Bringing kids to Cape Cod is fabulous. There are playgrounds, parks, beaches, and many other attractions to keep children stimulated and happy (and run them ragged so that they will go to bed easy!).
Depending on where you go on Cape Cod, there are plenty of places to explore and make your own. With the help of William DeSousa-Mauk, the PR consultant for the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, we have compiled a list of the top 20 activities for kids!
Little scallywags and their parents enjoy a cruise aboard the Sea Gypsy, here on Bass River. Photo by John Fitts.Every visitor to Cape Cod knows that there are plenty of wonderful beaches to visit, but what to do in place of having fun in the surf and sun? Bill DeSousa-Mauk, leisure travel public relations expert at the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, has some recommendations for visitors young and old on what to do in place of the beach.
Seals are just as curious about us as we are about them. Here in Chatham on a seal watch tour. Photo by Maggie Kulbokas.Courtesy of CapeCodToday.com's Today in Cape Cod History...
John James Audubon. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons."(A lighthouse) is such a potent image: practical, because lives depend on it, and at the same time, utterly romantic, this lonely building on the cusp of land and sea, sending out light into the darkness." - Jeannette Winterson
To this day, the Cape's maritime history reflects in the beacons of the many lighthouses that still mark our shores.
For centuries, lighthouses and the keepers within helped keep ship captains and crews safe as they navigated Cape Cod's often treacherous waters.
Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown. Photo by John Fitts.Cape Cod itself is a romantic destination, with its vast landscape of sand dunes, pine trees and beautiful ocean. When planning a romantic outing, one partner usually drops hints (or bombs); the other executes the plan. Here are some traditional and non- ideas for ramping up the romance in your day or evening.
Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod in Truro is a wonderful place to spend the afternoon sipping wine and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Photo by Maggie Kulbokas.The middle of Cape Cod, or Mid Cape is a cultural and historical hub of activity. If you are staying on the Mid Cape, you can't run out of things to do. And the central location of the towns makes it a worthwhile trip from all other points across Cape Cod.
Statue of President John F. Kennedy outside the JFK Hyannis Museum. Photo by William DeSousa-Mauk.April school vacation is fast approaching and whether you live on the Cape or will be visiting, you are undoubtedly looking for something to keep the kids busy. Pry the iPods out of there hands and have them pick one (or more) of the many fun, interesting and educational programs offered by the Cape's nature centers, theaters, libraries and museums this year.
One of the Nigerian dwarf goats you will meet if you visit Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo courtesy of LPWS.Just over the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges are the towns of the Upper Cape: Falmouth, Sandwich, Mashpee (and on the mainland side of the bridges, Bourne). And each of the towns and each of their villages, you'll find something for everybody.
Book a room, sample some of the Cape's best restaurants and make sure you don't miss any of these fun activities. Some are seasonal, some are year-round and #8 and #9 happen once a year--so be sure to plan ahead!
Woods Hole, home of WHOI and MBL, is a gorgeous village filled with scientific exploration, history, cultural and delicious dining. Photo by John Fitts.Upper, Mid, Lower and Outer Cape Cod
The Upper Cape is the first part of the Cape Cod visitors see, including towns near the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges, and the Cape Cod Canal. Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth and Mashpee are considered to be on the Upper Cape. The Upper Cape flavor is residential, historic and settled.
The Star of India makes its way through Stage Harbor in Chatham. There is so much to do and see on the Cape with each town offering something just a little different. Photo by John Fitts.With vibrant hues from all over the visual light spectrum illuminating the early evening skies as the last of the light to be refracted by the clouds is dispersed before the fall of darkness, it is no wonder that sunset elicits such strong responses in people.
Worldwide, people marvel over the last rays scattering their light across the sky, illuminating cities in dazzling reds, turning shorelines into a fabulous interplay of orange and shadow, or causing forests to catch the colors of fire.
The sunset at Harding's Beach in Chatham. Photo by John Fitts.Cape Cod is perhaps the best known peninsula in Massachusetts (although folks from Cape Ann may disagree). You can get to the Cape by plane, bus, ferry, car and soon, train. The fifteen towns of Cape Cod are in Barnstable County in the easternmost part of Massachusetts. Most folks driving to the Cape make their way from points south, north and west via Routes 195, 495 and 3 to the Cape Cod Canal.
Paine's Creek in Brewster is constantly changing as are many areas across Cape Cod. Photo by Jane Booth.By Cheryl Kain
The Gulf Stream influences the 50-plus beaches’ water temperature, which is primarily in the 70s during the summer months. Every Falmouth beach is staffed with lifeguards, and swim lessons are offered. Beach stickers can be bought at the Chamber office on Main Street, Falmouth.
When asked by Fox News how big Falmouth was, Jay Zavala replied, “It’s small enough to fit in your eye, but big enough to fill your heart.”
The towns of the Upper Cape offer a variety of fun activities including sunbathing, swimming, watersports, walking, rollerblading and here, biking on the Cape Cod Canal in Bourne. Photo by Maggie Kulbokas.By Matilda Brown
For people staying on the far reaches of the Cape, there are a variety of ocean and bay beaches to choose from. The thin outer arm of Cape Cod is bordered on either side by Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, pockmarked with ponds in between, meaning that every town past Orleans has all imaginable beach offerings.
The calm and soothing waters of Cape Cod Bay, accessible from several Outer Cape beaches in Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro. Photo by Maggie Kulbokas.By Matilda Brown
The Lower Cape is host to numerous natural attractions, and as with any other part of the Cape, there are a plethora of beaches for people to flock to. There are beaches that are better for swimming, beaches that are more suited to sailing and water sports, beaches that provide perfect sunbathing opportunities, and beaches that have great sandcastle making territory.
The flats at Crosby Landing in Brewster. Photo by Dawn Sternlieb, courtesy of the Brewster Chamber of Commerce.By Cheryl Kain
There are 15 beaches in Dennis. Water temperature varies slightly from the North (bay--cooler) to South (Nantucket Sound) by 5 degrees. Temperature varies between 50 to 65 degrees in July and August. “It’s refreshing,” says Spyro Mitrokostas, Executive Director of the Dennis Chamber of Commerce.
1. Mayflower Beach, off Beach Street, Dennis
Basshole Boardwalk at Gray's Beach in Yarmouth Port. Photo courtesy of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce.Plimoth Plantation is looking for volunteers to help out on Clean Up Day, Saturday, March 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.