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Small's Swamp Trail

Location
The Small's Swamp Trail is located within the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro. Follow Route 6 to the Truro/Wellfleet town line and then proceed north 7.4 miles to the well-marked Pilgrim Heights Area on the right. Turn right into the area and proceed 0.5 miles to the first parking lot. The trail begins at the pavilion on the left.

Description
A short, simple loop, this walk offers a number of great views and interesting insights into Cape Cod history.

Small's Swamp is one of many kettle holes in the area. Similar to kettle ponds, kettle holes are the product of glaciers. After the glaciers that formed Cape Cod receded some thousands of years ago, massive chunks of ice remained embedded in the Cape's soil. When these chunks finally melted, the earth around them collapsed and left huge holes in their stead. Those holes that were as deep as the ground water flooded and formed kettle ponds, but those that did not reach as deep as the ground water simply remained kettle holes. The kettle hole that formed Small's Swamp happens to be somewhat unique in that it is deep enough to have taken on some water, but not deep enough to have formed a proper kettle pond. As a result, it has served as a fertile breeding ground for plants as well as a sheltered location for homes, including the farmhouse of Thomas Small for whom it was named.

Although the aforementioned geological process behind the formation of kettle holes had not yet been identified in Thoreau's times, the author described those he encountered in North Truro, like Small's Swamp, with amazing insight:

Some of the valleys, however, are circular, a hundred feet deep and without any outlet, as if the Cape had sunk in those places, or its sands had run out. The few scattered houses which we passed, being placed at the bottomof these hollows for shelter and fertility, were, for the most part, concealed entirely as much as if they had been swallowed up by the earth.

The Trail
This loop starts at the pavilion at the corner of the area's first parking lot, the same place that the Pilgrim Spring Trail begins. Off to the west, Provincetown's Pilgrim Monument can be seen almost four miles away on clear days.

• Take the Small's Swamp Trail from the pavilion and follow the log steps down to the swamp. Be sure to bear left at the fork you will encounter on the way.
• Once down in the swamp, follow the wide, sandy path around to the left. The Park has built boardwalks through the swamp over the wettest areas and posted signs that mark a variety of plants. Common species include swamp azalea, highbush blueberry, black cherry, beach heather and bearberry.
• Remnants from Small's farm can also be spotted here and there, including grape vines, apple trees and lilac bushes.
• As you follow the trail out of the swamp, views of the marsh, dunes, and even the distant Atlantic will open up on the left. You will also encounter plaques commemorating the Pilgrim's 1620 explorations of the area and a 1778 wreck of the British man-of-war Somerset, as well as the history of Pilgrim Lake/Provincetown's East Harbor and its estuary, East Harbor Creek, now called "Salt Meadow."
• Follow the trail back up to the pavilion to conclude this walk. Seasonal restrooms are located by the area's second parking lot.