Cape Cod Primer?
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Anonymous
| Can anyone who is familiar with Cape Cod provide a primer on the various towns that make up Cape Cod? What some more family-friendly than others? What are the characteristics of the different towns? We are planning an extended visit up there, and I am still not getting a sense of where we should keep our home base. We like the beach, hiking, riding bikes, eating out, etc. We do not sail, but would be open to it. (FWIW, we are family of 4 with two elementary-aged kids, almost laughably stereotypical upper NW lawyer dad, not-for-profit mom, Prius-driving, etc....) |
Anonymous
| When we visited Cape Cod last year, we kept Chatham as our "base". Geographically, Chatham is in the middle of the Cape and also to me, it's the most charming town in the Cape with plenty of eating options and things to do. |
Anonymous
Since this will be an extended stay I highly recommend taking the fast ferry over to Nantucket or the Vineyard for a day trip. I don't care for the mega rich crowd thats taken over Nantucket over the past ten years but it's still one of the most unique, beautiful places I've been to. The seafood, shopping and historic sites are top notch. You can rent bikes and there's a commuter bus that takes you around the island for about $2. Crowds die down starting Labor Day and the weather is still comfortable thru the end of September. |
Anonymous
| The ocean beaches from Nauset Beach (in Orleans) up to Provincetown can be rough and cold. From Chatham down to Falmouth, the beaches are calmer because it is the Nantucket Sound. And then you have towns on the bay side, which are also nice. With the bay, you have extremes in tides, which makes for interesting exploring during low tides. My kids love to walk out and collect hermit crabs and check out the tidal pools. We go to Brewster (bay side), but I've also stayed in Chatham. Orleans is another good option with beaches and restaurants. Chatham has a very defined center of town with great shopping and restaurants, and there is a band concert every Friday night in the summer. I adore the Cape. |
Anonymous
|
We have a house in Chatham so obviously prefer it. Nice town and lots of beach and activity options. Parts of Orleans are lovely, and the beaches are great, but the downtown is a bit more commercial and spread out. Harwichport is very nice. Brewster is nice but on the bay side (easy enough to get to ocean if you want). Wellfleet is cute, like a smaller artsier Chatham. Eastham doesn't have a town, Truro is more remote - which some people prefer.
I know less about the Falmouth to Hyannis portion. |
Anonymous
|
Hyannis is a dump.
Provincetown, at the tip, has some great beaches, and stuff to do like going whale-watching, watching the seals on the beach. Race Point is very cool. P-town is very gay. Chatham is in the middle of the Cape(the elbow). Woods Hole, on the southwest part, has a very scientific vibe w the museum/aquarium, very nautical vibe. As one poster said, above Chatham, ocean-side is rough, and a whole lot colder than you think. I remember being on the beach in Wellfleet: it was like 90 degrees where we parked, probably 80 degrees by the water. Almost no one in water - why? water was low 60's. Drive thru Cotuit - amazing homes. The entire Cape has an extensive bike trail system. It is also a great way to get around, and see wildlife. Stop in Popponesset - they have one of the smallest bars(like 6 seats) and sell like $16 lobster rolls. It is worth it. New Seabury is another big resort area. Brewster has Ocean Edge Resort, and Chatham has Chatham Bars Inn. If you can afford it, do it. While it is tough to get on/off the Cape, it is a very nice place. |
Anonymous
|
IMO there are 2 Cape Cods (or 4 dep. on how you look at it, but I'm taking the rougher cut). My family started going there (P'town) in 1936. I've been going there since I was 4 months old (60 yrs ago). We have always / only stayed in P'town (1955-69; 1977-78), Truro (1990-2010; 2014-15) and Wellfleet (2011-13).
There's the Cape from the Canal to Chatham (Lower Cape, or Upper/Mid/Lower), and then there's the Outer Cape (Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, P'town). The Outer Cape is IT for us. Truro and to a lesser degree, Wellflleet, are still more like old Cape Cod and are wonderful, esp. in Sept.-early Oct. We go to P'town for day trips or dinner, whale watch, rent a sailboat from Flyer's Boatyard (who maintained my grandfather's Cape Cod Knockabout from 1936-68), sail on the Hindu (gorgeous old charter schooner) or Bay Lady II ... Go to the Nat. Seashore, Race Point, walk out Snail Road over the dunes to the Ocean side, galleries, etc. The bay side water is much warmer and calm, the ocean side is cold and rougher, and now with the many seals around, sharks are more prevalent. Just don't swim where you see seals (you can go to the ocean beaches and find hundreds of them sunning on the beach dep. on location & time, etc.). There's more to do in Wellfleet than Truro. Truro is still Old Cape, as we love it... rustic, quiet, gorgeous. For a family Chatham may be a better base but do yourself a favor and take at least a couple of days to see P'town, Truro & Wellfleet. They are worth much more than a drive-by. We go up for 2 wks each Sept. after Labor Day, prices are lower, no crowds, beautiful weather, not beach stickers needed (you can go to any beach in any town), etc. LOVE the Cape. |
Anonymous
| We have family with homes in West Dennis. Have spent many happy summers there. Word of warning, the cape does require more driving depending on where you are staying. There is no "boardwalk" like the DE beaches. |
Anonymous
| Check out Mayflower Beach. Beautiful and my favorite. |
Anonymous
| If you are renting a house, consider Cotuit, Centerville or Osterville. The water in Nantucket Sound is warmer than the Sound or the Bay. These are all nice towns with nice town beaches. |
Anonymous
Completely agree with this. We have a place in chatham, but welfleet will always be my heaven. |
Anonymous
| What do people DO there? Is it just a new place to visit to bike, hike, and sail? |
Anonymous
I only discovered the cape 5 years ago, but agree 100%. The outer cape is awesome. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for the info, esp the Chatham and 14:34 poster. Love your insights.
From what I've been reading, the ocean side waters are rougher, colder, and not really great for young kids? I would love a great, soft sandy beach with warmer waters, so I'm thinking that the bayside is better for now, and the outer cape better for when the kids are older--is this right? Also, can anyone describe Falmouth/Wood's Hole and Dennis? For various reasons (family/friends), these are areas that would be convenient for us, but we are open to other areas, too. |
Anonymous
We went to Falmouth for several summers from about 2005-2013. Really like the town, it's bigger than others with shopping and restaurants. The water is calmer, but the beach itself and entrance to the water can be quite rocky and seaweedy. There are not really any wide sandy beaches. Old Silver Beach is the nicest beach and does get quite crowded in the summer. It's in N. Falmouth so a bit of a drive out of town. But a really nice beach. There's a nice playground in the center of Falmouth and an area where in town where they have concerts in summer. There is a children's museum in Mashpee we used to go to on rainy days. Woods Hole has the oceanographic institute which is also interesting for an hour or so with kids. I really liked Falmouth for the town and the things to do, but in my opinion the beaches there are not great. |