We had quite a full day of sightseeing and exploring. After lunch, we headed out, towards Mashpee, MA, on the south/west side of the Cape. We started at the South Cape Beach State Park, which turned out to be way too crowded for us, so we went a little further down the park road, past the town beach, and found a small parking area. We walked over to a dirt walking trail, over a boardwalk, through a bird sanctuary to the beach. This was a really nice walk, and a much better beach location. However, it was too long of a walk to cart our beach chairs, towels etc with us. So, we just enjoyed the view and moved on.
Next we found the Waquoit Bay Kayak Launch and beach. This was only a few miles from the State Park, down a long, single lane, pot-holed dirt road. At the end of the road, that had cars parked on either side, we found a delightful beach area. Just a short walk through the woods/bushes and over to the beach. This one we could bring our chairs and snacks. So we sat and really enjoyed the beautiful, sunny, not-too-hot day.
Then, we spent some time finding the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Falmouth, MA. We ended up hiking a very nice trail through the woods, along side of the Quoshnet River, that leads into the Wauquoit Bay. We only hiked about 1/2 mile in and out again, but found a really sweet spot by the river before turning back.
Next, we headed over to the Woods Hole area of Falmouth, on the very south west corner (peninsula) of the Cape, We first went to The Knob. This is on the northern tip of a peninsula, overlooking Buzzards Bay. To access it, you first need to find a parking spot near by, which we were fortunate to do, Then it is a mile round trip hike through the woods to get to it. But, it is well worth it. Beautiful scenic view, with beaches all around and a nice view of Buzzards Bay harbor.
Our last stop was the Nobska Lighthouse, on the southern side of the peninsula overlooking the Martha's Vinyard Sound. You couldn't go in to the Lighthouse, but since we were fortunate to find a parking spot, we were able to go across the road and look out at the view of the Sound. They are refurbishing the Lighthouse into a Museum, and it looks really nice.
By this time, we were hungry for dinner. We wanted to find a restaurant with an outdoor patio, overlooking the water, with social distancing in place. Unfortunately, that area of Woods Hole is extremely crowded with tourists. So we went to downtown Falmouth, which had several long blocks of shops and restaurants with indoor and out door seating. We found a little burger place with great black bean burgers (and regular ones for Peter), with a outdoor patio in the back. Only a few of us were there. Even so, this is the first time we have eaten at a restaurant, since Covid started.
Long day, but very nice. It feels good to be exploring nature again.
South Cape Beach State Park photos:
Waquoit Bay beach photos:
Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve photos:
The Knob, Woods Hole photos:
Nobska Lighthouse, Woods Hole photo:
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