Cape Cod Rail Trail Extensions

The Cape Cod Rail Trail is being extended west, not north. A roughly 4-mile section from Yarmouth to Mary Dunn Road in Barnstable is under construction and scheduled to finish in 2031, with a further 10 miles to the Sandwich town line in design. In Wellfleet, the trail was extended only about a mile, to the edge of Wellfleet Hollow State Campground. The planned link to Route 6 was dropped in 2021.

So, as of October 2026, the trail still ends in South Wellfleet, and there is no trail to Provincetown. This page collects what's built, what's planned and what was stopped, with the date of each source.

The Western Extension: Yarmouth to Barnstable (Phase 3)

According to the Town of Barnstable, Phase 3 extends the rail trail from Old Town House Road in Yarmouth to Mary Dunn Road in Barnstable, about 4 miles. The Barnstable part runs entirely through the Hyannis Ponds Wildlife Management Area. Pre-construction work started in 2024, construction was expected to begin in spring 2025, and completion is scheduled for 2031.

It's a MassDOT project, funded in part by MassTrails grants, which DCR administers. Until it opens, the trail's western end is the Station Avenue trailhead in South Yarmouth.

Barnstable to Sandwich (Phase 4)

Phase 4 would continue from Mary Dunn Road to the Barnstable–Sandwich town line, about 10 more miles. The town says some sections would run beside roads and others farther from them, through natural areas where possible. It's in preliminary design, with another MassTrails grant for the next design stage, and no construction date yet. The town posts updates and maps on its Cape Cod Rail Trail page.

The Wellfleet Extension

DCR proposed extending the trail north from the LeCount Hollow Road trailhead in 2018, as part of a larger plan for a 70-mile network of bike trails across Cape Cod, according to the Provincetown Independent. DCR had bought the land in 2016. The plan was to bring the trail out on Route 6, about half a mile from Wellfleet's Main Street, and link it to bike lanes on the highway.

Wellfleet voters saw the Route 6 junction as dangerous. At the 2019 town meeting they passed an article asking the state to stop the trail at Wellfleet Hollow State Campground. A town committee report in 2021 ranked DCR's route last of 28 options it studied. DCR dropped the full extension in 2021.

The first phase was already built. The trail now continues about a mile past LeCount Hollow Road and stops in a small clearing at the edge of the campground, with signs reading "No Bikes Beyond This Point" and "Please Turn Around Here." A sandy path beyond the signs is not part of the trail.

Is There a Bike Route to Provincetown?

Not an off-road one. In July 2026 the Cape Cod Times reported new bike and pedestrian lanes on Route 6 in Wellfleet, added during a paving project, and said they're separate from a larger Outer Cape project, still in planning, to extend the rail trail north to Provincetown. Riding Route 6 means sharing the Outer Cape's only highway with traffic.

A Provincetown Independent reporter rode from the trail's end to Provincetown on back roads in 2024: about 20 miles in two and a half hours, with sandy dirt roads, steep hills in Truro and one unavoidable mile on Route 6. If you want to ride in Provincetown, drive there and ride the Province Lands Bike Trail.

Older Extensions Already Open

The trail has grown before. It once ran about 22 miles from South Dennis to South Wellfleet, which is why DCR's mile markers stop at 22. The section west into Yarmouth, with its bridge over the Bass River, brought it to Station Avenue. Today's length is on our mileage page.

How to Follow the Projects

• Barnstable phases: the Town of Barnstable takes sign-ups for updates.
• Wellfleet and the Outer Cape: Wellfleet town meeting records and local news (the Provincetown Independent and Cape Cod Times cover it).
• DCR's own Wellfleet extension page on mass.gov now redirects to the main rail trail page.