cape cod recommendations
focused on the lower cape / from a lifah
i’ve been lucky enough to spend pretty much every summer on cape cod. my husband and i got married at my grandparent’s house in orleans (where my parents and mannnny other family members also did). i grew up barefoot running from unwatered grass to hot sand, racing cousins into ice cold water to see who could go deepest, fastest (thankfully no sharks then). i spent my teens and early 20’s working as a camp counselor, nanny, shop girl, and being a regular at local bars and beaches. i’ve taken the mic from the lead singer at the woodshed and fell in love with my husband and the squire. some of my best memories are from growing up on the cape and getting to experience my kids doing the same is so special.
if you can’t tell, i love the cape and showing it to other people/making them love it too. i feel confident that on this topic, i am a trusted resource! yes, that is me on nauset beach in 1990.
cape cod is an arm. lower cape is the elbow and consists of orleans, brewster, chatham, and harwich. i’m not as well-versed in the rest, but i could probably point you in the right direction of someone who is if you have follow-up questions. before i dive in, a few recommendations outside of this locale:
SALS - always our favorite date night of the summer. book a table outside and gorge/enjoy the view.
PHEASANT - perfect for a cozy night dinner
SCOUT VINTAGE - such a cute gifty/home goods store in dennis (perfect stop before dinner at the pheasant)
(but ugh also AWOL hotel, the canteen, truro vineyards, boxed lunch…and more)
BEACHES— worth getting a sticker if you are staying for a week or more. for nauset south beach drive-on stickers, check or call to see if it will be open during your stay. if it’s open and you have an SUV it is totally worth it to be able to drive out and spend the day(s) there. the following are just the ones i frequent most and i know there are other amazing ones, so please tell me what i’m missing!
skaket (orleans), always my favorite. on the bay side and perfect for young kids (and everyone). amazing sunsets, you can walk miles out during low tide, swim during high tide, and find all sorts of creatures inbetween. there is a casual lunch spot with fried clams etc but we usually prefer to bring our own bc it’s expensive and not the best.
nauset (orleans), not to sound like too much of a local yocal, but because we have access to a sticker to the town beach i don’t have much to say about the public beach beyond when i was 15 years old and trolled for boys with my friends. we did film a vice segment there on clam bakes, though. it’s beautiful, and get a sticker to south if you can! there are food trucks there now but ugh RIP liam’s.
crystal lake(orleans), great for a dip and young kids. try to swim across if you want to be cool.
pilgrim lake (orleans), perfect for toddlers
jackknife (chatham), only beach listed that is dog friendly! and so great for finding creatures
ridgevail (chatham), a new favorite for us! they have a snack bar, a little store, and a great beach for kids. we made a bunch of friends there last summer.
oyster pond (chatham), my kids took swim lessons here last summer and loved it. the ice cream truck stops by and it’s old school beach life.
FOOD:
cbi, expensive obviously— but lots of options. a great place to come for a cocktail to take in the view up top or love the beach house grill for lunch.
wequassett, ditto above
bni, love the outdoor area
macs, perfect for young families and options for everyone.
ocean edge, great for a drink to take in the view i don’t love the food
nauset farms, sandwiches and whatever you need to cook at home
ice cream cafe, best ice cream
smittys, second best ice cream, maybe better vibe?
woodshed, so fun for drinks and dancing. never eaten there.
squire, so fun obviously at night or lunch, but the food is also great.
rock harbor grill, love the take out options for a skaket sunset picnic
the knack, best onion rings since liam’s
sunbird, love their coffee and their food and their vibe
marions pie shop, best carrot cake i’ve ever had and obviously the pie is great, too.
COFFEE:
snowy owl (chatham window or brewster store and walk around the gardens in the back)
chatham perk (people love the coconut)
sunbird (my fave)
FUN WITH THE KIDS:
mini golf (and the store across the street my nephew called the most beautiful store in the world when he was ~5)
chatham fish pier
shark museum - usually they have a shark tooth sensory bin outside and kids can pick their favorite tooth and make a neckalance. always a hit.
cape cod natural history museum - the best mud kitchen. on not beach days/not rainy days we can spend hours here at the mud kitchen.
seaside play- haven’t been but can’t wait to go!
cape cod lavendar farm - my kids love the fairy gardens
SHOPPING:
there are so many cute shops all around but here are a few favorites
weekend - got my prom dress here and my rehearsal dinner dress and a lot of things in between.
brewster book store (also have story time a few times a week for kiddos and lots of author visits during peak season— see me there in 2027?)
