The Great Island Trail in Wellfleet is one for the whole family! There are so many variations, it’s easy to choose one, or two, that everyone will love. (Click on blog link for other photos.)
After you park at the lot, you walk down the trail until you reach the sand by the marsh which you can see in the 2nd photograph.
You can follow the trail out to Smith Tavern, Great Beach Hill or Jeremy Point, depending on which fork in the trail you take. Whichever one you take, the views are spectacular!
I was so surprised to see not one, but two of these beautiful Little Copper butterflies on the trail by Coast Guard Beach. I hadn’t seen very many butterflies this past summer and was surprised they were still around. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
Little Copper butterflies are very small with a wing span of only about an inch. Have you ever seen one? Beautiful little butterfly, don’t you think?
The pretty Jewelweed wildflowers, also known as “Spotted Touch-Me-Not” wildflowers are such a unique wildflower. They have tubular orange flowers that dangle like pendants. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
The flowers are small, only 1 inch, while the plants grow from 3-5 feet in wet and shady places. I saw this Jewelweed on the Silver Spring Trail Loop at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Interesting Fact: It got its name “Spotted-Touch-Me-Not” because if a ripe pod is touched, it splits open and shoots seeds four to six feet away from the plant.
