Help me plan a New England vacation
January 30, 2023 10:30 PM Subscribe
We have a family event that takes us to Hanover NH in late June so we are planing to meet up with some favorite relatives and sneak in a little vacation. We will fly into Boston, rent a car and then spend a few nights a place A (maybe Cape Cod?) and a few nights in place B (??) and end up near Hanover NH. Where should we stay and what should we do on the two parts of this trip?
We are not up for a lot of driving so the goal is keep each leg of the trip (Logan airport to place A, place A to place B and place B to Hanover) to three hours or less. Our initial group consists of two couples. One couple is more active, likes to swim and hike. The other prefers taking a walk along the beach or strolling in forest. Both are happy to check out an interesting museum. For the second part of the trip we will be joined by another adult with mobility issues. She will be using crutches and tires easily so she would be up for driving to some place pretty and then getting out and looking around. We don't need to do everything together so having some options for the active folks to get out and burn some energy while the couch potatoes stay at the rental is good.
We are also all pretty COVID careful so more outdoor or uncrowded venues will help. We plan to rent a house or cottage in each place.
More questions:
If we stay at Cape Cod, is one town or side of the Cape better than the others? How hard is to find parking if we want to go to beach further away? (This is the weekend before the 4th of July so I'm guessing things will be crowded). This question is a good starting point, any other suggestions can't miss things to do or eat while we are there? (No shellfish unfortunately) Is there a different place on the coast that might suit us better? I think it would be nice to have beach where we can enjoy going in the water for at least part of our trip.
For the second place, quaint small town in the woods or on a lovely rocky beach would be OK. We don't want to spend more than a few hours driving so Maine is further than we want to go on this trip.
We are not up for a lot of driving so the goal is keep each leg of the trip (Logan airport to place A, place A to place B and place B to Hanover) to three hours or less. Our initial group consists of two couples. One couple is more active, likes to swim and hike. The other prefers taking a walk along the beach or strolling in forest. Both are happy to check out an interesting museum. For the second part of the trip we will be joined by another adult with mobility issues. She will be using crutches and tires easily so she would be up for driving to some place pretty and then getting out and looking around. We don't need to do everything together so having some options for the active folks to get out and burn some energy while the couch potatoes stay at the rental is good.
We are also all pretty COVID careful so more outdoor or uncrowded venues will help. We plan to rent a house or cottage in each place.
More questions:
If we stay at Cape Cod, is one town or side of the Cape better than the others? How hard is to find parking if we want to go to beach further away? (This is the weekend before the 4th of July so I'm guessing things will be crowded). This question is a good starting point, any other suggestions can't miss things to do or eat while we are there? (No shellfish unfortunately) Is there a different place on the coast that might suit us better? I think it would be nice to have beach where we can enjoy going in the water for at least part of our trip.
For the second place, quaint small town in the woods or on a lovely rocky beach would be OK. We don't want to spend more than a few hours driving so Maine is further than we want to go on this trip.
Best answer: So note that the NH coastline is very, very short; if you want quaint little coastal town there are a few in NH/Southern Maine that'll fit the bill and within your driving radius from Logan. Kittery ME and Portsmouth NH for a slightly larger city; York ME; Ogunquit ME. There are some nice, easy coastal walls through here- Marginal Way (Paved, lots of benches), the Rachel Carson Wildlife Preserve in Wells. There's also Mt. Augumentis technically in York? that you can drive up, with a handicap accessible loop on top. All of this is about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Logan; drive time from there to Hanover is about 2 hours.
posted by damayanti at 5:00 AM on January 31, 2023
posted by damayanti at 5:00 AM on January 31, 2023
I wouldn’t go as far as Maine because of the ol’ “you can’t get there from here” to Hanover. What about Newburyport/Plum Island? Or Ipswich/Rockport/Cape Ann? Both north of Boston but with easy connections to 89.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:25 AM on January 31, 2023
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:25 AM on January 31, 2023
Best answer: A couple points about the Cape:
-Depending on what day you plan on going out there, traffic could be an absolute nightmare (Thursday night through Friday especially). Generally, Boston-Provincetown is around three hours but could be much longer. If you're trying to get from the outer Cape to north of Boston, plan for quite a long drive.
