Must Does in Cape Cod
 

Will be in Cape Cod, staying in Eastham, Oct. 7-12. Any suggestions on what we should see and do. It'll be myself and my husband. We are in our early 50's and fairly active. We enjoy nature and good food, interesting towns with cute shops.

See the dunes along the national seashore beaches.

My favorite hikes were Atlantic White Cedar Swamp and Beech Forest Trail.

Pick up a schedule of ranger-led walks from the National Seashore visitor center in Eastham. Also visit the Audubon sanctuary in South Wellfleet and get a schedule from them. There are beautiful walks in both places.

The Fort Hill Trail in Eastham has beautiful views and goes through an interesting red maple swamp. You can also look through the interesting old sea captain's house along the trail, which is open to visitors during specified hours (found in the National Seashore schedule).

The beaches on the bay side in Eastham become wide tidal flats at low tide, perfect for walking. First Encounter Beach is especially scenic.

Take a ride through Brewster on Route 6A for lots of nice antique and gift shops. In West Brewster you can go to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History with nice exhibits and a walk out to the bay. Also in West Brewster is the Stony Brook mill and herring run, a scenic spot on Stony Brook Road (off Route 6A).

There are boat rides from Harwichport and Chatham to watch seals off Monomoy Island.

Two restaurants I enjoy with nice Cape Cod atmosphere and great food are the Red Pheasant in Dennis and the Cape Sea Grill in Harwich.

There are about three other threads right now with good info. If you do a search for Cape Cod in the search box you can see them. I would post them here but don't know how! That being said, Orleans is the town before Eastham and it is lovely with lots of shops/galleries and restaurants which Eastham does not have. It's a big weekend for sales. In Orleans don't miss Oceana www.oceanacapecod.com . Lovely gifts with a sea theme and also jewelry.

Chatham is about 10 minutes away from Orleans on Route 28. Another charming town with small shops. Wellfleet is 10 minutes from Eastham with galleries and lots of charm. And of course Provincetown at the tip of the Cape with lots of great sales this weekend.

Please let us know if you have other questions. If there are any restaurants you want to try this weekend you may want to see if they are taking reservations. This is a busy weekend on Cape Cod.

Thanks for all the info. I didn't realize this would be a busy weekend on Cape Cod. Will the traffic coming in from Boston be bad? Does anyone have suggestions for restaurants? It sounds like maybe I should make reservations now.

Have you done the search? There is a lot of restaurant info. More about fine dining. Are you looking for that or casual?

What time will you be driving down from Boston? It will be busier in the morning. Many people will be coming in on Friday.

We will be leaving Boston and head to Cape Cod on Saturday morning around 11AM. I'm interested in both casual and fine dining.

Eastham is a good base for the cape. If you enjoy biking, the trails that start in Wellfleet and wind up thru the dunes to P-town are unforgettable. One of my favorite seafood retaurants anywhere is the Bookstore in Wellfleet.

Although far from completed the construction project known as the "Sagamore Flyover" has eliminated the Sagamore rotary.

Traffic coming down route 3 from Boston now slows down to one lane that connects them to the Sagamore Bridge and route 6 to Cape Cod.

It's slow going on the one lane but those awful backups at the rotary are nevermore.

Well there is 5 mile one right now according to the traffic report.

Casual dining in Orleans: Mahoneys, The Binnacle, Land Ho (interesting & very popular place but not my favorite for the food), Joe's Beach Bar and Grill located on the way to Nauset Beach in Orleans. Be sure to check out the beach too.

One of our favorite places to eat on the outer cape is Terra Luna in Truro which is about 25 minutes from Eastham but well worth the drive! They close for the season right after Columbus Day Weekend so if you want to dine ther you should try to get a reservation. They serve Northern Italian cuisine in a casual setting and have an excellent reputation for freshly prepared, unusual entrees.
If that does not appeal to you, any of the suggestions made by the other posters are fine. Eastham is a great place to locate since you can go to either Chatham or Provincetown in 30 minutes. You can add the Wicked Oyster in Wellfleet to your list, and if you get to the mid-cape area go to Gerardi's Cafe on route 28 near Cuffy's for the best Italian food in a bistro setting. In Chatham the Impudent Oyster has an excellent reputation and Christians is always a good bet. In Provincetown, the Mews, Edwidge at Night, Front Street and Chester's are all special places. The Red Inn has the very best location right on the water so if ambiance is what you are looking for then that is a real consideration.

For things to do: rent a kayak and paddle to the outer beach in Nauset Marsh, walk the fabulous Fort HIll trails through the Red Maple Swamp or Great Island walk on the bay side. Go to the Audubon Sanctuary in Wellfleet and the Salt Pond Visitors' Center in Eastham then on to Coast Guard Beach. Go to Chatham for a day and watch the seals on the beach, visit the fish pier and shop on main street. Spend a day in Provincetown, take Art's Dune Tour, whalewatch, climb Pilgrim Monument, visit the galleries, bike the Provinceland trail ohhhhh.... it goes on and on!

By the way, where are you staying? Let us know how your trip turns out. We are always looking for nice places to stay. So many of the inns and cottages are being sold off as condos that it is getting difficult to find a really nice place. Enjoy!

If you are on Route 6A ... Brewster Fish house is absolutely lovely for lunch or dinner .. one of my favorite restaurants .. very difficult to get in during the summer months .. Red Pheasant on Route 6A in Dennis .. wonderful dining as well .. a bit of a ride from Eastham but if you take Route 6 one way it will lessen the ride .. however .. Route 6A .. is a lovely road to travel on with lots of shops and very picturesque .. Enjoy .. !