Recreational Uses
The canal is used extensively by recreational and commercial vessels.
Service roads on both sides of the canal provide access for fishing and are heavily used by in-line skaters, bicyclists and walkers. Several parking areas are maintained at access points. People often just sit and watch ships and boats transiting the canal. Bourne Scenic Park is leased by the Corps of Engineers to the Town of Bourne Recreation Authority for use as a tent and RV campground adjacent to the Canal.
The Army Corps of Engineers maintains the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center which introduces visitors to the history, features, and operation of the Canal. Features include a retired 41-foot US Army Corps of Engineers patrol boat, a 46-seat theater showing continuous DVD presentations on Canal history, Canal flora and fauna, real time radar and camera images of the waterway as well as a variety of interactive exhibits. Corps Park Rangers staff the centre and provide free public programs on a variety of subjects. Tide charts, Canal guides and brochures are also available. The Visitor Center is open seasonally from May to October. Admission is free. It is located on Moffitt Drive in Sandwich near the canal's east end. A second seasonally staffed center is at the Herring Run along Scenic Highway.
Scusset Beach State Reservation lies just north of the east end of the canal and offers beach facilities as well as tent and RV camping. A .7 mi (1.1 km) trail there leads to Sagamore Hill – once a Native American Indian meeting ground and later the site of a World War II coastal fortification with a fine overview of Cape Cod Bay.
Bournedale Hills Trail extends 1.4 mi (2.25 km) along the north side of the Canal from Bourne Scenic Park campground to the Herring Run. The trail includes a .8 mi (1.25 km) self-guided loop which interprets the Canal's historic and natural features.
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