Sandwich Boardwalk
SANDWICH BOARDWALK
Sandwich, MA
Image by Matt Reynolds @ mattreynoldsphotography.com
This wonderful location is just a few miles from the Cape Cod Canal. The Sandwich Boardwalk is a 1,350 ft long wooden boardwalk that spans across a creek and marsh ending at Town Neck Beach in Sandwich.
Originally built in 1875 it has been rebuilt numerous times due to damage from various storms. Many of the wooden planks that make up the boardwalk are engraved with donor names/messages. The boardwalk, creek and surrounding marsh create ideal leading lines, and offer many compositional opportunities. While an enjoyable place to go for a walk anytime, I would consider this primarily a sunrise location and looks best with colorful clouds reflecting in the bodies of water.
Photos and location summary by Matt Reynolds
Trail Difficulty - EASY
I would rate the difficulty of this trail a 1-2 on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being most difficult). It doesn’t get much easier in terms of access or difficulty rating. The boardwalk starts at a parking lot and you can be out of your car and shooting in a matter of minutes. Getting muddy is about the worst-case scenario, though it is imperative that you check the tide times before venturing out as the tides move in fast. While the physical danger is quite low, the chance of getting your gear wet is real. Marsh mud is also very slippery when wet.
Most of the marsh and surrounding area can be walked on, but at the end of the trail please stay on the boardwalk as it climbs the beach dunes. Those sand dunes are protected and no access is permitted.
Please respect all postage signage in the area.
GPS Coordinates & Elevation
Sea Level - Elevation
View In Google earth
Download KMZ Trail File
Click Here to download the KMZ file for this location.
Directions
CLICK HERE to get driving directions to the parking lot for Sandwich Boardwalk
There are actually 2 addresses (parking areas) for this location, and although there are about 2,000 ft between them, due to the marsh, it is a confusing 10-minute drive from one parking lot to the other.
The best address to use is the end of Boardwalk Rd. in Sandwich, MA. This is where the start of the boardwalk is and there is a large parking lot there. I recommend putting “Boardwalk Road, Sandwich, MA” into your GPS to get routed correctly, or follow the below steps:
Take Route 6A to Jarvis St. (on your left if from the Bridge or on your right if from further out on the Cape). Then take a left on Factory Street and a right on Harbor Street. Harbor Street turns into Boardwalk Road. This road ends at the parking lot.
The other address is 103 Wood Ave, which is the parking lot for Town Neck Beach. You can easily access the opposite end of the boardwalk from this lot, but it is not ideal (as it is primarily for people accessing the beach).
Be aware from mid-May until mid-Sept parking lots require either a town pass or a daily fee to park. I believe the booth is manned from 9 am – 4 pm during these dates. If you come outside of these hours, you don’t have to pay to park. Also, in the early morning there will be plenty of parking. For sunrise and sunset photography this is not an issue.
I recommend a quick check on the towns for the most recent information concerning parking before you go - Parking Information
Photography Tips
I mentioned above, the seasonal aspects, camera settings, choice of lens, etc…
I have not yet mentioned the importance of tidal conditions in regard to potential imagery. A higher tide will generally be optimal as the marsh areas look best when filled with water. The “shoulder season” time of year brings more importance to higher tides. While my preference would be for high tide, colorful clouds is more important than the tide (all of the images above were taken near low tide). I do think each of the presented images could look better in the same conditions but at high tide. Also, a still morning (not much wind) will aid in the stillness of the water in the creek and marsh areas, which does help with reflections.
The tidal differences can bring significant landscape changes to any location on the bayside of Cape Cod and I always recommend checking Cape Cod Tide Chart before you go.
While not important to photography, low tide can bring an odor which some may find unpleasant and venturing into the muddy areas can bring that smell to your clothing as well.
There are quite a few locations that work for photography at this location. You can shoot from either side of the marsh, or on the boardwalk. I would let the conditions and direction of the sun decide which is best on location.
Images #1 & #4 were taken on the boardwalk, while images #2 and #3 were taken standing in the very muddy marsh.
With the close proximity to the parking lot and relatively small area, you can get away with coming here before sunrise and finding a composition, without prior location scouting.
