Family Day Trip on Cape Cod

Start your day with a hearty breakfast! There are numerous locally owned and operated cafés and diners in the mid-Cape for your family to enjoy. You’re sure to find the perfect spot on Main Street in Hyannis or down Route 28 in Yarmouth and Dennis. Keep your family fueled with the most important meal of the day! From places like The Daily Paper on Main to the Keltic Kitchen to the Good Friends Café, there is no bad choice. Keep your breakfast local where portions are generous and prices are reasonable, for the budget-conscious traveler.

You’re on the Cape so why not head down to the Ocean Street Dock after breakfast for a little family fun on/by the water! Depending on how the fam is feeling, you might want to take a stroll at Bismore Park and visit the Artist Shanties. These colorful seaside shanties on Hyannis Harbor are open during the summer and feature a variety of local artists who work and sell their creations from these studios. Are you a local? The artwork and artists change weekly! If the fam is itching to get out on the water, we invite you on a one-hour Hyannis Harbor Cruise aboard the Viking. Let the salty ocean breeze help you digest that breakfast of champions! The harbor cruise features live narration about Hyannis’ maritime history and local points of interest, on the way to the historic Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport. The best thing about the harbor cruise? There are two KIDS RIDE FREE trips every day! Perfect plan for your wallet. We encourage you to visit our friends at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum, at the end of the Ocean Street Dock. Your visit, like the harbor cruise, will be an hour and trust us – the price is right!

Ahoy! Now it’s time to say goodbye to Hyannis, hop in the car and head East down Route 28 to the Wydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth! Take your deep, gravelly pirate voice and grunt and growl at this interactive science museum.  You and your landlubber fam will find real pirates, booty, step aboard a replica of a 300-year old Wydah ship and guess what? You’ll be able to touch, see, and interact with the world’s only authenticated pirate ship! After this visit, you’ll feel like an old salt. Shiver me timbers, what a great time!

Well, now everyone is hungry again. To make your life easier, do what we’d do: go to Captain Parker’s Pub. Located a stone’s throw from the pirate museum. From award-winning clam chowder to your favorite seafood, sandwiches, and more, this lunch choice is a winner. Locally owned and operated by the Manning Family since 1981, your family will get what it needs to recharge with friendly service, large portions and good prices.  

On the road again…. Let’s switch up the pace for the afternoon adventures! Navigate your way from the hustle and bustle of Route 28 to historic Route 6A, also known as Old King’s Highway. Route 6A is one of America’s most iconic byways and comprises the largest contiguous historic district in the United States. Continue East through Yarmouth and Dennis to the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster. This small but fascinating museum is dedicated to showcasing the region’s unique wildlife and ecosystems. You’ll find exhibits on everything from coastal birds to marine mammals, an aquarium, as well as interactive displays that kids will love. The museum also boasts the Lee Baldwin Trail (1-mile) and John Wing Trail (1.3 miles) to really immerse yourself in the natural, calm beauty of the Cape.

Next, it’s time to move onto “Old Cape Cod.” Set your GPS for the Marconi Wireless Station Site at the Cape Cod National Seashore, in South Wellfleet. (Hey family – we’d like to note that this location is free and open to the public, with restroom facilities open seasonally) This is the location of the first transatlantic wireless communication between the United States and Europe. The view, atop the eroding cliffs, overlooking the Atlantic is breathtaking. There is an interpretive display pavilion outlining the importance of this historic site, most notable in its role in communications during the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. Now, we ask you to shift your attention across the parking lot at Marconi. It’s something you don’t hear a lot about but is definitely a local’s favorite. The Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail. This 1.2-mile loop trail takes you down through a stunted oak and scrub pine forest into woodlands, to a boardwalk that takes you through the cedar swamp. If you are interested in this adventure, we’d like to note that this trail is marked as moderately difficult.

We can only imagine that if you have chosen to follow this day trip itinerary that it’s getting late and you actually might be a little tired. We encourage you to do something crazy to wrap up your family day on the Cape. ICE CREAM SUNDAES FOR DINNER!!!!!!!!!!