Just west of Canaway Cove lie abandoned cranberry bogs. Cranberries have long been a symbol of Cape Cod. Small bogs such as these were often carved out of swampland for cultivation. Bogs here were active into the early 1960s, but have since been invaded by other plants, including cedars, laurels, red maples, grasses, and rushes. Rabbits nibble the rushes.
Waterfowl love the seeds and muskrats eat the rootstalks.
Birds nest in its cover. Even lance-leafed violets and orchids are sometimes found here. Barrens occur on dry, flat, sandy areas such as those which are found along the southern part of these trails. Pitch pines, the dominant species and another pioneer plant, thrive in open, sunny conditions. They reach 50 to 60 feet tall at most and are rather scrubby in appearance, hence their other name, scrub pine.