Cape Cod Towns

Cape Cod towns offer wealth of beaches, dining, romance, and fun for families

The 15 towns of Cape Cod have a distinct personality, characterized by beautiful water views; dune-ringed beaches pretty villages; wonderful places to bike and hike venerable lighthouses; romantic hideaways; and lots of fun entertainment for children and families. That said, each town has its own character. The towns from Eastham to Provincetown host the Cape Cod National Seashore, a gem of the National Park Service. Lighthouses can be found from Woods Hole to Provincetown, at the opposite ends of the peninsula. Bike trails circle through the towns of Falmouth and Provincetown and down the middle of the Cape. At the end of a day of vigorous activity, the Cape offers dining establishments of every description, followed closely by lodgings from campgrounds to swanky inns. Romance blooms in the natural beauty, and weddings at elegant venues sometimes follow. Handily for brides and grooms, the place is a mecca for photographers. For transportation and also for fun, several ferry operations shuttle visitors from Boston to Provincetown and from Cape Cod to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket islands.

Here is some Cape Cod vocabulary to help you find your way around. Visualize the Cape as an arm sticking 70 miles into the Atlantic, due east from the mainland. It is bent at the elbow and the forearm points north. The “Upper Cape” is closest to the mainland and is composed of the towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Mashpee and Falmouth (including the village of Woods Hole). The “Mid Cape” is the bicep area, facing Cape Cod Bay on the north and Nantucket Sound and Vineyard Sound on the south. It covers the towns of Yarmouth, Dennis, and Barnstable, which includes the village of Hyannis. The “Lower Cape” is the elbow of the peninsula, composed of Brewster, Harwich, Chatham, and Orleans. This section touches Nantucket Sound on the south and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The “Outer Cape” is the forearm and fist of the peninsula, including Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. These designations, by the way, follow the official map of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. Some people group all of the Lower Cape and Outer Cape under the single name “Lower Cape.”

Upper Cape (towns of Bourne Sandwich, Falmouth, Woods Hole, Mashpee)

Mid Cape (towns of Barnstable, with its villages of Hyannis, Osterville, and Centerville; Yarmouth, Dennis)

Lower (or Outer) Cape (towns of Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown)