| |
Discover paradise along Falmouth's famed 68 miles of Cape Cod coast, with 12 sparkling public beaches where you can lounge on the sand, soak up the sun, and enjoy the mild waters warmed by Gulf Stream currents. Experience unforgettable sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, fishing, cycling, jogging and whale watching. There are six spectacular golf courses, nine crystalline harbors and scores of lovely ponds. The Shining Sea Bike Path leads cyclists along the edge of Vineyard Sound, and the world-famous Falmouth Road Race hugs the scenic vistas of Falmouth Heights.
Falmouth is also a bastion of art and culture, with cutting-edge directors at the Woods Hole Film Festival and brilliant symphonic harmonies at the Cape Cod Conservatory. Attend a performance of the avant-garde Cape Cod Theater Project or the College Light Opera, America's largest resident theater company. Visit the areas outstanding historical museums in Falmouth Center and Woods Hole. Falmouth’s world-class oceanographic and scientific institutes make for a fascinating afternoon adventure, including a petting zoo for aquatic creatures. And for a meditative stroll, wander through picturesque Spohr Gardens.
Jump to a section:
Cape Cod Attractions & Recreation
Martha's Vineyard - Martha's Vineyard is an ideal place to get away. Each of the Island's six towns provides access to spectacular beaches, outdoor activities, and a selection of shops, restaurants, performing arts and attractions. Named for a local whaling captain, Owen Park overlooks Vineyard Haven Harbor, home to hundreds of wooden boats in the summertime. A peaceful spot located near the ferry and Main Street, Owen Park and Owen Park Beach are great places to enjoy a picnic or wait for the ferry. Local town bands hold concerts here in the summer. Journey down the rural roads of Martha's Vineyard, past fields and farms, to the fishing hamlet of Menemsha. The town beach at Menemsha, overlooking Vineyard Sound, offers spectacular views of the Elizabeth Islands and is considered the premier spot to watch the sunset. Nearby fish market, deli, and shops near Dutcher's Dock make Menemsha a perfect lunch or evening excursion. A 15-minute walk along East Chop Drive, off Oak Bluffs Harbor, the East Chop Lighthouse is perched atop Telegraph Hill, a scenic bluff overlooking Nantucket Sound. Check out the country's oldest platform merry-go-round still in operation, the Flying Horses, a National Historical Landmark on Martha’s Vineyard. -
Cape Cod Whale Watching - Watching the
majestic whales rise from the deep is an awe-inspiring experience.
Between Cape Cod's Plymouth and Provincetown, you can experience
a thrilling whale watching adventure. Whale watching crews
leave regularly from Plymouth, Barnstable and Provincetown
Harbors, and most guarantee a sighting. No matter where you
embark, your cruise will take you to Stellwagen Bank National
Marine Sanctuary, the whales' favorite feeding grounds.
Plimoth Plantation - Become part of the
living history experience at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth,
MA. Through its primary living history exhibits, the 1627
Pilgrim Village and Hobbamock's (Wampanoag) Homesite, Plimoth
Plantation seeks to re-create the people, time and place of
17th-century Plymouth. Specially trained staff members, painstaking
research, period costumes and dialect, authentically reproduced
buildings and artifacts are some of the vital components of
this unique experience.