-Most rentals on the Cape and Islands operate on a weekly schedule (Sat-Sat usually), so finding a whole house for a couple days may be challenging.
-If you're committed to the Cape, start booking now because things fill up early and fast.
-You may have better luck closer to the canal - Sandwich, Sagamore, Bourne. You might even try Plymouth/Duxbury area.
Since you need to be heading north anyway, you could look into the Cape Ann area for your first stop. Gloucester is a nice dense downtown, right on the water, close to hiking. A little further north is Newburyport and Plum Island, including beaches you can swim from and the Parker River NWR which is great for bird watching and beach strolling.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:54 AM on January 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
-Depending on what day you plan on going out there, traffic could be an absolute nightmare (Thursday night through Friday especially). Generally, Boston-Provincetown is around three hours but could be much longer. If you're trying to get from the outer Cape to north of Boston, plan for quite a long drive.
-Most rentals on the Cape and Islands operate on a weekly schedule (Sat-Sat usually), so finding a whole house for a couple days may be challenging.
-If you're committed to the Cape, start booking now because things fill up early and fast.
-You may have better luck closer to the canal - Sandwich, Sagamore, Bourne. You might even try Plymouth/Duxbury area.
Since you need to be heading north anyway, you could look into the Cape Ann area for your first stop. Gloucester is a nice dense downtown, right on the water, close to hiking. A little further north is Newburyport and Plum Island, including beaches you can swim from and the Parker River NWR which is great for bird watching and beach strolling.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:54 AM on January 31, 2023 [4 favorites]
Cape Cod is cute, but in the opposite direction of Hanover, so that makes for longer drives. You could also consider Gloucester, MA, and Portsmouth, NH. They're both small cities that have previously fallen on hard times but now have fairly revitalized downtown areas filled with cute restaurants and shops, and bustling little harbors. There are worse ways to spend a day or two than in these neat little cities.
For the second place -
North Conway, NH is 2.5 hours from Boston. It's nestled in the White Mountains. There's lots of gorgeous views, walking, and hiking (it's an outdoorsey town - ski mountains, inns and small hotels, etc).
posted by entropone at 5:55 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
For the second place -
North Conway, NH is 2.5 hours from Boston. It's nestled in the White Mountains. There's lots of gorgeous views, walking, and hiking (it's an outdoorsey town - ski mountains, inns and small hotels, etc).
posted by entropone at 5:55 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
+1 to Gloucester. If you're there during St. Peter's Fiesta you can see the greasy pole contest, which is a very special thing. I think it's in June...
posted by pazazygeek at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2023
posted by pazazygeek at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2023
"Cape traffic" is a cliche in the area: there are only two routes over the Cape Cod Canal, each with a bridge that forms a chokepoint, and the seasonality of it means the roads are undersized for the heavy weekends. IT SUCKS.
The north shore of Boston really is pretty and fun, and on your route. That includes Salem, MA, with its very good Peabody & Essex museum, and the nice waterfront.
If it tickles your fancy, hit the L.L. Bean outlets in New Hampshire. Maybe hike a 4000-footer, if you're up to it: there are several with routes that aren't terribly difficult for weekend warriors like me.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:42 AM on January 31, 2023
The north shore of Boston really is pretty and fun, and on your route. That includes Salem, MA, with its very good Peabody & Essex museum, and the nice waterfront.
If it tickles your fancy, hit the L.L. Bean outlets in New Hampshire. Maybe hike a 4000-footer, if you're up to it: there are several with routes that aren't terribly difficult for weekend warriors like me.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:42 AM on January 31, 2023
Keep in mind late June is going to be black fly season up in hiking country.
I'd second Quechee-Woodstock-White River Junction and the Gloucester area in MA.
One option would be to stay your first couple nights in Boston and take the water shuttle to and from Provincetown for a long day. You'll get a taste of the Cape without the traffic. Provincetown is really cool and very walkable. You can rent bikes to ride around the dunes and go to the beach. It's a long day out and back but it's a neat way of seeing the Cape.
posted by bondcliff at 6:45 AM on January 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'd second Quechee-Woodstock-White River Junction and the Gloucester area in MA.
