Fort Hill, part of the National Seashore, is a wonderful place to go… any time of the year. You can hike or walk or sit on the bench and enjoy those spectacular views of Nauset Marsh.
You can take a walk on the boardwalk across Red Maple Swamp down to Hemenway Landing and see the boats going in or out.
Fort Hill is always a special place… any time of the year.
One of our favorite places to hike on Cape Cod, Fort Hill in Eastham, is only a few minutes from our home. Since the Wilderness Volunteers cut back a lot of the brush, the views are spectacular!
This is one of the glacial rocks that has been obscured for years behind the dense brush. Now you can see all the way across Nauset marsh to Coast Guard Station.
So pretty! Thank you again, Wilderness Volunteers!
Nauset Marsh is beautiful from any view. I took this photograph the other day at Fort Hill on the trail that goes way down to the water, past the big rock on the right from the upper parking lot.
The grass is all brown but the water was so blue and you can see Coast Guard Station in the background. If you haven’t taken this trail, try it. It’s not too hard and just gorgeous!
I can’t believe how tall the Cattails grow along Nauset Marsh, especially at Fort Hill. Phil took this photograph of me walking out from looking at Nauset Marsh and Coast Guard Station way in the distance. You can see Nauset Marsh in the background.
Pretty tall Cattails, don’t you think? It reminds me of a huge maze!
The Captain Penniman House sits on top of a hill at Fort Hill where we love to hike. I did a little research and learned that “Captain Penniman became one of the most successful whaling captains in New England. After his fourth voyage, he returned home to Eastham to build a home for his family on 12 acres purchased from his father.
Sitting atop Fort Hill in Eastham is the Second Empire style home of Captain Edward Penniman. Built in 1868 the two-and-one-half story house features a central hall plan with two rooms on each side. Rising from the center of the roof is an octagonal cupola with arched windows on all sides. The house holds the Penniman family’s written records and artifact collection, both of which provide a glimpse of the places visited on the family’s whaling voyages.
It has recently been repainted so that it now depicts the residence’s authentic, original colors.
It’s all part of a Centennial Challenge Fund commemorating the National Park Services’ 100th anniversary in 2016.
The park service awarded $85,000 to match $100,000 pledged by the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore (Friends), the seashore’s nonprofit partner, and $15,000 of funds that were donated by Eastern National, the seashore’s cooperating association.”
Such a treasure to have nearby. Have you ever seen the Captain Penniman House?
Phil and I had commented to each other a few days ago how overgrown the bushes and vines at Fort Hill had become. In many places you could not see the marsh or ocean, which you could easily see in past years. (Click on blog link to see additional photos.)
And then Monday as we were walking at Fort Hill we came across a group of people who were clearing a lot of the overgrown bushes and vines away. It was starting to look awesome again!
We stopped and commented to them how nice it was to be able to see the views again and asked who they were. They said they were from a group called the Wilderness Volunteers who came to help out. We saw about 8-10 of them who were from all over the country. Some of the states they mentioned were Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota and Washington. Wow! They were from pretty far away!
I did a little research on the Wilderness Volunteers and learned that:
“Our mission is providing opportunities for everyone to participate in the hands-on stewardship of public lands. Working in cooperation with the National Forest and Park Service, the BLM and the US Fish & Wildlife Agency, you’ll be inspired and invigorated when you see how much a group can accomplish in a few days.”
Thank you, Wilderness Volunteers here on Cape Cod. You are already making a huge difference and we all thank you for your dedication and hard work.
