Quintessential Cape Cod

Quintessential Cape Cod

Two-Wheel-Drive

There's no better mode of transportation for touring the Cape than a bike. It's along one of several outstanding trails that you can see verdant forests, hear birds chirp, and smell the salt air.

The Cape's many well-developed bike trails satisfy avid and occasional cyclists alike. The definitive route, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, offers a particularly memorable ride along 25-mi of paved right-of-way of the old Penn Central Railroad. The Cape Cod National Seashore maintains three bicycle trails that wind through stunning wilderness, amid dunes, marshes, and ponds. And Falmouth's Shining Sea Trail offers an easy 3 1/2-mi route along the coast, providing views of Vineyard Sound and dipping into oak and pine woods. In fact, there's good biking in just about every town on Cape Cod, plus a number of bike-rental shops.

Play Ball!

America's national pastime, baseball, takes on special meaning each summer on Cape Cod. It's here that you can watch the sport in its purest form, without having to deal with pricey tickets, prima donna ballplayers, and riotous crowds. The Cape Cod Baseball League comprises 10 teams and has been going strong since the 1950s, attracting top college ballplayers from around the country.

These guys are talented -- on par with midrange minor-league professional players. In fact, dozens of today's big stars began playing on the Cape, from Nomar Garciaparra to Jeff Bagwell. The games are held at relatively simple yet classic ball fields, so grab a hot dog and catch a game of baseball the way it was meant to be played.

Lobster Lovin'

Scores of eateries and markets on the Cape serve lobster, usually the traditional way -- boiled whole in the shell with drawn butter -- but also in pies, bisques, quesadillas, and omelets. At the Yarmouth House Restaurant, you can order a delicious filet mignon topped with fresh-picked lobster meat. Or opt for the standard summer lunch treat, a lobster roll -- light lobster salad with just a hint of mayo on a plain white frankfurter roll.

Wherever you try it, don't leave Cape Cod without sampling this revered culinary offering. And if you get a hankering for lobsters once you get home, just call Quality Fresh Seafood in Bourne -- they can airmail you a full clambake, complete with a whole lobster ready for steaming.

Seeing the Light

In addition to traditional Cape-style houses, Cape Cod is known for another distinctive architectural type: lighthouses. You'll find them up and down the Cape, some still active, others decommissioned.

Each has its own personality and profile. There's Highland Light in Truro, the Cape's oldest. Eastham's oft-photographed Nauset Light ranks among the most beautiful, and both Chatham Light and Falmouth's Nobska Light afford some of the best views. In Martha's Vineyard, be sure to journey out to Aquinnah Lighthouse, which stands atop a bluff above the beach and crashing surf. It's definitely worth ascending any lighthouse open for tours (several are, albeit with limited hours) to enjoy a magical perspective of the Cape's spectacular landscape.