Cape Cod National Seashore - Cape Cod National
Seashore offers ranger-led activities, hour-long programs
for children ages 6 to 12, including environmental games,
explorations and activities, and beach browsing on the Outer
Cape to find clues to the marine life offshore and the forces
that shape the land during an hour-long walk. Take an hour-long
tour of the Province Lands dunes to see what plants and animals
call this changing land home and how they need to be protected
and a two-hour open house, including information about the
shipwrecks of Cape Cod and the heroic work of the life savers
inside the historic Old Harbor Life Saving Station. Call (508)
487-2100 for a seasonal schedule. Cape Cod Melody Tent - Located in
nearby Hyannis, Mass., the Cape Cod Melody Tent features concerts,
music, plays, events and shows, For more than 50 years, it's
one of the Cape's best places to see a concert. To purchase
tickets, call Ticketmaster at (508) 931-2787 or visit Box
Office at the Melody Tent in Hyannis, opening Sunday, May
30 at 12 noon. ZooQuarium - Located in West Yarmouth,
ZooQuarium is a zoo/aquarium facility featuring native aquatic
and wildlife species as well as domestic farm animals, sea
lion shows and animal education demonstrations. Phone: (508)
775-8883. Cape Cod Winery - Enjoy the beautiful Cape
Cod Vineyard and Winery right in the seaside resort of Falmouth,
Cape Cod. Founded by the Lazzari family in 1994, the Cape
Cod Winery creates premium wines for residents and visitors
to enjoy with the finest seafood and gourmet cuisine available
on Cape Cod. The vineyard is planted on a splendid site with
sandy gravel soil and gentle slopes which are ideal for wine
grape growing and parallel the great vineyards of southern
France and northern Italy. The European vinifera wine grape
varieties we have chosen are particularly suited to the special
terrain of Cape Cod. Planted, to date, are the grape varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Pinot Grigio,
together with Seyval and Vidal. The extraordinary wines they
produce from these fruits reflect the very special character
of Cape Cod sun, soil and climate that is savored in every
sip. The winery is open from May 1st to December 20th for
wine tasting and sales. http://www.capecodwinery.com/.
[back to top]
Falmouth , Cape Cod Events
Woods Hole Film Festival - The Woods Hole
Film Festival is an eight-day showcase of independent film,
featuring daily screenings, workshops, panel discussions,
staged readings, special events, parties, an awards ceremony,
music and more. The Woods Hole Film Festival, now in its 13th
year, will be held from Saturday, July 31 through Sunday,
August 8, and is the oldest independent film festival on Cape
Cod and the Islands. -
Falmouth Road Race - Named 'Best USA
Road Race' by Runner's World magazine, the Falmouth Road Race
is 7.1 miles long and begins in front of the Woods Hole Community
Center, near the drawbridge on Water Street. The 2004 race
will be held on Sunday, August 8.
- The Falmouth Theatre Guild: For more information, visit
http:// www.falmouththeatreguild.org.
[back to top]
Cape Cod Museums/ History
Cahoon Museum of Art - The Cahoon Museum
of American Art resides in a beautifully restored 1775 Georgian
Colonial that was once an overnight stop on the stagecoach
line between Hyannis and Sandwich. Wide floorboards, stenciled
walls and floors, fireplaces and antique furnishings give
the cheerful galleries a homey intimacy. The heart of the
collection is the fanciful primitive paintings of the late
Ralph and Martha Cahoon, local legends who had their home,
studio and gallery in the old house for 37 years. Using a
palette of jewel-like colors, Ralph Cahoon created a world
populated by innocently flirtatious mermaids and admiring
sailors. Their exploits often unfold in old-fashioned seaside
settings adorned with lighthouses, clipper ships and hot-air
balloons. Martha Cahoon used softer colors to paint scenes
celebrating her love of fantasy, children, animals, the changing
seasons and the country way of life. The Cahoon Museum also
features a choice collection of 19th- and early 20th-century
American marine paintings, landscapes, still lifes and portraits
by esteemed artists. John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum - The
JFK Hyannis Museum is a multimedia exhibit designed to open
a window on the days JFK spent on Cape Cod; days relaxing
with family, days playing football with PT109 buddies, days
spent sailing on the ocean to which he was so constantly drawn.
The exhibit features over 80 photographs spanning the years
1934 to 1963 and is arranged in thematic groupings to reflect
John F. Kennedy, his family, his friends and the Cape Cod
he so dearly loved. In addition to photography, a video narrated
by Walter Cronkite depicts the president's experiences on
the Cape. Several themed areas include charged oral histories
of JFK's friends. Experience a glimpse at the life of John
Kennedy on Cape Cod. For information, call (508) 790-3077. Heritage Museum and Gardens - Heritage
Museums and Gardens is situated in Sandwich, the oldest town
on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Museum preserves a permanent
collection of American art, history, industry and horticulture.
