Ober Road to Cliff Pond Loop (Nickerson State Park)

Ober Road to Cliff Pond Loop (Nickerson State Park)

Distance: 2.68 miles
Elevation: 117 feet

Time: 1 hour, 9 mintues
Hike Type: Loop
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike

Time for the second hike of the day! I was definitely fixated on exploring more of these woods, so this time I headed out with Louise and Linda the greyhound. We followed Ober Road south to the old gravesite, and then followed an unmapped, narrow trail to Ober Trail. Our plan was to follow this to Cliff Pond, which was easy going on a paved path. Cliff Pond looked beautiful from the beach we landed at!

The return trip started on an unmapped trail to the fire tower (which is not climbable - sad!), and then we rejoined the Deer Park Trail to Middle Trail, where we continued to admire the lichen. The greens were likely standing out since the trees were wet. Soon enough we were back on Ober Road, and back to the house. Short and sweet!

Step-By-Step

- Start hike in back yard of Airbnb toward Ober Road.

- Turn right onto Ober Road.

- Veer left onto narrow footpath toward Ober Trail. 

- Cross Deer Park Road, continue on paved path.

- Turn left onto footpath toward parking area for Cliff Pond, enjoy!

- Join Cliff Pond Trail, moving clockwise.

- At junction, turn left onto unmapped trail toward Fire Tower.

- Trail terminates at tower on Deer Park Road, walk toward Dump Station, then onto Deer Park Trail traveling northward.

- At second jucntion, turn left onto Middle Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Ober Trail.

- At unmapped trail, turn right onto Ober Road.

- Follow Ober Road back to Airbnb backyard. 

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Ober Road to Cedar Trail Loop (Nickerson State Park)

Ober Road to Cedar Trail Loop (Nickerson State Park)

Distance: 3.11 miles
Elevation: 141 feet

Time: 1 hour, 3 mintues
Hike Type: Loop
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike

It's officially the week where no one knows what day it is - a few friends and I have a soft tradition of getting a house on the cape for a few days, and this years house's back yard was Nickerson State Park! I took two adventures in here on this day. The first was early in the morning with my umbrella, as it was raining on-and-off. Our back yard backed onto Ober Road of the state park, which I followed northward, past a very loud rooster, over some horse tracks and poo, and across a neat power cut.

Ober Road then crosses the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which I followed to Nickerston State Park headquarters. There are A LOT of trails that are not on the map, but most were on AllTrails, so I let my phone guide me. I didn't really have a plan for this walk, just meandering in a general loop-like fashion, so this kind of worked out for me. I took an unmapped path that had a singular blue-acord blaze? It then met up with Ober Road, which led to Deer Park Trail, both of which were paved.

I was stunned by how much lichen were in these woods. Curious about what the story is with the lichen - is it good, neutral, or bad for the trees? What exactly are they? I'm sure someday I'll find out. I only passed a few people on this morning adventure, which was lovely.

I later made my way to the Cedar Trail, which was also paved. I get why paced paths are good - accessibility and all, but I always prefer soft dirt. I did walk past a dangling slug which was FASCINATING. Couldn't tell if it was on purpose or if it was dead and just... drooling?

The Cedar Trail led to the Ober Trail, which then led to an unmapped trail that went past a very old grave site, then back to Ober Road, and finally back to the Airbnb. A lovely morning walk!

Step-By-Step

*Note: There are MANY unmapped trails in Nickerson State Park. 

- Access Ober Rd. via backyard of Airbnb house.

- Hike north-east along Ober Rd.

- Turn right onto Cape Cod Rail Trail.

- At trail kiosk, hike on unmapped trail toward Ober Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Ober Trail. 

- At next jct., turn right onto Deer Park Trail.

- At next jct., veer left onto Cedar Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Ober Trail.

- At next, unmapped junction, turn right onto trail.

- Turn right onto Ober Road, return to Airbnb.

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Cliff Pond (Nickerson State Park)

Cliff Pond Loop

(Nickerson State Park)

 

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 3.12 miles

Elevation: 174 feet

Time: 1 hour, 13 minutes minutes

Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge

 

The Hike
And just like that, less than 24 hours, I was back at Nickerson State Park! I brought some friends this time, too. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, it was in the mid 40s, and off we went! We followed the same path that I did the previous day, across the sandy trail to the split. At the trail split, we turned right to follow the trail around Cliff Pond. The trail was consistently beautiful, alternating between woods, shoreline, and beach hiking. There were occasionally side trails to different camping areas, but it was always clear where to go.