One option would be to stay your first couple nights in Boston and take the water shuttle to and from Provincetown for a long day. You'll get a taste of the Cape without the traffic. Provincetown is really cool and very walkable. You can rent bikes to ride around the dunes and go to the beach. It's a long day out and back but it's a neat way of seeing the Cape.
posted by bondcliff at 6:45 AM on January 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
I love the Cape but I think it’s best enjoyed when it won’t be super crowded. The things that make it charming and quaint don’t scale well. For example, I’m partial to Chatham and there’s a delightful band concert on Friday nights in the summer but if it’s too packed to move, it won’t be fun. I think the Provincetown water taxi idea sounds promising. Good luck!
posted by kat518 at 7:20 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by kat518 at 7:20 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Whale watching off the coast is great. No matter which tour you go on, they all go to the same general area, but the ones from Gloucester, MA, tend to have smaller, less crowded boats, and a shorter travel time to the part of the water where the whales congregate. You can usually find discounted tickets online.
posted by msbrauer at 7:52 AM on January 31, 2023
posted by msbrauer at 7:52 AM on January 31, 2023
Best answer: Nthing the warnings about the Cape and traffic in the summer. My parents live in East Sandwich (on the Cape proper) and my brother and his family live on the mainland, just on the other side of the Cape Cod Canal. It's under an hour drive regularly, but on summer weekends it can take.....well, we don't know, because they haven't even tried it because everyone knows it's a crazy idea.
However - that right there suggests a decent way to kind of have the best of both worlds. Instead of trying to find a place on the Cape proper (which will be hard to find and expensive), try staying just outside the Cape, in towns like Wareham, Marion, Buzzards Bay or Onset, and making day trips over the Canal onto the Cape itself. You'd find a lot of the same stuff in those towns close to the Cape (beaches, cute shopping, etc.) for a bit less money and a bit easier traffic, and the times you'd be trying to get to the Cape you wouldn't be fighting for road space since you're going on a Tuesday or something. And you would also have the option of saying "hell with it, let's just stay here" and you'd have an equally nice time.
That's actually what my whole family did; my grandparents grew up in Wareham and then retired to Marion, and so we would always go there instead of the Cape and we kids had a hell of a time. That's largely why my brother ended up in Marion - he even bought out our grandparents' old house and lives there now because the memories were so warm. My niece and nephew are having an idyllic childhood staying put just before the Cape, with occasional day trips to the Cape proper - scheduled at times when the traffic isn't as bananas.
So I'd consider going Cape-adjacent for those few days instead of the Cape proper. Which, also, would make it way easier for you to get on your way to New Hampshire when the time comes, because you'd already be on the mainland.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:16 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
However - that right there suggests a decent way to kind of have the best of both worlds. Instead of trying to find a place on the Cape proper (which will be hard to find and expensive), try staying just outside the Cape, in towns like Wareham, Marion, Buzzards Bay or Onset, and making day trips over the Canal onto the Cape itself. You'd find a lot of the same stuff in those towns close to the Cape (beaches, cute shopping, etc.) for a bit less money and a bit easier traffic, and the times you'd be trying to get to the Cape you wouldn't be fighting for road space since you're going on a Tuesday or something. And you would also have the option of saying "hell with it, let's just stay here" and you'd have an equally nice time.
That's actually what my whole family did; my grandparents grew up in Wareham and then retired to Marion, and so we would always go there instead of the Cape and we kids had a hell of a time. That's largely why my brother ended up in Marion - he even bought out our grandparents' old house and lives there now because the memories were so warm. My niece and nephew are having an idyllic childhood staying put just before the Cape, with occasional day trips to the Cape proper - scheduled at times when the traffic isn't as bananas.
So I'd consider going Cape-adjacent for those few days instead of the Cape proper. Which, also, would make it way easier for you to get on your way to New Hampshire when the time comes, because you'd already be on the mainland.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:16 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Another vote for staying away from the Cape, you might squeak in before the busiest part of the year which is the July 4 weekend, but it's a gamble. Unless you have access to a home or a rental that lets you come and go midweek, you're probably going to have a "traditional" rental from Saturday to Saturday, so coming or going on those days is going to be bad traffic. Add a fender bender into the mix and your 3 hour timeframe could get eaten up quickly.
