Cape Cod, a 70-mile-long (113-km) arm of sand curled into the Atlantic (map), was formed by glacial action and was given its name by an early (1602) visitor to the New World, Bartholomew Gosnold.

"The time must come when [Cape Cod] will be a place of resort for those New Englanders who really wish to visit the seaside. At present it is wholly unknown to the fashionable world...."—Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, 1865.

Cape Cod didn't stay "unknown to the fashionable world" for long. Here's how to get there.

Each Cape Cod town has its own distinct character. Here they are, from west and south through east and north, as you might approach them when driving from the mainland.

Sandwich Falmouth Woods Hole Barnstable Hyannis

Yarmouth Dennis Brewster Chatham Orleans

Eastham Wellfleet Truro Provincetown

Strictly speaking, Cape Cod is an island, separated from the rest of Massachusetts by the Cape Cod Canal, a deep waterway built from north to south across the base of Cape Cod in the early part of the last century.

Two graceful bridges span the canal—one at Bourne to the south (MA 28), one at Sagamore to the north (US 6)—and both are very busy—sometimes hopelessly jammed— in the warm months. More...

Once a collection of fishing towns, then a getaway vacation spot for Bostonians, Cape Cod is now among America's most popular seaside resort areas. Its pretty towns are packed with visitors each summer. Even though it has lots of hotels, motels, inns, B&Bs and weekly rentals, most are fully booked in high summer.

Reserve your lodgings in advance!

The Pilgrims landed in the New World at Provincetown and drew up the Mayflower Compact before heading on to the mainland at what would become Plymouth. More...

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