Once the former Charles O. Dexter estate, the 76 acres of
gently rolling hills is home to a magnificent horticultural
labyrinth with thousands of rhododendrons and now includes
125 of the known 145 Dexter cultivars. For information, visit:
http://www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/.
- Cape Museum of Fine Art - The Cape Museum
of Fine Arts was founded in 1981 to focus on the prominent
artists of Cape Cod and preserve their work on the Cape. Experience
the beauty in exhibits in 7 galleries, stroll and relax in
the delightful sculpture garden, treat the kids to special
summer classes, or catch a movie in the Screening Room. The
Cape continues to beckon and inspire fine artists with its
brilliant light, its enhanced colors, its scenes of simple
natural beauty, and its people. www.cmfa.org.
Woods Hole Historical Museum - The Woods
Hole Historical Collection was founded in 1973 as a sub-committee
of the Woods Hole Library. In 1976 it moved into its own building,
Bradley House, next door. By 1995-1996, two more buildings
had been moved to the site: the Yale Workshop and the Swift
Barn housing the Small Boat Museum, and the name of the organization
was changed to the Woods Hole Historical Museum. The Woods
Hole Historical Collection continues as the Archive portion
of the Museum, as well as in the publishing of books and the
journal Spritsail. Built around 1803, Bradley House contains
two galleries with exhibits that change each year. The third
gallery contains a permanent scale model of Woods Hole, circa
1895. - Toad Hall Classic Sports Car Museum - Toad
hall features over 50 classic cars, mostly English from the
50s to the 80s with a couple of other countries thrown in.
The whole thing is called Toad Hall in honor of Toad from
Wind In The Willows, and his fascination with the new motor
cars of the late 19th Century. They are open daily from 11-5.
www.SimmonsHomesteadInn.com/ToadHall.htm.
[back to top]
Cape Cod Golf Courses
-
Ballymeade Country Club - A jewel on
Cape Cod, Ballymeade is a championship 18-hole golf course
that provides challenging and memorable play for all levels
of golfers. Ballymeade is the "talk of the Cape"
as the course utilizes all of the natural topography of
Cape Cod. The Golf Shop is stocked with an excellent selection
of golf and tennis equipment and attire. The Hawk's Nest
Lounge and Bally's Restaurant offer great food and exceptional
views of Martha's Vineyard and Buzzards Bay. The Ballymeade
Country Club also offers elegant weddings and receptions
for up to 500 people. (508) 540-4005.
-
Falmouth Country Club - The Falmouth
Country Club is a challenging 27-hole, year-round public
course not far from Falmouth's beaches, harbors, cranberries
and all that exemplifies Cape Cod. Ride or walk the championship
18-hole, par 72 course, or enjoy their separate 9-hole,
par 37 course. (508) 548-3211.
-
Cape Cod Country Club - On the borders
of the magnificent and serene Coonemessett Lake, Cape
Cod Country Club offers an 18-hole championship golf course
open to the general public. The course was laid out with
an interesting variety of undulating fairways and sloped
greens wandering through a landscape with charming vistas
of lakes and woods. The layout is a "links"
type and is wonderfully enjoyed by golfers of all skill
levels. (508) 563-9842.
-
Paul Harney Golf Club - E. Falmouth.
Located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Paul Harney Golf Club
is a beautiful, public 18-hole, executive golf course
that offers professional clinics, classes and instruction
(private and group). (508) 563-3454
-
Woodbriar Golf Club - Falmouth. Woodbriar
is par 3, 9-hole Bent grass course with water in play.
Built in 1970, the course is in great condition and is
ideal for practicing your iron shots. The terrain is gently
rolling. Greens fees will vary depending on the time of
day, week and year. (508) 495-5500
[back to top] |
|