I would second the suggestion for looking into Plum Island, my family has gone there many times over the years and you get a little bit more for the money than the Cape (although less and less each year.) Even if you can't spring for a place on the beach, chances are higher that you can find a place within a 10 minute walk of the shore.
There are a few restaurants on Plum Island, but you'll be better off driving 15 minutes down the road to Newburyport where there are a diversity of restaurants, art galleries, funky shops etc.
Hanover is about a 2 hour easy drive from there versus a 3.5 hour (minimum) drive from the Cape, the first half of which will most likely be a hassle.
Another option is to find lakeside rentals near Hanover, a very different vibe than ocean life, but lots of swimming and hiking around Mascoma Lake and Crystal Lake which are the two places I'm most familiar with up there. Both are 20-30 minutes away from Hanover.
posted by jeremias at 8:31 AM on January 31, 2023
I would second the suggestion for looking into Plum Island, my family has gone there many times over the years and you get a little bit more for the money than the Cape (although less and less each year.) Even if you can't spring for a place on the beach, chances are higher that you can find a place within a 10 minute walk of the shore.
There are a few restaurants on Plum Island, but you'll be better off driving 15 minutes down the road to Newburyport where there are a diversity of restaurants, art galleries, funky shops etc.
Hanover is about a 2 hour easy drive from there versus a 3.5 hour (minimum) drive from the Cape, the first half of which will most likely be a hassle.
Another option is to find lakeside rentals near Hanover, a very different vibe than ocean life, but lots of swimming and hiking around Mascoma Lake and Crystal Lake which are the two places I'm most familiar with up there. Both are 20-30 minutes away from Hanover.
posted by jeremias at 8:31 AM on January 31, 2023
Best answer: +1 for Gloucester/Rockport over Cape Cod. The beaches are really special and very chill. We stayed at the rockport inn & suites which was great, and had a very family friendly pool and fire pit (no hot tub tho).
Gloucester beaches require advanced reservations. Good Harbor Beach is really lovely, and iirc has a cool sandbar you can walk accross durring low tide, which is a cool experience. Long Beach, in rockport, has parking you could just drive up and pay $30 cash for. These beaches are all 7 mins apart, and it's worth checking out a couple if you're there for a few days. If you go here DM me for restaurants. :)
posted by wowenthusiast at 9:33 AM on January 31, 2023
Gloucester beaches require advanced reservations. Good Harbor Beach is really lovely, and iirc has a cool sandbar you can walk accross durring low tide, which is a cool experience. Long Beach, in rockport, has parking you could just drive up and pay $30 cash for. These beaches are all 7 mins apart, and it's worth checking out a couple if you're there for a few days. If you go here DM me for restaurants. :)
posted by wowenthusiast at 9:33 AM on January 31, 2023
My rec:
First stop, a beach town north of Boston - Cape Ann, Plum Island, southern Maine. It's not that any of these are inherently better places to go than the Cape, it's just that it will save you a half day of driving if you go north from Logan rather than to the Cape.
From there I would recommend visiting in the Mt. Washington Valley in New Hampshire. It's beautiful but less crowded and cheaper in summer than in foliage or ski season (although right before July 4th it may be pretty busy). Not a lot of museum-ing (although the New England Ski Museum is cute!) but there are non-exertion-based activities. Like, one part of the group could hike up Mt Washington (nb: this is a pretty serious hike, but there are hikes for basically any interest/fitness level in the White Mountains), while the other part either takes the Cog Railway or the Auto Road to the top (and if the hikers want to save some knee power everyone can ride back down together). There are beautiful views accessible via car, chairlift, gondola and excursion train. Covered bridges, ziplines, all that jazz.
And then when you're done with the mountains you can drive to Hanover via US Route 302 or the Kancamangus Highway (both extremely scenic).
posted by mskyle at 9:57 AM on January 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
First stop, a beach town north of Boston - Cape Ann, Plum Island, southern Maine. It's not that any of these are inherently better places to go than the Cape, it's just that it will save you a half day of driving if you go north from Logan rather than to the Cape.
