By JAMIE L. COSTA
PHOTOS BY BRENDA M. SHARP
Part One: Ice Skating
Skaters find safe ice earlier this year on the small pond between Trunk River Beach and Oyster Pond Road in Falmouth.
The first time I went ice skating on Cape, my mom laced up my yellowed, hand-me-down skates, which she gifted to me when she gave up the sport, and trucked us down to the closest cranberry bog.
Ask any local where to skate, and they’ll tell you the same thing: the cranberry bogs.
Ours happened to be within walking distance of our home, nestled along scenic Route 6A in Sandwich. Nonetheless, we would pile blankets and hot chocolate and hockey pucks into our SUV, back into the parking lot and set up camp for what felt like days but was usually only a couple of hours.
We’d watch our parents tailgate and drink their coffee while we skated every inch of the bog, stopping to see if the horses were out along the farm and trying not to trip over the overgrown branches peeking out through the bumpy ice.
The cranberry bog freezes for some hockey games along Route 6A in Sandwich in 2019.
We’d skate until our ankles ached, but, alas, the bogs and ponds don’t usually freeze over like that anymore. If you want to skate in the winter on Cape Cod, you’re mainly forced into skating rinks such as the Gallo or Falmouth ice arenas. But at least they’re warmer than braving the elements; also, the ice is smooth, and they have food!
Sandwich
Suzanne Thomas and her 9-year-old daughter, Olivia Canales, enjoy an afternoon skating at Trunk River in Falmouth in 2016.
Although many Sandwich residents consider them not to be the safest option, there are several public and private ponds throughout town that the 1980s generation used to frequent for ice skating, ice fishing and pond hockey, but as the climate has warmed, locals and visitors alike have been advised to stay off “frozen” ponds.
Instead, cranberry bogs have turned into a safer bet, along with very shallow ponds on private properties that are not accessible to the public. The most notable bog, located closest to two lakes on either side of the road, is large enough to accommodate around 50 people comfortably and provides parking for those making a day of it.
If you can’t make it to the bog or it’s too packed with people, Gallo Ice Arena in Buzzards Bay off Gallo Road is the second-best option with its daily public skating times and skating rentals.
Ice hockey along Old County Road in Sandwich in 2019
Falmouth
If you’re from Falmouth or if you feel like making a drive from any of the Upper Cape towns or even down Cape, you’ll find some of the best bog skating in New England, according to locals.
Stacked vertically behind Old Barnstable Road in East Falmouth are several publicly owned cranberry bogs perfect for skating in the winter. Although you can find public parking in the area by Rocky’s Gym & Fitness, you’re still going to have to walk a little bit and maybe jump some guardrails to get down to the bogs. But the privacy and acreage you’ll be met with make the adventure worth it.
If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, and arguably riskier, Siders, Salt and Oyster ponds, located off Surf Drive, are secluded and set back off main roads, making for fewer people, more adventure and better scenery.
On the other side of town off MacArthur Boulevard is the Falmouth Ice Arena, which welcomes all skaters, all ages and all skill levels.
Mashpee
Children and adults alike turn out en masse for some fun in the snow at Sandwich Hollows Golf Club in 2017.
For Mashpee residents, finding safe, outdoor skating in the town is almost impossible. In fact, many residents feel it doesn’t get cold enough to skate on ponds, and cranberry bogs aren’t an option. The town itself doesn’t offer any indoor skating, and most people will go to Falmouth or Cotuit to use their indoor rinks.
Part Two: Sledding
No one knows their back streets better than neighborhood kids taking advantage of snow days and finding the best hills within walking distance of their homes.
Sandwich
A sledder at Sandwich Hollows Golf Club in 2016
For many in my neighborhood, we’d make the trek up Surrey Lane to the top of the hill and carve paths into the snowy shoulders, taking advantage of tire tracks and untouched snow drifts.
If we could convince our parents to take us across town, we’d head to the Service Road and join the neighborhood kids on their hills. Almost every street has at least one hill, but the best hills are in people’s backyards.
The Sandwich High School, the former Wing School and Forestdale and Oak Ridge schools have small hills on their sports fields that are perfect for short trips, young kids and meeting up with friends.
Golf courses are hidden gems to the Cape, as each hole is bound to have some sort of incline or decline. But the clubhouse behind the Sandwich Hollows has the best sledding hills for adults and children, according to many town residents.
Falmouth
Youngsters, with sleds in hand, take full advantage of the weekend’s snowfall at the Pocasset Golf Club in Bourne in 2017. Bourne got the most snow—14 inches—of all the Upper Cape towns.
Falmouth arguably has the best places to go sledding on the Upper Cape.
The Cape Cod Country Club in East Falmouth is a public golf course that offers 18 holes and green layouts with inclines and declines perfect for all ages. The course itself is open year-round and offers plenty of parking off Theatre Drive.
Liam Timmons, 5, of Falmouth slides down the hill at the Falmouth Heights ballpark after the first big snowstorm in 2016.
Right down the road from the golf course off Ashumet Road at the intersection of Boxberry Hill and Ranch roads are several small and large hills that are often turned into steep slopes.
“The sand traps are converted into kiddie hills for the littles on a tube, and the big hill is great for making ramps out of snow and catching great air,” said Phil Afonso, a Falmouth resident. “Once it’s packed down, it lets you coast for quite a distance.”
If you’re looking for something a little more traditional and want a seaside experience, the baseball field to the left of Shipwrecked Restaurant in the Falmouth Heights area has steep hills to the left of home plate. A lot of people make trick courses, adding jumps and chutes that will propel you across a good portion of the field.
BRENDA M. SHARP/ENTERPRISE
Katherine and Chris Wood of Forestdale with their 2-year-old daughter, Olivia, and their dog, Bailey, make their way through the snow-covered parking lot at Sandwich Hollows Gold Club in Sandwich to do some sledding in 2017.
And if you’re from the Woods Hole area, the Woods Hole Golf Club provides similar inclines and declines to other golf clubs on the Cape that are public, easily accessible and almost guaranteed to offer fun sledding.
If all else fails, no matter what town you’re from, finding your own sledding and ice-skating spots is one of the most fun parts of the winter season on Cape Cod.
Whether that means driving around your hometown looking for other skaters and sledders and trekking through your backyard or testing out shallow ponds around town and sneaking into your neighbor’s backyard at night, there are plenty of hidden gems throughout the Cape that you’re bound to find.
And if you do, let us know so that we can join in on the fun!