In the north along MA Route 6A (map) toward Cape Cod Bay, it is hamlets of dignified old houses shaded by beautiful lofty trees. In the south, along MA Route 28, it is gaudy motels built chock-a-block along the crowded beaches.

The Old Yarmouth Inn is a handy landmark. Just east of it is the Parnassus Book Store, in a building which started life as a church and later became the local incarnation of the A&P grocery chain. Now the stock is books. No charge for browsing.

Across the street from Parnassus is Hallett's Store, a revered Yarmouth landmark, having been here, and in operation, since 1889. You can still get breakfast, a light meal, or ice cream, or a Cape Cod souvenir.

Just a minute's walk east is the US Post Office, and behind it are the Botanic Trails of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth. The trails are open during daylight hours seven days a week year round.

Note that these are not formal "botanical gardens," but rather trails through particularly beautiful wild areas of Yarmouth's land and marshes. Local flowers and trees, plants, and geological features are on view, and maps and trail booklets available at the gatehouse where you pay admission will tell you all about what there is to see.

Near the Botanic Trails is the Bangs Hallet House (tel 508-362-3021), built by a captain in the China trade. The house's history is as interesting as its Greek Revival façade. The devoted caretaker will fill you in on the confusing chronicle of the house's various owners and reconstructions.

The Winslow Crocker House (tel 508-227-3956) on MA 6A is owned and maintained by Historic New England. The rooms in this Georgian house are furnished with 17th- to 19th-century collections.

By law, Grey's Beach is free and open to the public, as terms of the bequest that gave it to the town of Yarmouth. It's at the end of Centre Street (turn north off MA Route 6A), and as you go down to the beach, note the cemetery on your left with graves dating from 1639.

Picnic tables, toilets, nice lawns, and parking facilities are all available at the beach. A wooden walkway stretches a good distance out across the marshes and is pleasant to stroll along even if you don't feel like a swim.

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