Cape Cod – Top 10 List
Shady Knoll Campground in the town of Brewster Massachusetts was the first campground we booked for our cross-country trip, a full 9 months before we even logged the first mile on the road. It was this booking event that made our trip turn from a fantasy to a reality as we now had something concrete to build around. We spent the next several months filling in the blanks, mapping out our path that would eventually land us in Cape Cod on September 1, 2022. We settled on Shady Knoll Campground as it is centrally located, budget friendly, and allowed us to explore all over the island without having to travel to far in any direction.
We spent 3 weeks exploring Cape Cod and here is our Top 10 list:
- Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard
- No trip to Cape Cod seems complete without taking a ferry to explore Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. We had friends visit us for both experiences, which made them even more special.
-
- After checking out the shopping near the pier in Nantucket, we rented bikes, rode to Cisco Brewery where we enjoyed beer and live music, then rode to a market to grab food and enjoyed lunch at the beach on the other side of the island. Perfect way to spend the day on Nantucket!
-
- Martha’s Vineyard is much larger, so we rented a car for the day (which cost about $100). We drove to the infamous “Jaws Bridge” (it’s a popular thing to jump off the bridge, but it was a bit of a cold day so we didn’t take the leap), drove a loop around the island taking in all the sights, then spent the rest of our time walking around the Vineyard Haven area shopping, eating, and enjoying a few cocktails.
- P-Town
- Provincetown or “P-Town” as it is often called is at the northeastern tip of Cape Cod. We parked at the MacMillan Pier parking lot which is inexpensive and perfectly located next to Commercial Street where you will find all sorts of shopping, art galleries, restaurants, and of course people watching! The Pilgrim Monument towers above the town and is a cool sight to see. You can take a ride to the top to view P-Town from above, but we decided to stay on the ground and admire the tower from afar. And a must have is the fried dough at the Portuguese bakery – you won’t be disappointed.
- Naukabout Brewery
- I haven’t found many beers on the east coast that compare to west coast IPAs, but the beers at Naukabout are excellent. My favorites are “Quitting Time” and “Y’all Open”. The brewery is fun to visit, and the pretzel bites paired nicely with the beers!
- Pizza Barbone
- Our first going out to dinner experience on the Cape was to Pizza Barbone. Artisan pizza done right! Their pepperoni and honey pizza was to die for! And the pizza is so good it was worth getting a solo top 10 slot.
- Can’t believe I didn’t take a pic of the food – must be a first!
- Lobster Rolls
- We certainly had our fair share of lobster rolls on this trip and the biggest serving we have ever seen lives at Raw Bar in Mashpee MA. It was so good we returned for seconds and if we stayed longer thirds was not out of the question. Imagine a roll with so much lobster on top you can’t even see the roll. The bun is essentially a vessel for serving the lobster, like eating it out of a bowl. There is so much meat, it’s best eaten with a fork…. and another person.
- Shady Knoll Campground
- I certainly can’t leave out our living arrangement as part of the top 10! Although we spent very little time at camp, Shady Knoll Campground was a perfect spot for us to call home for a while. Our site was large with morning and afternoon shade and the furthest point of interest was typically less than an hour drive away. The only downside was the lack of sewer hookups. They did offer pump services, so we were able to have our external grey tank emptied a few times per week.
- Beaches
- The beaches on Cape Cod are hit and miss. Most of them are great, except for no dogs during the summer months which makes for a bit of a pain for us traveling with the beast. Fortunately, we have friends who live in Barnstable, and they thankfully watched Sato a couple of times, so we were able to enjoy some beach time sans dog.
- Additional must visit towns:
- Each of these towns has their own uniqueness about them and they are all worth a visit if you have the time:
- Sandwich – lots of antique stores to visit and a cool food truck spot too.
- Falmouth – tons of shopping on Main street.
- Truro – Truro vineyards – worth a visit.
- Wellfleet – Beachcomber Inn – great dive bar for a beer or cocktail with an ocean view.
- Brewster – Shady Knoll Campground is located here as well as one of our favorite kitchen appliance stores called Cook Shop!
- Hyannis – lots of shopping on Main steet, clam chowder at Black Cat and of course Pizza at Pizza Barbone.
- Hyannisport – We have friends who live there, and they took us around in their golf cart (main form of transportation there) and showed us the huge houses owned by big time CEOs, as well as the Kennedy Compound.
- Golf!
- One of my best friends from high school was in town celebrating his 50th birthday. I was lucky enough to be visiting Cape Cod and got to enjoy a round of golf with him at Ocean Edge Golf Club. It was a fun course to play, especially when the beers were flowing and we were not keeping score 🙂
- The Dunes of the Cape
- Who doesn’t love the “Pina Colada” song.
- It was my own lovely lady
And she said, “Oh, it’s you”
Then we laughed for a moment
And I said, “I never knew””That you like piña coladas
And gettin’ caught in the rain
And the feel of the ocean
And the taste of champagne
If you like making love at midnight
In the dunes on the cape
You’re the lady I’ve looked for
Come with me and escape”
- It was my own lovely lady
- Yup – those are the dunes, and we spent a bit of time hiking around and taking in the views. Definitely recommend visiting the dunes when visiting Cape Cod.
Cheers,
Tiny Trailer Trips Crew