Cushioned by salt marsh on both sides, the Herring River is the vital waterway that feisty river herring depend on for their seven-mile journey from Nantucket Sound upstream to freshwater spawning ponds. The Herring River, salt marsh, and abundant wildlife comprise a wilderness ecosystem rich in biodiversity.
A great blue heron lifts off from the salt marsh. Photo by Janet DiMattia
To help improve access to this beautiful and bountiful landscape, Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) has launched a $1.2 million fundraising campaign for the Herring River Watershed Land & Marsh View Trail Project.
The goal of the project is to save a key half-acre parcel on Rt. 28 in West Harwich, next to 14 acres of protected HCT land, providing enhanced public access to spectacular views across the Herring River Marsh. The project will also improve the coastal resiliency of the salt marsh by relocating existing parking facilities away from sensitive wetland habitat.
Development threatens these special places. But your support helps HCT both preserve and restore lands for all to explore.
After languishing in bank foreclosure for many years, the property purchase plus removal of a dilapidated building is $500,000. Design and permitting for the parking and wheelchair accessible boardwalk are estimated at $50.000. Establishing the parking and boardwalk to an elevated platform overlooking the marsh is estimated at $650,000, which includes funds for stewardship maintenance. HCT hopes the community will rally to support creating this inspiring new all-access trail experience.
Conservation significance
It’s a unique opportunity to purchase this half-acre gateway property that will unlock trail access to a panoramic vista of salt marsh savanna. Shaped by daily tides and nutrient-rich sediments, salt marshes are highly specialized coastal wetlands that absorb storm surges, filter flood waters, and are home to an amazing diversity of wildlife.
The deep blue Herring River runs through the windswept green grasses as fiddler crabs scurry along the edge, ospreys soar overhead, and herons and egrets search for small fish in the tidal creeks. Salt marshes rival tropical rain forests and coral reefs as among the most biologically rich ecosystems on Earth.
This map shows land owned by Harwich Conservation Trust (in darker green), and the parcel that will be acquired for the Herring River Watershed Land & Marsh View Trail Project (in red).
We’re lucky to have such a dynamic ecosystem in our Cape Cod backyard, but you can’t see the Herring River Marsh through the dense thicket of commercial development along Route 28. With your support, we can save the land, create a boardwalk and open a scenic window for everyone to enjoy.
Solving a Stewardship Problem
For the past 25 years, HCT has had an existing 150-foot wheelchair accessible boardwalk accessed from a small, remote parking area down a dirt road that is challenging to find from Route 28. This isolated, hard to reach spot is a magnet for trash dumping and occasional vandalism.
The acquisition of the new half-acre parcel gives HCT the opportunity to relocate the parking right on Route 28 for high visibility and easy access. This exciting project will establish a new wheelchair accessible boardwalk leading to a viewing platform perched at the edge of the vast Herring River Marsh.
You can make a difference. Please donate today!
By December 2027, we seek to raise up to $1.2 million to preserve the Herring River watershed property and create the new Marsh View Trail with its wheelchair accessible all persons trail and scenic overlook. We invite you to make a lasting, local difference by donating today. If you have questions, please email
mike@harwichconservationtrust.org or call us at the office at 508-432-3997.
To donate, please
click here, or mail a check to Harwich Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 101, S. Harwich, MA 02661. In the check memo, please write “Marsh View Project.”
