Cape Cod Sights
- Overview
- Places to Explore
- Sights
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Entertainment
- Shopping
- Activities
- Travel Tips
- Features
- Fodor's Choice
- Deals
- Guidebooks
Great Island
Great Island Review
Chequessett Neck Road makes for a pretty 2½-mi drive from the harbor to the bay past Sunset Hill—a great place to catch one. At the end, on the left, is a parking lot and wooded picnic area from which nature trails lead off to Great Island, perfect for beachcombers and solitude seekers. The "island" is actually a peninsula connected by a sand spit built by tidal action. More than 7 mi of trails wind along the inner marshes and the water—these are the most difficult paths on the seashore because they're mostly in soft sand. In the 17th century, a tavern and shore whaling lookout towers stood here; residents pastured animals and engaged in oystering and cranberry harvesting. By 1800 the hardwood forest that had covered the island had been cut down for use in the building of ships and homes. The pitch pines and other growth you see here (and all over the Cape) today were introduced in the 1830s to keep the soil from washing into the sea. Cape Cod National Seashore offers occasional guided hikes on Great Island and, from February through April, seal walks. To the right of the Great Island lot, a road leads to Griffin Island, which has its own walking trail.
Travel Deals in Cape Cod
- U.S. City Flight Sale (R/T incl. Tax) CheapOair
- 4-Star Boston Airport Hotel Hotwire.com
- 8-Night Bermuda and Northeast U.S. Cruise, Save $100 Royal Caribbean
- Boston Fares to/from Los Angeles (each way) — $129-$159 Virgin America
· Forums Trip Reports
-
My husband and I planned a weekend getaway to North Adams with another couple to visit art museums. Read more
-
New York City, particularly Manhattan, is a place where everyone rushes to get from here to there and back again. Read more
·Massachusetts Forum
-
We are a group of 9 (RVers) that are taking an extensive trip over 9-10 months and seeing lots of provinces and states.. Most are seniors (but active).
One of my States to plan is MA, and I have scheduled Read more
· Travel Blog
-
Travel Tip of the Day
From mid-April through Thanksgiving there is a full schedule of mostly free ranger-guided activities. Read more
-
Best of the Best
In New England, shoppers can pick up serious antiques or quirky bric-a-brac in old mills and converted Read more