EXIF Data
Focal Length – 21 mm
Exposure – 3.2 sec @ f 11.0
ISO – 100
Date – June 21st
Time – 6:05 am
Best Time of Day to Shoot
This is a prime sunrise location as the sun will rise over the boardwalk for most of the year. Additionally, in the early morning, the lack of crowds is a benefit.
Overall, this location is much more photogenic with colorful clouds, which can be seen reflecting in the bodies of water. If the morning is “blue skies” with no clouds, you may want to head to the beach for a photo of the rising sun over the ocean.
If conditions are ideal, I imagine the boardwalk can work in the opposite direction as a sunset location especially in the winter months where the sun sets over the boardwalk.
Best Time of Year
In my opinion, this location is best in the summer (from Memorial Day until the end of July) for multiple reasons. The images shown below were all taken on June 21st.
Primarily, the direction of the sun rises over the boardwalk during the summer months (Memorial Day until the end of July). The rest of the year, the sun rises to the right side of the boardwalk and during the winter months (November to February) the position of the sunrise does not work for sunrise.
An even more significant reason why I prefer the summer timeframe is the marsh takes on a nice vibrant green color during summer. The rest of the year, the marsh is often brown and not as picturesque. You don’t need to incorporate the marsh into your images though. As you can see from the images below, two of the images are aided by the green marsh but the other two are not.
Finally, the summer brings out wild beach rose blooms at the upper beach end of the boardwalk, which is another photograph option.
Lens(es) Needed
This location is primarily a wide-angle or normal focal length spot. The boardwalk or marsh can be used to create a nice foreground which can be emphasized with a wide-angle lens.
The main image above was a 6 shot vertical pano (each taken @ 21mm prime lens) - full frame camera, f11, and 1 second to smooth out the water and bring out optimal reflections. I used a circular polarizer and a 3 stop ND filter and the image was taken about 10 minutes before sunrise. My objective was to capture the curve of the water in the creek which is why I opted for the pano.
Image #2 was taken 20 minutes before sunrise with a 21 mm prime lens @ f11, and 3.2 seconds.
Image #3 was taken 23 minutes before sunrise (3 min before image #2), with a 21 mm prime lens @ f11, and 10 seconds.
Image #4 was taken a couple of minutes after sunrise, with a 21 mm prime lens @ f11, and and 1/4 second.
This is a great location to use filters / long exposure photography methods. This can often bring out more movement and color in the clouds as well as in the reflecting water.
Birds-Eye View
Permits
The town maintains the boardwalk, beach, and parking lot all of which are open to the public and will not require permits.
Drones, as of most current research I could find, are permitted to fly here. Obviously, any drone regulations are subject to change.
The location at low tide is popular for clamming. A clamming permit is required and I believe only permitted at this location on Sundays.
Direction of the Shot
The direction of the shot varies (between 50° - 65°) based on shot selection.
Equipment Needed
A tripod is recommended (a tripod which allows you to set up very low and very high can give you some different perspectives).
Filters can be useful at this location for long exposures.
Prepare for some mud if you want to explore off the boardwalk itself. Tall waterproof boots are ideal but not required. Bug spray in the summer months is also recommended, not necessary for the rest of the year. Generally, any breeze will keep the critters away at this location.
Number of Other Photographers to Expect
This is not a popular location for photographers, as I am usually the only one with camera gear when I visit. However, it is a popular local spot for a morning stroll though and during the daylight hours, significant crowds (beachgoers) can be expected.
Weather
Weather can be pleasant to cool in Fall and Spring and it can be hot in Summer (but nice and comfortable at sunrise). Winter can be very cold and bring snow and ice.
The close proximity of the parking makes cold weather less of a concern.
Cell Service
You can expect good coverage both at the parking area, on the boardwalk and on the beach.
Lodging & Camping
Sandwich is the first town over the Sagamore Bridge on Cape Cod. Cape Cod is a very popular vacation area offering a wide variety of lodging options. You can choose to stay in Sandwich itself, or further down the Cape toward the National Seashore areas. The historic town of Plymouth is only a short drive away to the North so makes another choice with many lodging options as well.
Nearby Restaurants
There are plenty of laundry services in the Cape Cod area.
Area Guides and Workshops
None