MsXscape

Hi- Looking into summer rentals in Cape Cod. I have been there several times but this year we are interested in checking out Dennis or East Dennis but don't know anything about either. Does one have better beaches than the other? Does one have a cuter town/more to walk to assuming we rented something v. closer to beach? any other opinions welcome!

gail

We rented a cottage several times in East Dennis and I do not recall any downtown area - some antique and gallery type places and a large supermarket near Rte 6. It is on the northern/bay side of the Cape. West Dennis is on the more southern side, with beaches more likely to have waves. Dennis is in the middle.

As far as what you can walk to - that depends 100% on exact location of the rental, not whether or not it is East Dennis or Dennis. This is a part of the Cape with a reasonable number of all-year residents, so many rentals are in nice quiet residential neighborhoods, but may not be walkable to anything of significance.

Nikki

They are very close to each other. Beaches on the north shore of Dennis are all good and very similar to each other. Dennis village does have a town center with a town common and some shops. Dennis village and East Dennis are on the north shore on Cape Cod Bay. There is a large expanse of sand flats for walking at low tide and good swimming. If the rental is north of Route 6A, it is probably within reasonable walking distance of the beach.

The supermarket near Route 6 is in South Dennis. South Dennis is in the center and is farthest from the beach.

The south shore of the Cape does not have waves or much tidal flow. Dennisport and West Dennis are on the south shore, on Nantucket Sound.

There are so many different villages in the town of Dennis that it gets confusing. My favorite set of directions is that when you are in West Dennis, if you go due North you end up in South Dennis.

gail

As confusing as Nikki's response may be, if you have been there it makes sense. Only in Massachusetts would EAST Dennis be on the north side of the Cape, SOUTH Dennis be the center andWEST Dennis be south. Total distances are perhaps 5-8 miles from farthest points to the other.

The sum of it is still that unless you are paying a ton of money for beachfront, you are likely driving to beach, shopping or more likely both - and even if you are beachfront you are not likely walking distance to much else. That is fairly typical of much of the Cape.