Cape Cod

The Cape Cod National Seashore stretches 40 miles from Eastham to Provincetown. It includes pristine sandy beaches, lighthouses, wild cranberry bogs, and walking and biking trails. The Heritage Museums & Gardens features Americana, antique cars, a carousel and, in the spring, rhododendrons bloom. In the port of Woods Hole, the mysteries of ocean life are on display at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The seaside resort village of Hyannis is the famed summer home of the Kennedy family. Be sure to visit the John F. Kennedy Memorial and Museum next to the Hyannis Town Green and a variety of shops and restaurants. On the tip of the Cape is Provincetown (P-Town), the site of the Pilgrim’s first landing in 1620. P-Town is also known for its legacy as an art colony and for the warm welcome it extends to the LGBTQ community. Whale watch trips leave from here and Barnstable Harbor.

Did somebody say seafood? Crack open a lobster or order up a plate piled high with fried clams, scallops, or shrimp. September and October are considered the Cape’s “second summer” and the perfect time to enjoy quiet strolls on the beach, meander down Old King’s Highway, Rte. 6A, and shop for antiques or go gallery hopping. “Old Cape Cod” has a few new surprises from the giant indoor Cape Codder Water Park to the Cape Codder Resort & Spa in Hyannis, or the Cape Cod Inflatable Challenge Park in West Yarmouth, the first of its kind in the USA. The Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit and the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, offer new exhibits regularly.