From there I would recommend visiting in the Mt. Washington Valley in New Hampshire. It's beautiful but less crowded and cheaper in summer than in foliage or ski season (although right before July 4th it may be pretty busy). Not a lot of museum-ing (although the New England Ski Museum is cute!) but there are non-exertion-based activities. Like, one part of the group could hike up Mt Washington (nb: this is a pretty serious hike, but there are hikes for basically any interest/fitness level in the White Mountains), while the other part either takes the Cog Railway or the Auto Road to the top (and if the hikers want to save some knee power everyone can ride back down together). There are beautiful views accessible via car, chairlift, gondola and excursion train. Covered bridges, ziplines, all that jazz.
And then when you're done with the mountains you can drive to Hanover via US Route 302 or the Kancamangus Highway (both extremely scenic).
posted by mskyle at 9:57 AM on January 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
We are not up for a lot of driving so the goal is keep each leg of the trip
NO CAPE. If this were a February trip I'd say different but oh man, no. I agree with bondcliff, you'll get a lot of the "good beach town" stuff from Gloucester or Newburyport. Plum Island is gorgeous and really doesn't get the beach traffic other places get and there are some great historical stuff to look at in both places. My only other advice is popping over to King Arthur Flour when you are in Hanover because they have a great cafe and it's a pretty location and just a mile away. The surrounding town, Norwich, has some neat stuff and. I know this is weird to say, an AMAZING hardware (and stuff) store that you should visit.
posted by jessamyn at 11:25 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
NO CAPE. If this were a February trip I'd say different but oh man, no. I agree with bondcliff, you'll get a lot of the "good beach town" stuff from Gloucester or Newburyport. Plum Island is gorgeous and really doesn't get the beach traffic other places get and there are some great historical stuff to look at in both places. My only other advice is popping over to King Arthur Flour when you are in Hanover because they have a great cafe and it's a pretty location and just a mile away. The surrounding town, Norwich, has some neat stuff and. I know this is weird to say, an AMAZING hardware (and stuff) store that you should visit.
posted by jessamyn at 11:25 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
As an outdoorsy person I second the North Conway idea. Another place to consider is Portland, ME, lots of good food there, and a couple of the towns just to the north such as Freeport and Brunswick are pretty cool places to visit. If you go Boston to Portland, then Portland to N. Conway, then N. Conway to Hanover, then back to Boston the drive times should be under 3 hours for all the legs.
posted by Cu_wire at 1:20 PM on January 31, 2023
posted by Cu_wire at 1:20 PM on January 31, 2023
You can take a ferry from Boston to Provincetown and skip the traffic, and cab or shuttle out to the airport to pick up a rental car. Good luck renting a house this late though.
posted by nicwolff at 1:24 PM on January 31, 2023
posted by nicwolff at 1:24 PM on January 31, 2023
If you're flying into Logan, why not take the Downeaster from North Station to Portland and rent your car there? It's a great way to travel from Boston to Maine.
I'll agree with NO CAPE, but if you must there's also the Cape Flyer which departs from Boston's South Station and stops right in Hyannis.
Note: North Station (BON) and South Station (BOS) are two completely different railroad stations and there are no easy connections between them. Also the Cape Flyer doesn't run as often as the Downeaster
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:32 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'll agree with NO CAPE, but if you must there's also the Cape Flyer which departs from Boston's South Station and stops right in Hyannis.
Note: North Station (BON) and South Station (BOS) are two completely different railroad stations and there are no easy connections between them. Also the Cape Flyer doesn't run as often as the Downeaster
posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:32 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Just a couple notes, agree to skipping the cape, the coast of Main is barely a detour from Boston to Hanover and has a lot of beach, scenic and cabin options. Before the 4th the water will be freezing. Look at Ogunquit, huge beach. Some beach towns are cheesie but fun. I found the Ogunquit museum pleasant.
posted by sammyo at 2:49 PM on January 31, 2023
posted by sammyo at 2:49 PM on January 31, 2023
Best answer: Stay North of Boston. Anything else uses too much time and puts you in the way of traffic.
+1 to Gloucester and to York, ME and Portsmouth, NH. Avoid Newburyport and Plum Island - the beach at Plum Island is actually not very easy to visit because parking is restricted mostly to residents - also, Newburyport doesn't offer very much to do, just shopping, essentially.
