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Museums

• Cape Cod Museum of Natural History

  The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History has two floors of exhibits about the flora and fauna of Cape Cod, including exhibits on whales, indigenous birds, and coastal change, and several aquaria holding different species of crustaceans, mollusks, fish, frogs, turtles and snakes. Several displays are interactive and geared to children. Special, temporary exhibits enhance the permanent collection.

  The Museum also has a library and Museum Shop. Three nature trails meander through woodland, salt marsh or on the shore of Cape Cod Bay and guided field walks are offered year round, daily in summer. Lectures and workshops on natural history topics are offered year round, and there are special programs for children, as well as school vacation programs and KidSummer, to engage them in nature.

• Heritage Museums & Gardens

  Heritage Museums & Gardens celebrates the American Spirit. The Museum fosters lifelong learning by preserving and sharing the history, industry, art and horticulture of America and offers each visitor a unique experience ranging from quiet contemplation to active exploration.

  The Museum is famous for its Dexter Rhododendrons that bloom late May into early June. The beautifully landscaped grounds are a naturalized woodland park on the edge of upper Shawme Pond. A Shaker round barn houses the J. K. Lilly III Antique Automobile Collection with its stunning display of antique automobiles. The American History Museum will be opening this summer with several New Exhibits. An operating hand-carved carousel and many of America’s most distinguished artists’ works are on exhibit in the Art Museum.

• John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum

  The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum captures the years JFK spent at the family compound in Hyannis Port-his time with family and friends, and with national and international persons of prominence.

• Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum

  Whether you come to Provincetown by boat, auto, or plane, you can’t miss the Pilgrim Monument.

  It stands high on a hill, overlooking the town center. It is the symbol of Provincetown and was built to commemorate the “first landing” of the Mayflower Pilgrims in Provincetown on November 21, 1620, and their signing of the Mayflower Compact here.

• Sandwich Glass Museum

  The Sandwich Historical Society and its Glass Museum, collects, preserves and interprets the history of the Town of Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod. A large part of Sandwich history is involved with American glass production. This short presentation is culled from the collection of glass and historic images of the Museum and Historical Society.

Nature & Outdoors

• Cape Cod National Seashore

  Thoreau described the great Outer Beach in the 1800s that is protected within the national seashore. Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape Cod’s past and continuing ways of life. Today’s visitors are drawn to beautiful swimming beaches, walking and biking trails.

• Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge

  The visitor to this wilderness refuge encounters a very special place – a sanctuary that supports an amazing diversity of wildlife and plant species. The 7,600 acre Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1944, provides important resting, nesting and feeding habitat for migratory birds.

• Cape Cod Rail Trail

  The Cape Cod Rail Trail is 22 miles of paved trail that passes by ponds, cranberry bogs, forest and open areas. This trail follows a former railroad right-of-way through the towns of Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet.

• Nickerson State Park

  Nickerson’s 1900 acres offers hiking trails, an eight mile bike path that connects to the Cape Cod Rail Trail, ponds stocked year-round with trout and plenty of camping space. Walk or bike to Cape Cod Bay, swim and canoe at Flax Pond, birdwatch or catch-and-release fish at Higgins Pond, or participate in the many seasonal interpretive and recreational programs offered by park staff.

• Dolphin Fleet Cape Cod

  Unlike many other whale watches, Dolphin fleet trips offer a wide spectrum of educational tools that go beyond the “average whale watch”. A naturalist accompanies every cruise to serving as an interpretive guide to the ecology and natural history of Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bays with emphasis on whales, other marine life and marine birds passengers are likely to see. All trips off the shores of Provincetown and on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary are designed to enhance awareness of whales, other marine life and the marine habitat that surrounds us.

Theater

• Cape Cod Melody Tent

  With a round rotating stage, large blue circus like tent and big acts, the Cape Cod Melody tent has been a Cape Cod tradition dating back to 1950. Enjoy a relaxed ambiance and intimate theatre experience where no seat is more than 50 feet from the stage.

• Harwich Junior Theatre

  Founded in 1951, Harwich Junior Theatre produces fairytales, adventures, musical, classical and contemporary drama for children and family audiences. Harwich Winter Theatre produces a more mature repertoire for young adult and adult audiences. We have learned that when people of all ages create theatre together, the potential for excellence is boundless.

• Provincetown Theater

  The Provincetown Theater sponsors new play development and produces plays by American artists, presents professional and non-professional productions, provides educational and training opportunities for youth and adults, and maintains the Provincetown Theater as a performing arts venue for the Cape Cod community.

• Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater

  Founded in 1985, the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is nationally known as Cape Cod’s most adventurous professional theater company. They consistently seek out the most interesting and provocative new works and then recruit artists with the skill, imagination and vision to realize those works in production.

• Cape Playhouse

  One of the oldest summer stock theaters in the country. With such stars as Bette Davis (who first worked as an usher), Gregory Peck, Gertrude Lawrence, Lana Turner, Ginger Rogers, Humphrey Bogart, Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Julie Harris, and Paulette Goddard, it’s no wonder the Playhouse is known as “The Birthplace of the Stars”.

• Wellfleet Drive-In

  Enjoy first run double features every night starting May 23rd at the only Drive-In Theatre on Cape Cod. Built in 1957, the Wellfleet Drive-In hosts a 100’ x 44’ screen, and a state-of-the-art FM stereo sound system that decodes modern sound tracks. Don’t have a radio? That’s OK! Mono original speakers are available for your listening pleasure. There’s a playground and snack bar too!