WHERE TO STAY:
there a several luxury hotels (cbi and wequasset being the nicest) but i always prefer renting a house if you’re staying for longer than a weekend (also hoping some of the resorts join resort pass this year so we can use the pool from time to time)
for rentals geeze we’ve done it all. most rentals are sat-sat during the season but if you message the owner they can be flexible. i usually start with a few tabs open:
ETC / WHERE TO FIND WHAT’S HAPPENIN:
my perfect day (chatham-based):
8am
jack knife beach to throw the ball for the dog and look for creatures with the kids
930am
bring the kids into chatham downtown and get coffee at snowy owl (they will ask for popsicles, i will oblidge). walk around town before everything opens, check out the bandstand and the art at the park. walk over to the fish pier to look at seals and see the fishermen come in.
11:30am
walk over to cbi and have lunch at the beach house grill. it’s pricey, but usually it’s not hot enough to really want to be at the beach this early and it’s so nice to be in the sand and let the kids play. plus, it’s where our rehearsal dinner was and where i officiated my friends wedding so just…love it!
1pm
head to ridgevail and plop! we like to bring their little kayaks and our beach favorites.
5pm
head home and stop at macs as a family on the way. pro tip is order at the beach as you’re leaving. i love the cob salad with grilled shrimp or lobster salad
my perfect day (orleans-based) — orleans will have my heart forever but a lot of my favorite places to go are not easy to get to if you don’t have access to a resident sticker. so i am going to write this from a visitors perspective
8am
yoga at orleans yoga and a coffee from sunbird (or if the timing works out beach yoga)
9am
bike ride or walk on the rail trail with the kids, followed by a playground. on the walk we will all argue about where to get lunch (joe mamas or nauset farms) and which beach to go to first based on the tide (nauset or skaket)
11am
plop at whichever beach was chosen
3pm
head home and hopefully hand off the kids, meet a friend for a swim at crystal lake
5pm
drinks on the grass at BNI and order take out
6pm
bring the take out to whichever beach we didn’t go to earlier
7pm
ice cream from ice cream cafe (peppermint stick, always)
highlights:
summer summer summer is so close
i went from saying my kids will never sleep in our bed to a highlight being they both did one night. love the fleeting snuggles.
8-8 babysitter on a saturday to reconnect with my husband— we had time to be lazy, productive, and have a date.
so many exciting book conversations and author relationships and growing friendships in the industry i’ve always wanted to be in and while i’m not in it yet i feel CLOSE
lowlights:
maycember is a real thing and i’m spinning
still too focused on productivity and it is getting in the way of creativity
so behind on texts and emails and all of the things i used to be so ontop of
favorite things:
i keep this in my car and in my bag for when i know i need a little sunscreen boost if i don’t want to do a full slather (also still lol at the reel i made last night pranking my husband that they asked to do a partnership with me)
speaking of sunscreen my kids love this thing and can do sunscreen themselves
on our aforementioned 8 to 8 date, my husband asked me to pop into j.crew with him to pick out some shorts, and i was shocked at how much i actually loved for myself! i got all of this on major sale — my rule is never buy anything from j.crew not on sale because everything is on sale eventually. i got this set and already wore the pants solo / plan to wear the set with heels to a rehearsal dinner, i love these shorts for the beach , i have these beach pants in black already and loving the red, dreamiest color for a jelly
that’s all for this week! if you have any questions, feel free to drop 'em in the comments or dm me over on instagram @writewithemma !
jsyk this post may contain affiliate links which means that in some cases i may earn a small commission from the things you buy (at no cost for you) if you click on them. thank you for supporting my writing (and trusting my wacky and random recommendations)
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