Gloucester beaches are unsurpassed. I'm fairly shore WIngaersheek Beach is the one with the very long sandbar you can walk out on. It also has a huge rock you can walk to at low tide or swim to at high tide. Good Harbor Beach is the one that has a saltwater stream that snakes down the beach into the ocean - it's great for wading and floating. There's great food in Gloucester and the museum is worth a stop. It's unique, and scenic.
York is excellent for families; visit the Nubble Lighthouse, play in the arcade (candlepin bowling!), enjoy the gorgeous beach, get ice cream and candy at Goldenrod. Hike Mount A nearby. Portsmouth is all-around a fun town. There is a children's museum, a lively downtown, concerts in the park, and it's nearby the Seacoast Science Center and other good destinations for days out.
Hanover --> Gloucester -- > Portsmouth --> York would be a great and do-able trip.
posted by Miko at 4:35 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
+1 to Gloucester and to York, ME and Portsmouth, NH. Avoid Newburyport and Plum Island - the beach at Plum Island is actually not very easy to visit because parking is restricted mostly to residents - also, Newburyport doesn't offer very much to do, just shopping, essentially.
Gloucester beaches are unsurpassed. I'm fairly shore WIngaersheek Beach is the one with the very long sandbar you can walk out on. It also has a huge rock you can walk to at low tide or swim to at high tide. Good Harbor Beach is the one that has a saltwater stream that snakes down the beach into the ocean - it's great for wading and floating. There's great food in Gloucester and the museum is worth a stop. It's unique, and scenic.
York is excellent for families; visit the Nubble Lighthouse, play in the arcade (candlepin bowling!), enjoy the gorgeous beach, get ice cream and candy at Goldenrod. Hike Mount A nearby. Portsmouth is all-around a fun town. There is a children's museum, a lively downtown, concerts in the park, and it's nearby the Seacoast Science Center and other good destinations for days out.
Hanover --> Gloucester -- > Portsmouth --> York would be a great and do-able trip.
posted by Miko at 4:35 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
A lot of people are saying NO CAPE, but I think if you stick to the Upper Cape (Falmouth, Bourne, Cotuit, Cataumet etc), you will still see traffic, but nowhere near as bad as elsewhere. That being said, Portsmouth is probably the smarter move.
posted by KazamaSmokers at 9:33 AM on February 1, 2023
posted by KazamaSmokers at 9:33 AM on February 1, 2023
Best answer: KazamaSmokers mentioned the "Upper Cape", and that made me realize there may be a need to expound on the definitions a bit...there are about 4-5 "regions" on Cape Cod and you may have a different transit experience depending on where you stay.
If you imagine Cape Cod as that "arm" sticking out into the Atlantic, the "upper cape" are the bits right by the shoulder and armpit. The "Mid Cape" is the bicep, the "Lower Cape" is the elbow, and the "Outer Cape" is the forearm.
The Lower and Outer Cape are really quiet, save for Provincetown (which is up by the "fist"); Provincetown has long been an artists/bohemian enclave. The Cape Cod National Seashore is along the Outer Cape as well. The Mid-Cape is where you'll find places like Hyannis, best known as being the Kennedys' old stomping grounds; that's where a lot of the "touristy" stuff is going to be as well. The Upper Cape is also on the quiet side, with a more "quaint historic villages" vibe.
That said: even though there are 4 regions, once you're on the Cape, getting from one of those regions to the other isn't all that time-consuming. My parents live in the Upper Cape, and we REGULARLY go out to dinner or to brunch in little places in towns Mid-Cape when I visit; it's a 20-minute drive tops. Driving to the Outer Cape from where they are is about a half hour, and one year my parents and I were bored the day after Christmas and took a spontaneous trip to Provincetown; that only took an hour and change. I should add the caveat, though, that I am usually visiting during the fall and winter, when the roads are a lot less busy; depending on where you wanted to get to on the Cape in summer, you may run into a bit more traffic. But the Cape is still small enough that getting from one part of the Cape to another is dealable on a Day Trip scale.
