Jutting off the northeastern coast of the United States, Cape Cod is a distinctly-shaped peninsula of sand dunes, small towns, and popular beaches. The Cape, as it is known, is one of the East Coast’s most iconic summer destinations alongside the adjacent Islands, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard. But why is Cape Cod so iconic?
Cape Cod is famous for its quaint, grey-shingled houses, its rich, intriguing history, and miles upon miles of pristine seashore. Cape Cod is also known for its summertime traditions, such as the amateur Cape Cod Baseball League and traveling a capella groups.
But that’s not all. Cape Cod’s famed status is well-earned — let’s take a look at 17 things Cape Cod is known and famous for.
Table of Contents
1. Cold winters…
In the winter, Cape Cod gets cold. Average winter temperatures hover between 25 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and quite a bit of snowfall. Many businesses reduce operations during winter, but the Cape can be a picturesque place for a cozy coastal winter holiday.
2. …and hot summers
Once winter fades away, the Cape is the place to be, with radiant sunshine and temperatures peaking around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It never gets too hot on Cape Cod, but during those long beach days, the sun does not hold back. Fortunately, the Atlantic water is crisp and cool, perfect for refreshing yourself.
That is why Cape Cod is known for its summers. Vacationers from near and far flock to the Cape, especially over holiday weekends like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Be sure to plan travel accordingly, as traffic jams can be frequent on the Cape’s narrow highways.
3. The Bourne and Sagamore bridges
Your Cape Cod escape truly begins once you cross over the Cape Cod Canal, the artificial waterway that divides most of the geographic cape from mainland Massachusetts. Two bridges span the canal, the Bourne and the Sagamore.
Their iconic steel arches herald your arrival to Cape Cod. Leave your worries on the mainland, roll down those windows and breathe in the distinct salty air Cape Cod is known for.
4. Its towns and villages
Cape Cod is famous for its 15 towns and villages, from bustling Hyannisport and scenic Chatham to quaint Truro and Provincetown, with its thriving LGBTQ+ communities. Locals are fiercely proud of their towns, while annual visitors often return to the same one time and time again.
What’s beautiful about Cape Cod is that each town truly allows you to see the Cape in a different light. You could spend your whole life visiting the Cape and never see it all. Take it from me — in years of family vacations to Cape Cod, I have yet to visit all the towns or discover its many corners and hidden gems.
5. Provincetown
Located at the very tip of the Outer Cape, the last stop on the Cape Cod Expressway is the village of Provincetown. Long inhabited by the indigenous Nauset people, the town was the site of the first landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims and became a thriving fishing and whaling village.
In the modern era, Provincetown is a vibrant artists’ colony and a welcoming destination for the LGBTQ+ community. P-Town, as it’s known, was loud and proud long before queerness was widely visible in the United States. Drag performances have occurred since the 1940s and a business guild formed in 1978 to promote gay tourism.
6. A landmark for explorers and pilgrims
When the Pilgrims landed in Provincetown Harbour, they were ill-prepared for the brutal winter conditions and after several weeks relocated to Plymouth, where they established a permanent colony. There, the indigenous peoples taught the bedraggled Pilgrims how to hunt, fish, and farm the land, a key factor in the colonists’ survival.
Other contemporary seafarers used the distinct shape of Cape Cod for navigation, such as Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano and British explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, who gave the peninsula its English name.
It’s also possible that Leif Erikson, the Norse Viking who led an expedition to North America five centuries before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, explored Cape Cod and the surrounding areas.
7. Indigenous peoples
Before any Europeans set foot on Cape Cod’s shores, Indigenous Americans called the peninsula home. The Nauset and Wampanoag peoples had long inhabited what is now Cape Cod.
Before the arrival of the Pilgrims, the peoples had crossed paths with Europeans before, such as a British explorer who kidnapped several dozen indigenous people that were then sold into slavery in Málaga, Spain. One of those enslaved individuals was Tisquantum, who later returned to Cape Cod and helped to interpret between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.
Today, the Wampanoag people are represented by two federally-recognized tribes. With over 4,000 members combined, the two tribes are located in Mashpee and Martha’s Vineyard.
8. Seafood and local products
Fried cod, clam chowder, broiled lobster, grilled oysters… Cape Cod is famous for its fresh seafood that leaves your mouth watering. Locals and visitors alike have their favorite seafood joints, but you can also shop for high-quality seafood at the many piers and fish markets to prepare at home.
Cape Cod is also known for its phenomenal local food products. There are too many to name, but you can find everything from salty snacks like Cape Cod Potato Chips to fresh, locally-harvested cranberries and byproducts, like juices and jams. There’s also no shortage of artisan beer, sea salts, delicious ice cream, and local jams and jellies.
