewster. You can park your car in our spacious lot and bike directly from there. No more lugging heavy bikes from one place to another!

Along the way, you might want to stop and enjoy a picnic lunch or snack. Why not pick up your provisions at our neighbor, the Brewster Box Lunch. They offer a full menu of delicious sandwiches, munchies and drinks.

The Rail Trail is a paved recreational path that runs from S. Dennis through Wellfleet along the abandoned Penn Central Railway. It is 26 miles in length and travels through some of the most picturesque scenery on Cape Cod. Beautiful forests, kettle ponds and salt marshes are all sights to be enjoyed along the trail.

Among the most popular scenic stops on the Rail Trail is Seymour Pond in Brewster, where you ride directly next to the lake's sandy shore. This is a great spot to take a break and enjoy lunch and/or cool off in the water on a hot summer day! Nickerson State Park is also just a short distance away from us. The park contains many bike paths and several lakes suitable for swimming and boating.

Another nice stop along the trail is the 1-mile section between the Harwich Bike Bridge and new bike rotary about a mile down the path. This is a good place to pause during your trip and take in the scenery of a consummate Cape Cod institution: the cranberry bog. There's also a sturdy wooden railing here for bike and pedestrian traffic to lean against when taking a break on the journey.

Recent renovations on this stretch of the Rail Trail include the aforementioned bike rotary (pictured left), repaving/widening existing asphalt, upgrading the path's shoulder, invasive tree removal, root barrier installation, parking lot/road intersection improvements, and new landscaping. Several retaining walls were also constructed at key spots like the Pleasant Lake General Store and Route 124.

Recently, a direct route from the Cape Cod Rail Trail in Harwich to Chatham's town center was also built. The extension comprises a 7.5-mile paved path from Harwich Center going past Brooks Park and then through Thompson’s Field heading east. In Chatham, you can watch planes fly in and out of the airport while riding towards its historic Main Street district. This new addition was christened the Old Colony Rail Trail, in honor of the abandoned railway line it follows between Harwich and Chatham.

The path also offers direct access to the National Seashore in Eastham, where you can explore nature trails surrounding the Salt Pond Visitor Center. Wellfleet continues to provide spectacular views until the trail's end at Lecount Hollow Rd. Marconi station is another popular stop because of its historical significance as the first US wireless broadcast site.

Click here for more photos of natural Rail Trail scenery.