 

The trail climbed a little bit on the western side of the pond, which had lovely seasonal views through the trees. We eventually made it to a parking lot/boat launch site, almost directly across the pond from the parking lot. From here we made the mistake of hiking toward camping Area 4 instead of staying on the shoreline. We didn’t realize we made this mistake until we were all out of breath gaining more elevation than anticipated… whoops! At Area 4 we got to see some lovely campsites, a kiosk describing the CCC work in the park decades ago, and a small history lesson of a date two of our friends went on in a Yurt here that went poorly (mostly due to bugs).

 

Eventually, we found the trail back to the Cliff Pond trail, and continued our adventure! The last section of our hike was beautiful and close to the shoreline, and at one point crossing a swimming beach. There was one section of trail that was eroded away, so we made the decision to stay on the shoreline for the remainder of the hike. Even though it was chilly outside, we were all warm at this point (temperatures were in the 50s), and the beautiful clear water was incredibly inviting. Thankfully, no one caved and we all stayed dry. We were soon back at the car and heading back to the AirBnb for lunch!

 

“Cliff Pond” from Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

“Cliff Pond is a 206-acre natural kettlehole pond with a maximum depth of 96 feet and an average depth of 33 feet. The pond gets its name from the cliffs surrounding the pond. Transparency is exceptional, extending to 23 feet, and aquatic vegetation is scant. The 2.6 miles of shoreline are undeveloped and and protected within Nickerson State Park. The pond is heavily used by boaters during the summer months. The bottom is primarily sand with mud in the deeper areas.”

 

Nickerson State Park Map

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Little Cliff Pond (Nickerson State Park)

Little Cliff Pond Loop
(Nickerson State Park)

 

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 1.81 miles

Elevation: 65 feet

Time: 43 minutes

Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge

 

The Hike

The year is coming to an end! I was on the cape for a few days to celebrate and relax with some music teacher friends, and had about an hour to kill before my AirBnb opened up. I landed at Nickerson State Park, between Cliff and Little Cliff ponds. I wanted some time to check in and check out the house before my friends arrived, so I opted for Little Cliff. The trail started on the sandy lakefront facing Cliff Pond, and the sandy stretch concludes at the trail split. Turning right makes the big loop around Cliff Pond, and turning left makes the smaller loop around Little Cliff Pond. Both directions have yellow blazes.

 

The trail turns into the woods and meanders up and down before coming to another beach area, where it is clearly written that there is no swimming. The weather was in the mid 30s, and the pond was partially frozen over. The color of the pond was beautiful - a deep teal, which contrasted magnificently with the red/brown ground and the sandy distance. The trail then comes to the gate at Higgin’s Pond, and soon wraps back to the parking lot. This was a fantastic, short hike around a beautiful pond on Cape Cod. I was very excited to get back here to explore big Cliff Pond! I was greeted by the beginning of a beautiful sunset as I was driving away. 

“Nickerson State Park” from Wikipedia

“The land composing the park was once part of the estate of Samuel Mayo Nickerson (1830–1914), a native of the area and a Chicago liquor distiller who made a fortune as one of the founding officers of the First National Bank of Chicago.[3] In 1890, Nickerson built Fieldstone Hall on land overlooking Cape Cod Bay a mile west of the park to be the home of his son Roland C. Nickerson, Roland's wife Addie, and their three children. Fieldstone Hall was lost to fire in 1906, and a larger mansion was built on the same site. That building subsequently became a seminary and is now a major feature of the Ocean Edge resort.[4] Roland Nickerson died at age 51 shortly after Fieldstone Hall burned down, his death at the time being ascribed to his heartache at the loss of his home and personal possessions.[5] His son Roland Jr. was a naval lieutenant who died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. In 1934, Addie Nickerson donated the portion of the estate on the south side of Route 6a for use as a "state forest park." It became the Commonwealth's first state park and was named in honor of her late husband and late son.[6]”

Nickerson State Park Trail Map

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