Cape Cod With Kids

Cape Cod With Kids

Every imaginable diversion is available for children in Cape Cod, from gentle beaches and non-boring museums to mini-golf and genuinely-interesting people watching. Here are our top 10 picks for what to see and do when you have kids in tow.

Plimoth Plantation. Stroller-accessible and yawn-stifling teen accessible, this outdoor re-enactment of a 17th century Pilgrim village has diversions aplenty with its thatch-roofed dwellings and "residents" who never break character, even during a preschooler's relentless questioning.

Mayflower II. Toddlers, tweens and teens alike enjoy peering into the nooks and crannies of this reproduction of the 1620 Mayflower in Plymouth. Staff regularly present demonstrations on board, from knot tying to cooking.

If you're either waterpark collecting or find yourself in the middle of an unseasonably sultry Cape Cod afternoon, Water Wizz Water Park in Wareham has a 50-foot-high waterslide with tunnels and dips, a wave pool, a river ride, three tube rides, two enclosed water-mat slides, a children's slide, a pool, and miniature golf.

Green Briar Nature Center and Jam Kitchen. Sweet (at times literally) and low key, has a walkable wildflower garden and a kitchen where you can watch jams and pickles being made. Classes are available for adults and kids but one of the simpler pleasures is checking out the nature trails behind the building, where you can walk and visit the real live animals that inspired Peter Cottontail, Grandfather Frog, and other beloved Thornton Burgess characters.

Heritage Museums and Gardens. This sprawling facility in Sandwich has trams with stroller storage for tired parents with kids in tow, but the real payoff is the sheer variety of interesting stuff for kids, especially the Shaker Round Barn with classic and historic cars, an American History installation hosting the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame and an art museum with antique toys and a working 1912 Coney Island-style carousel that both adults and little ones can ride as much as they want.

National Marine Fisheries Service Aquarium. It's a little cramped, but the 16 tanks of regional fish and shellfish at this Wood's Hole facility are memorable for their weirdness. Magnifying glasses, a dissecting scope, and mini-squeegees hanging from the frosty tanks (a favorite tool for kids passing through) help you examine marine life. Several hands-on pools hold banded lobsters, crabs, snails, starfish, and other creatures.

Cape Cod Children's Museum. Interactivity is key here, especially aboard a 30-foot pirate play ship. The museum is best suited for preschoolers and children in the early elementary grades and will likely figure in your family's return visits, especially on rainy days.

Pirate's Cove. In South Yarmouth, this is most elaborate of the Cape's many miniature-golf setups, with a hill, a waterfall, a stream, and the 18-hole Blackbeard's Challenge course.

Duck Harbor Beach. Take the guesswork out of finding waters that aren't too rough or cold: These shores are on the warm waters of Cape Cod Bay, and there's plenty of room to wander and find your own private space.

Commercial Street. Drag queens stroll Provincetown's main downtown thoroughfare during the summer, delighting the throngs around them. Your preschoolers may have even more questions here than they did at Plimoth Plantation.