Wequassett Resort and Golf Club
Photo Courtesy of Wequassett Resort and Golf Club
Cape Cod, with its 115 beaches along almost 660 miles of coastline, is one of the premier summer destinations in New England. While beautiful any time of year, the summer is when the 15 towns really come alive with generations of repeat visitors arriving for their annual respite and those discovering its charming appeal for the first time. With hundreds of restaurants, more than 40 golf courses, 100 miles of bike paths and, of course, the gorgeous shorelines, there certainly is enough to please everyone. As high season (late June through Labor Day) approaches, the area is readying for the traffic with even more new adventures, renovated rooms and glorious festivals.
World-Class Accommodations
The Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Chatham, Massachusetts, already a stunner, managed to make its outdoor space even more compelling with a new custom-designed Sperry pavilion, which provides shelter for weddings and other events without obstructing the breathtaking views of Pleasant Bay. New fire pits on the lower patio are perfect for cocktails after an evening of dining at the hotel’s Four-Star Twenty-Eight Atlantic restaurant upstairs. The Wequassett also plays host to the Cape Cod Jazz Festival, a public get-together that runs Tuesday and Wednesday nights from late June through August on the property’s Garden Terrace. Music under the stars with the beach at your feet? We can’t think of a better way to spend a weeknight.
Chatham Bars Inn Resort and Spa, Photo Courtesy of Chatham Bars Inn Resort and Spa
Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster also improved upon its outdoor spaces, making it the ideal spot to take in the stars most weekends and the fireworks on the Fourth of July. From the Ocean Terrace, wide open views of Cape Cod Bay allow you to see as far away as Provincetown, on the very tip of the Cape. Of course, if you have a hankering for more putting than pyrotechnics, you’ll be pleased to know that the resort is also home to the only Nicklaus Design golf course in the area. For those who want to explore the nearby 22-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, we highly recommend hopping on one of the resort’s custom-designed bicycles, too.
This summer will be the first one where the Four-Star Chatham Bars Inn Resort and Spa will welcome dogs to the resort, which is news that’s sure to please anyone who can’t bear to part from their best friends. The resort will supply a slew of welcome amenities, from treats to beds, ensuring your pooch is as comfortable as you are, which is saying a lot, seeing as how you’ll either be basking in the 90-minute sea dew hot stone massage at the Four-Star spa, enjoying an 18-ounce châteaubriand at the Four-Star STARS or taking part in a shark research trip, a newly offered adventure where guests join scientists as they track and tag white sharks.
Hydrangea Festival Garden, Photo Courtesy of CL Fornari
Top-Shelf Activities
Another way to take in the natural beauty of the Cape is with Art’s Dune Tours in Provincetown, which offers unique journeys in the historic dunes of the seashore. While the company has been around for decades, it recently launched a new Land ‘N Lake Excursion, a 3.5-hour trek where you explore the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Dune Shacks, and that’s followed by paddling on the East Harbor and lunch on the raft. Flower lovers won’t want to miss the inaugural Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival this July 10 through 19. Hydrangeas are the Cape’s signature flower, so it’s of no surprise that this event plans to celebrate them with tours of spectacular gardens, floral conferences and other botanically themed events.
