Old Harbor Life-Saving Station off Race Point, Provincetown
OUTER CAPE The Outer Cape features a heady mixture of long, unspoiled beaches; historic sites; miles of trails for bicycling and hiking; a thriving arts community; and top restaurants, many of which serve just-caught seafood. In Orleans, you can cheer on the Firebirds, the hometown team of the Cape Cod Baseball League, after kayaking on Town Cove. Nauset Light is Eastham’s welcoming beacon. The town is home to the Cape Cod National Seashore’s Salt Pond Visitor Center. Open year-round, the center offers a museum, theater, and shop. Wellfleet is known for much more than its famous oysters: There are spectacular ocean beaches to visit, a drive-in movie theater, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. More than half of the land in Truro lies within the Cape Cod National Seashore. The town is home to more than 10 beaches and to Truro Vineyards, a winery that is open to visitors. At the tip of Cape Cod is one of the region’s liveliest communities. Eclectic eateries and shops share the downtown with inns and art galleries. Provincetown is a happening place, as artists and writers share their home with a gay summer resort scene. Jonathan Young Windmill in Orleans
Harwich
LOWER CAPE The towns that make up the “elbow joint” of the Cape, Brewster, Harwich, and Chatham, each offer unique charms. Chatham on the south attracts thousands of visitors each year, with its lively downtown featuring dozens of shops and restaurants. A landmark lighthouse and ocean views provide a feast for the eyes. In the summer, locals and visitors flock to weekly concerts by the Chatham Band and to Cape Cod Baseball League games of the Anglers. On the northern side of the elbow, Brewster—once a sea captains’ enclave— is now home to inns, galleries, and antiques shops as well as the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, with exhibits and walking trails. Harwich, where you’ll find the Cape Cod Lavender Farm and First Crush Winery, is made up of seven villages. Nantucket Sound beaches and inland ponds offer opportunities for swimming, boating, and relaxation. The village of Harwich Port hosts weekly Port Summer Nights in July and August, featuring live music enjoyed by locals and visitors as they stroll the downtown. The Harwich Cranberry Arts & Music Festival, a two-day September event, offers more than 100 artisans and other vendors, plus food trucks and live music.
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