The Cape Cod Canal (which celebrated its centennial in 2014), and weighs in at 7.5 miles long, separates the mainland from Cape Cod. The canal, between 480 and 700 feet wide at various points, is the world’s widest ocean-level canal. In 1623 Captain Myles Standish, eager to facilitate trade between New Amsterdam (New York City) and Plymouth Colony, was the...

One of the most photographed spots on the Cape, Chatham Fish Pier is where Chatham’s fishermen bring their catch. The fishermen return sometime between 1 and 4 pm — the best time to catch the catch coming in. Get a bird’s-eye view of the proceedings from the pier’s observation deck. You’ll also spy beach houses on Nauset and North Beaches. When...

Stroll through the whale-jawbone gate at the Edward Penniman House in Eastham on Fort Hill. You can’t help but feel a little of the spirit of Penniman, the sea captain who came home to this French Second Empire-style house after months on the bounding main. The cupola draws our attention, as does the mansard roof, and maybe even the kerosene...

The harborlike Eel Pond in Woods Hole has a drawbridge that grants access to Great Harbor for fishing boats, yachts, and research vessels moored here. (The walk around the shore is lovely.) The little bridge goes up and down on demand; in summer boats line up to pass through. Walk around Eel Pond to St. Joseph’s Bell Tower (on Millfield Street,...

Most folks don’t come to Fort Hill in Eastham looking for a fort — they seek birds, sweeping views of the ocean,  some long steps, a boardwalk through a marsh, and a brooding forest of Red Maples that burst into flames in the autumn. Not that there ever was a fort here: The hill, one of the highest points around, was...

Highland Golf Links in Truro, a challenging 9-hole course (par 35), is the closest thing you’ll find to traditional Scottish links on the East Coast. From the first hole, where deep, natural roughs packed with Scotch broom and heath separate you from the beach canyon at hole #2; to the famous #6 hole, on a cliff 1,130 feet above the...

From the Cape side of the Bourne Bridge, take Shore Road and follow signs for Mashnee Island. From the 2-mile-long causeway, there are lovely views of summer homes dotting the shoreline, sailboats on the still waters, and the distant railroad bridge and Bourne Bridge. Parking is nonexistent in summer, and as the island is private, you’ll have to turn around...

The coast was a dangerous place for ships, with sand bars, shoals, and rip currents to contend with. But there were plenty of profits to be made here, which turned this area into a watery highway — and watery grave. Thirteen lifesaving stations were erected between 1872 and 1903, the Old Harbor Lifesaving Station (circa 1898) in Provincetown being the...

The Pilgrims spent five weeks exploring the Provincetown Harbor in November and December of 1620, before finally settling in Plymouth. The Pilgrim Monument, a 252-foot granite obelisk begun in 1907, was built to commemorate their time in Provincetown. As you take on the 116 steps to the top, note many interior stones donated by municipalities throughout the U.S. The Provincetown...

Your eyes keep drifting back to the boards on Sandwich Boardwalk. One says wryly, “Get off our board.” Another holds a thoughtful phrase. Another a riddle. Then your eyes are filled with sunshine dazzling in the marshland, sparkling in the grass. A blue heron probes a tidal pool. Another board catches your eye with a warm memorial to a family...

Scargo Hill in Dennis is the highest point on the Cape, at 160 feet above sea level, and offers views of much of the Cape, the village of Dennis, and Scargo Lake. A trip to the top of the 30-foot cobblestone tower takes you even higher. The tower was erected in 1901 in honor of the Tobey family. Expect plenty...

From Falmouth to Woods Hole, the Shining Sea Bike Path is a popular recreational trail that follows the old Penn Central Railroad line, blissfully bypassing snarly summer traffic. This flat-as-a-pancake path winds beneath canopies of elms and oaks, along the beach, through marshes, and the Salt Pond Bird Sanctuary. The path’s name recalls the final line in the song, “America...