The bigger problem you'd face is just getting to the Cape itself. The Cape Cod Canal bisects the Cape from the mainland at the "shoulder", and there are only two bridges you can use to cross over. That is where you could run into some hellish traffic if you're trying to get onto or off of the Cape at a time when everyone else is trying to do the same. In an earlier AskMe someone was asking about the best times to try driving across the Canal on a Saturday in summer, and I checked with him; he said that the best way not to get stuck in Canal traffic on a Saturday was to plan on crossing the bridge at like 8 am. Same on the way back.
That's why KazamaSmokers was recommending the Upper Cape, and also why I was recommending things on the OTHER side of the Canal; if you're on the Upper Cape, then all you have to do is get over the damn bridge and then you're pretty much there. The caveat there is that all the places on the Upper Cape may only rent on a weekly basis, or might be sold out by now; that's why I was further recommending things in the towns before the Cape (on the "shoulder" of Massachusetts, basically), since it sounds like you'd be there for a few days mid-week, when it'd be way less heinous to try driving over the bridges for a day trip or something.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:29 AM on February 1, 2023
If you imagine Cape Cod as that "arm" sticking out into the Atlantic, the "upper cape" are the bits right by the shoulder and armpit. The "Mid Cape" is the bicep, the "Lower Cape" is the elbow, and the "Outer Cape" is the forearm.
The Lower and Outer Cape are really quiet, save for Provincetown (which is up by the "fist"); Provincetown has long been an artists/bohemian enclave. The Cape Cod National Seashore is along the Outer Cape as well. The Mid-Cape is where you'll find places like Hyannis, best known as being the Kennedys' old stomping grounds; that's where a lot of the "touristy" stuff is going to be as well. The Upper Cape is also on the quiet side, with a more "quaint historic villages" vibe.
That said: even though there are 4 regions, once you're on the Cape, getting from one of those regions to the other isn't all that time-consuming. My parents live in the Upper Cape, and we REGULARLY go out to dinner or to brunch in little places in towns Mid-Cape when I visit; it's a 20-minute drive tops. Driving to the Outer Cape from where they are is about a half hour, and one year my parents and I were bored the day after Christmas and took a spontaneous trip to Provincetown; that only took an hour and change. I should add the caveat, though, that I am usually visiting during the fall and winter, when the roads are a lot less busy; depending on where you wanted to get to on the Cape in summer, you may run into a bit more traffic. But the Cape is still small enough that getting from one part of the Cape to another is dealable on a Day Trip scale.
The bigger problem you'd face is just getting to the Cape itself. The Cape Cod Canal bisects the Cape from the mainland at the "shoulder", and there are only two bridges you can use to cross over. That is where you could run into some hellish traffic if you're trying to get onto or off of the Cape at a time when everyone else is trying to do the same. In an earlier AskMe someone was asking about the best times to try driving across the Canal on a Saturday in summer, and I checked with him; he said that the best way not to get stuck in Canal traffic on a Saturday was to plan on crossing the bridge at like 8 am. Same on the way back.
That's why KazamaSmokers was recommending the Upper Cape, and also why I was recommending things on the OTHER side of the Canal; if you're on the Upper Cape, then all you have to do is get over the damn bridge and then you're pretty much there. The caveat there is that all the places on the Upper Cape may only rent on a weekly basis, or might be sold out by now; that's why I was further recommending things in the towns before the Cape (on the "shoulder" of Massachusetts, basically), since it sounds like you'd be there for a few days mid-week, when it'd be way less heinous to try driving over the bridges for a day trip or something.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:29 AM on February 1, 2023
Response by poster: Gloucester for the win! Thanks to everyone for steering me away from the Cape and up to Gloucester instead. Also appreciated really appreciated the heads up from wowenthusiast about needing reservations for parking. We found a place on VRBO that should be an easy enough walk to at least some of the beaches.
Second part of trip will be in York. Special thanks to damayanti for pointing out some accessible destinations - it makes all the difference to be able to include something in our plans that will work for everyone without the constant last minute surprises.
Everyone was wonderful!!
posted by metahawk at 4:38 PM on February 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
Second part of trip will be in York. Special thanks to damayanti for pointing out some accessible destinations - it makes all the difference to be able to include something in our plans that will work for everyone without the constant last minute surprises.
Everyone was wonderful!!
posted by metahawk at 4:38 PM on February 9, 2023 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tmharris65 at 2:15 AM on January 31, 2023 [4 favorites]