12/16/13 Ocean Drive - Park Loop Road

This section of the Loop Road is referred to as 'Ocean Drive" as it runs very close to the shore. The section from the entrance station to Otter Cliffs Rd. remains open in winter when the rest of the road is closed. Because of the fairly deep snow we were looking for a good place to walk. The closed road is used by snow mobiles in winter and they pack the snow down and make a nice walking surface. We especially like the section from  Otter Cliffs Rd. to Rte. 3 because it is mostly close to the shore with some nice views. Today, however, no snowmobiles had been on the road and the snow was too deep for Kelley to manage comfortably. We drove over to the nature center area ( another spot we sometimes use to access the road)  and found it also unused. That left us with the open section of the Loop Rd. and we drove to Sand Beach parking and started from there. A nice sunny day and we were only passed by two vehicles so better than expected.

A section of the road

and a view from it

At Thunder Hole we met a nice man who was taking some pictures and had a nice chat. Kelley was very patient.

At Otter Cliffs Rd. the loop road was blocked and no longer plowed. We gave it a try and for some reason the snow had a thicker crust and supported  Kelley ( but not me) and we made it to Otter Cliff where I carefully worked my way down for a picture from there ( Kelley was smart enough to wait above)

We then turned back the way we had come- the snow was too much of a plod for me.

Another shot of the road

When we got back to the parking lot we walked down to see if we could get to the beach but there was snow piled up from the plow and no path down. There was a young man sitting in his truck waiting for a friend to arrive so they could surf. Must be related to Kelley- the temperature was about 20 degrees.

So, after a couple of false starts we got in a pleasant hour and three quarters