!8: Top 10 Brewster Ma Restaurants: December 2011

!±8± The Best Places to See on Cape Cod

There are plenty of places to see on Cape Cod, but where are the best places to see on Cape Cod? If you like driving, you're in luck, because the best sightseeing on Cape Cod is spread out through all of the towns, not just in any one town. Listed here are some great things to see on Cape Cod, including towns like Falmouth, Provincetown, and Chatham.

Scargo Tower, Dennis
This stone tower gives a great panoramic view of the mid Cape region. Climb to the top and see the towns of Yarmouth, Dennis, and Cape Cod Bay to the north. The walk to the tower itself is also a lot of fun. You can find Scargo Hill Observation Tower on Scargo Hill Road in East Dennis, which is right off of Route 6A.

The Sand Dunes at Provincetown
Provincetown has some of the best sites on the entire Cape (figures, it's the furthest away from the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges!). The town has beautiful hilly sand dunes that pile up all over town. Travel down Route 6, then take Commercial Street through the center of town. At the end of Commercial Street, you'll find more sand dunes straight in front of you on Province Lands Road. Take this road to Race Point Road to view the giant dunes at Race Point Beach, then head back south towards Truro.

The Lighthouses of Cape Cod
There are plenty of lighthouses on Cape Cod to visit. Like the rest of the scenic spots on the Cape, they're all spread out. There are 3 in Provincetown, 1 in Truro, 1 in Eastham, 3 small deactivated lighthouses also in Eastham (the Three Sisters of Nauset), 2 in Chatham (3 if you include Monomoy Island), 1 in Dennis, 1 in Sandy Neck, Barnstable, 1 in Falmouth, and 1 in Bourne. The majority of these lighthouses are located between Chatham and Provincetown. Some of the more popular ones to visit are Highland Light, or Cape Cod Light (Truro), Chatham Light (Chatham), and Nauset Light (Eastham).

Scenic Route 6A
Route 6 and Route 6A are two highways that are vastly different. Route 6 is the main highway that connects towns from Bourne to Provincetown. Route 6 also crosses the Sagamore Bridge, and heads west towards Providence (and eventually much further west). Route 6A, however, is the Old King's Highway. It is the old road on Cape Cod that has been used for centuries, and is now paved as Route 6A. This road today still has some of what made it such an attraction long ago, with beautiful trees arching over the road, providing a partial canopy. Route 6A also has many furniture galleries, art galleries, local restaurants (no chains here), and antique shops to browse and shop. Route 6A begins in Bourne, and ends at Orleans. Without stopping on a non-traffic day, expect this trip to take approximately 1 hour. However, you're going to want to take much longer than that to see all that this road has to offer. To the north of 6A, you can find some of the quietest beaches on Cape Cod in towns like Brewster and Yarmouth Port.

Sandy Neck Beach
Located in the town of Barnstable, Sandy Neck is true essence of what makes the Cape so unique. There are 6 miles of sandy beaches and dunes that jut out into Cape Cod Bay on this peninsula. To get to Sandy Neck Beach, take Route 6A to Sandy Neck Beach Road, on the Sandwich-West Barnstable town line. The area also has hundreds of acres of pristine salt marsh, called Great Salt Marsh, with endless opportunities for wildlife viewing.

Pleasant Bay, Chatham
Pleasant Bay is located off of Route 28 in the towns of Chatham, Harwich, and Orleans. These three towns share the amazing view to the east of Strong Island Marsh and Pleasant Bay. Here, boats calmy sail about the protected cove area, while the view has spectacular sunrises and sunsets. There are pullover spots so that you can get out and enjoy this area, but be careful of the busy Route 28 traffic.

Monument Beach
This small beach in the town of Bourne is located on the west side of town, near Pocasset. It offers extraordinary views of the Wings Cove, Mashnee Island, Onset, Marion, and the Elizabeth Islands to the southwest. You can find this beach by taking Shore Road from the Bourne Bridge Rotary, and following it until you reach Monument Beach. Shore Road itself is a beautiful drive that would make a great cruise.

Cape Cod Canal
Last, but not least, is the Cape Cod Canal. A lot of people bypass this man-made engineering marvel to head to inner cape destinations, but they're missing something. Did you know that the canal has over 14 miles of bike paths, and some of the best fishing on the entire Cape? Just because it's the first part of the Cape doesn't mean it's not worth visiting. If you head to Onset in Wareham, you can also take a Cape Cod Canal cruise to enjoy gazing at the boat traffic on the canal. They also have summer sunset cruises that pass underneath the bridges.