The Great Cape

Nowhere else on the Eastern seaboard stretches farther into the wide Atlantic Ocean than the long, arm-shaped, glacier-carved peninsula of Cape Cod, home to some of the oldest Colonial settlements in North America. Out here, you will find rolling country roads lined by seaside homes, antique shops, lobster shacks, bike trails and beaches. And even at the peak of summer, splendid isolation can still be discovered along the edge of the continent. 

In his 1928 Cape Cod classic The Outermost House, author Henry Beston noted: “The sand here has a life of its own, even if it is only a life borrowed from the wind.” And so it has been since 1620, when prior to landing on to Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower Pilgrims tarried a few weeks on the tip of Cape Cod; so it has been for more than 8,000 years, since the rise of the Wampanoag Confederacy, an alliance of Native American tribes that occupied southeastern Massachusetts, including the territory near Eastham, Truro and Wellfleet. 

Later still, when Henry David Thoreau first reached the Outer Cape in 1849, fresh off Walden Pond, he reported beachgoers could “put all America behind” them. Washashores continue to do the same today. The renowned American painter Edward Hopper kept a home studio in Truro prior to his death in 1967, and famously depicted hillside scenes around Cape Cod Bay. Other writers and artists who have found inspiration in this landscape include the late author Norman Mailer, who owned property in Provincetown; so too did Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver. After 50 years, rogue filmmaker John Waters continues to summer amid the dunes. 

“This is one of the few places in the country where you can watch the sunrise and sunset from the very same beach,” says Rob Costa, owner of Art’s Dune Tours, based in Provincetown, founded by Costa’s father, Art, in 1946. The company offers overland trips to outer National Seashore beaches, with the two-hour sunset safari being a top seller. “It’s never the same trip twice,” says Costa. “With the lighting and the weather, it’s just always different.” 

Costa’s operation focuses on the very tip of Cape Cod. But all along its reach, the peninsula promises road-trippers a rich mix of scenery, culture and recreation.

Read More: Driving the Legendary Old King’s Highway in Cape Cod

Following Route 6A over the Cape Cod Canal on the mighty Sagamore Bridge offers a chance to reset as you leave the mainland. The canal was dug more than a century ago to provide a shipping lane that didn’t require sailing around the outer hook of the Cape. With its parklands and a 7.4-mile bike path along both sides, today the canal serves as a recreational magnet. Striped bass take advantage of the shortcut too, and hardcore combat anglers ride “the ditch” during migration to pursue them. You can get your bearings at the Tidal Flats Recreation Area. 

In 2021, Route 6A—which is also known, evocatively, as the Old King’s Highway—was designated a National Scenic Byway. The first 36 miles travel the length of the lovely Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District on Cape Cod Bay, passing by an eclectic collection of inns and museums, fishing villages, ice cream shops, pottery studios and the like. From the canal, it’s a short hop to Sandwich, home to the Massachusetts Fish Hatchery, where even nonanglers will have a gas gawking at the massive rainbow and brown trout. Or head for the charming Sandwich Glass Museum, which has hourly demonstrations. Beachgoers will want to explore Sandy Neck Beach in West Barstable. Completed in spring 2026 as part of a years-long, $6.6-million coastal resiliency project, an attractive new trail system crisscrosses the dunes. With proper equipment and off-road-vehicle permits, you can also drive down the beach. 

Continuing east, don’t miss the Edward Gorey House, a delightful museum dedicated to the artist in the home he owned in Yarmouth. A master illustrator and designer of macabre and eccentric scenes, Gorey lived in the house—chock full of books he designed, prints and models —for the last 15 years of his life. As specific as the Gorey House is, the 17,000-square-foot Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster offers a broad look at the people, wildlife and ecology of the region. Highlights include the butterfly house and the “many waters” aquarium, not to mention nearby walking trails across 400 acres of conservation land. Nearby in Drummer Boy Park, you’ll find the iconic Old Higgins Farm Windmill, built in 1795. 

At the far end of Old King’s Highway, the road reaches Orleans, a hub for both shopping and recreation. Rent a bike and explore the 25-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail that runs through town, wet your whistle at Hog Island Brewing or pick up a picnic and enjoy Rock Harbor panorama. 

Beyond the Orleans Rotary, 6A continues but is largely subsumed by Route 6. With multiple access points along this stretch of the Cape Cod National Seashore, however, the epic tour does not stop. For park passes, information and orientation, a natural first call is the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham. Along with ranger-led activities, the center screens films about the seashore and has several trails, including the paved Nauset Marsh Trail, which intersects with the Cape Cod Rail Trail. From Eastham, Route 6 runs approximately 22.5 miles to Provincetown. 

Before departing the town of Eastham, lighthouse hunters will want to cruise Ocean View Drive between Coast Guard Beach and the restored landmark Nauset Lighthouse before continuing north. Windswept Marconi Beach on the Atlantic in South Wellfleet is a celebrated surfbreak, and a spur from the access road here leads to Marconi Station, the site of the first transatlantic wireless communication sent from the U.S. in 1903. Downtown Wellfleet is a classic Cape Cod town, with harbor, shopping and restaurants. 

History prevails in Truro and Provincetown. With the still-active Highland Light, North Truro’s Highland District is home to the oldest, tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod. Next door is the notably scenic golf course Highland Links, established in the 1890s, run by a National Parks concessionaire and open to the public. Most beach access in Truro requires a town permit, but anybody with an NPS pass can also park at Head of the Meadow, where wildlife watchers stroll during low tide to spy hundreds of gray seals on the sandbars. 

At the end of the road, Provincetown has been a vacation destination for almost 200 years. No visit to the Cape is complete without a stroll down Commercial Street, crowded with art galleries, seafood restaurants, cabarets, t-shirt and souvenir shops. If that all sounds a bit overwhelming, the 4,000-acre Province Lands portion of the National Seashore boasts multiuse trails, roller-coaster hills, shady forests and freshwater ponds. Then, close down your drive with sunset at Race Point. 

What’s summer without the crack of the bat? Each year, dozens of Division 1 college ballplayers convene to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League, considered the top collegiate summer baseball league in the country. With 10 teams spread from Wareham to Orleans, there is no cost to attend the games. Cape Cod families host the players during the season, starting in June and concluding with championships in mid-August. More than 1,200 CCBL alumni have joined the Major Leagues, including Hall of Famers like Carlton Fisk, Thurmon Munson and Craig Biggio. As a pipeline to the Big Show, you better believe CCBL uses wooden bats. 

This story was originally published in the Summer 2026 issue of Wildsam Magazine.