9. Pristine beaches and seashores
Above all, Cape Cod is famous for its pristine beaches and seashores. With over 560 miles of coastline, the Cape has an endless amount of natural, sandy beaches in all of its 15 towns. Whether they’re quiet coves, bustling beaches, or miles-long stretches of uninterrupted sand, Cape Cod has some of the finest, most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
Cape Cod National Seashore, created by President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, stretches the whole length of the Outer Cape and protects almost 44,000 acres of coastline, ponds, woods, and pine barrens.
10. The Kennedy compound
The Kennedy compound is an extensive three-house waterfront property in Hyannis Port, the historical home of the American political dynasty. President John F. Kennedy spent many holiday seasons at the compound and used it as a summer White House during his presidency.
11. Marine life
As a child, I spent my summer vacations searching the sea floor for hermit crabs and sand dollars, dodging horseshoe crab tails, and marveling at swarms of thousands of fiddler crabs. While my parents shopped for fresh seafood at the fish market, I would stand on the quay and watch grey seals swim in the harbor.
From dolphins, whales, and seals to crustaceans, sea turtles, and jellyfish, Cape Cod’s coastal waters teem with life. The marine life of Cape Cod are highly valued, as large swaths of the seashore and nearby islands are protected lands or wildlife refuges.
12. Great white sharks
Caution in these waters, because Cape Cod is also famous for its great white sharks. They chase the grey seals seeking shelter in harbors and bays. The sharks are frequently spotted around Chatham and Monomoy Island, but they extend all along the Outer Cape up towards Provincetown.
Shark attacks are rare, but not unheard of. Avoid swimming near seals, who sometimes stray close to the beach, and heed any official warnings. If you’re extra paranoid, or simply curious, download a shark tracker app to stay up to date.
13. The Jaws franchise
Speaking of sharks, the Jaws franchise was predominantly filmed between Martha’s Vineyard and Falmouth. The Cape and the Islands live up to the reputation bestowed upon them by the sharp-toothed thriller. It’s not uncommon to find screenings of the movies at local movie theatres.
14. Cape Cod houses
The Cape Cod house, with its peaked roof, dormer windows, and shingles washed grey by the sea air, is a distinct look in North American architecture. Some even feature a widow’s watch or a platform that looks out to sea, named for wives waiting for their sailor husbands to return.
Although the design can be found across the Northeast, the association with Cape Cod is strong and apt. Cape Cod houses are ubiquitous across the peninsula, cozy, humble, and iconic.
15. Lighthouses
With a long history of seafaring, it’s only natural that Cape Cod is famous for its lighthouses. There are 14 lighthouses on Cape Cod, proud beacons whose lights flicker across the coast at night. Each lighthouse has a distinct character and history.
There’s even a blockbuster movie about Chatham Light, with scenes filmed in the town. The Finest Hours (2017) recounts the story of U.S. Coast Guard crewmen stationed at the lighthouse rescuing the crew of an oil tanker sheared in two by a storm.
16. Cape Cod Baseball League
Cape Cod is known for the Cape Cod Baseball League, where college baseballers compete among 10 teams all summer. Over 1,000 former players of the league have gone on to play professional baseball.
Heading to the local baseball field to watch a Cape League game is a classic plan for a summer night on the Cape. Games are free admission, operating off donations and time-honored tradition.
17. Choruses, bands, and music galore
On Friday nights in the summer, a park off Main Street comes alive with crowds gathered to watch the all-volunteer Chatham Band perform. With over a century of history, Bandtime in Chatham is a staple of Cape Cod’s musical culture.
But it’s not the only musical group on the peninsula. Cape Cod is famous for its several touring a capella groups such as Cape Harmony and Hyannis Sound. Across the Cape, you can find bands of every genre and even several orchestras that capture audiences across the island and score the soundtrack to a summer of memories.
In my mom’s words, a trip to the Cape leaves you in a sort of “Cape Cod Coma,” where the warm sun, good food, better company, and summertime drinks leave you in comfortable, dreamlike peace. As lovely and magical of a place that it is, it’s no wonder that Cape Cod is known and famous for so many things.
Ever fallen into a Cape Cod Coma? Let us know what you think is special about the Cape in the comments.
I am from New Zealand, and have never been there, but something draws me to it, maybe because it has that magic feel about it. ever since I heard Patti Page sing the song.
Hi there,
I’m from Idaho and the first time I visited Cape Cod I fell instantly in love. As someone who lives nowhere near an ocean I hate being so far away from this beautiful landscape. I find myself longing to go back every second of the day. I try to go back every year. It has been my goal to move to the east so I can be closer to the place I love so much. I’m a Cape Codder at heart.