Where to stay in Cape Cod

Yea, Petex --- I'm starting to think that as well

May head back to the Dacks (speculator area this year) or just hit up one the beautiful finger lakes in our area here at home

My Great Aunt, who had lived on the Cape forever, practically forbid people from coming between Memorial and Labor Day.  Personally, if it's when you can go...it's not that bad if you plan and do it properly.  "In season" is when we spend most of our time up there, although we do a lot of fall weekends.  Drive at off hours and you can avoid the traffic.  Make reservations in advance and you can eat.  Don't wait until 11:00 to get to the beach and you will get a parking spot.  Yeah, towns will be crowded, but I avoid stores as much as I can.

While you can have a great time "in season", going off season is more relaxing!

Agree totally we go in June for couple of weeks to two different spots and again after Labor Day ...it maxs out damn near everything , lower rates , no restaurant reservations,.


Much Lower density , you CAN drive the main roads , beaches are deserted or damn near , ......its how wise travelers are doing these days . Why not ?? No need for any hassles at all !

......f'in school age kids!

Hang tough , your time will come

I did see an analysis that showed MA is a much better state to retire in than NY!

Unfortunately for us when we retired we ran the numbers and THAT was NOT the case . We thought very seriously about buying the home i rented when on sabattical leave , it was on a private lane 8 houses up from the beach in Harwichport , great house but like i said i have some anomalies in terms of state tax that make it more beneficial to be in NY than MA. And we did not care for FLA or TEXAS and the Queen would not go west so we remained here .

But for SOME that equation may work and the Cape is a super place BUT pretty far from decent skiing and THAT was a consideration too.

Actual reply to the question.
We've been to the cape many, many times.  All lower cape.  Here's the most recent place we stayed.
Built in the 50's, not winterized.  REAL old school cabins, not that condo new build BS.  To say it's off the beaten path is an understatement.  They welcome dogs.
Bayside N. Eastam, edge of Wellfleet.  About 2 miles from the drive-in on the back roads, around the corner from the seashore visitor center (and Ben and Jerry's).  Kettle pond close by for rinsing off after a day at the beach.  Close to Wellsfleet (quaint, artistic, for the lady) close to the Big Island for an amazing hike at low tide.  Really good location.

St. Aubin's Bayside Cottages
www.staubinrentals.com

I have been going to the Cape  every summer for the last 26 yrs...It all depends on what you like. Family has a house in S.Yarmouth. My only real advise is to stay away from Hyannis..The best beaches are from Chatham on east. The beaches on the north side are ok, but don't have any surf, unless a north wind is blowing..

The towns off of 6a are more quaint and little less touristy..
 
As far as traffic goes...use back roads and when leaving the Cape, you must be on the road no latter then 7am.

Thanks for all the info! I greatly appreciate it

Just got back from a week in Truro with the fam. It was awesome.

Surfing, sailing, oysters, bike trails, beers, dunes and incredible beaches. Visiting old friends and making new ones.

Some traffic in and out and a wicked bad sunburn right outta the gate.

Also. Provincetown in August is hilarious. Families getting ice cream on one street corner.....dudes with assless chaps and dog collars on the next corner.  My kids were surprised that not all gay men are 24 year old hunky dudes with six pack abs.  That there are fat old gay men wearing socks with Birkenstocks.

And after this weekend's events it makes Henry David Thoreau's quote even more relevant "A man can stand there and put all America behind him."

Yup P town is a trippy scene  a surrealistic ride on the wild side but beautiful none the less

As a kid we used to stay in Truro too. Great location  Hell u can't miss damn near anywhere on the Cape .....its a life style !

As we can park there with our National Seashore annual pass....we hit up Head of the Meadow a couple of times this summer.  Bit of a drive up there from Chatham, but it's nice up that way.  We did a fire at Head of Meadow on Friday night.  The Town of Truro online process for obtaining a permit is MUCH easier than the National Seashore beach routine, where you have to physically show up EARLY in the am.  Plus, they offer more permits per beach than the Seashore beaches do.  Glad you had a good vacation!

Chatham is one of my favorite places..
Traffic at the Rt 6 bottle neck has been getting worse over the years. So I only venture out to Ptown every now and then.
But I do love going to Coast Guard or Marconi Beaches.

I am blessed with free digs in South Yarmouth..

We do Coast Guard often, and sometimes Nauset Light or Marconi.  Nice not to have to pay for parking once we buy the annual pass.  Head of the Meadow is about 20 minutes further than Coast Guard.  Of course, if 6 at the Wellfleet Drive In is backed up it can be more....

We do Nauset (in Orleans) a lot.  It's the closest outer beach, has great facilities, Liam's Clam Shack is good, and that's where the Over Sand Vehicle entrance is.  On the down side, parking is $20 a day and a non-resident parking pass is big bucks.  With the off road permit we can park there for free when the f@&king plovers have the trails closed, which happens a lot.  For the best combo of beach and convenience, though....Nauset is our favorite.  Coast Guard would be were it not for the whole tram pia.

Staying in Truro, we hit up Head of the Meadow, Ballston, Longnook, and Marconi. Marconi had best surf and most surfers. Low tide lined up nicely with free parking after 5 that night I think.

We had a fire on Ballston saturday night. We cooled off at Herring Cove and Race Point during our provinceland bike path loop.  Also hiked up from Head of Meadow to High Head where the seals, 100+ Of them, were laying in a pile, feeding and chilling on a sand bar.

Really, that National Seashore is just one big fuckin beach.  The names are just landmarks, or places to park a car for access.  I think when Thoreau visited he just walked right up the beach.

Love the Provincelands bike paths....and some sections are HARD!  We just invested in a set of bikes to keep up there, and not having to lug them from NY will allow us to bike more.

One of these times I'd like to get a weekly National Seashore off-road permit, drive the beach from Head of Meadow to Race Point.  Unfortunately, most of that has been closed to vehicles all summer for birds.

There was a decent anount of that going on when we were there.  The air station at Race Point had a line as we biked by.  There seemed to be a bunch of big RVs out on the sand just south of there too.  Seemed like just the vegetated areas where the dunes transition to beach were blocked off for the piping plovers and turns.  Worth it, imho! Someday I might find cruising the dunes in a jeep with the top down fun, but for now I prefer fewer mechanized, motored intrusions into the beach scene.

Got a place right on the beach in P-Town. Leaving Monday AM --- any cool bars/restaurants on the water that are must hit??

https://www.macsseafood.com/restaurants/macs-provincetown

Not on the water but highly recommend.