Great Activities in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, MA

The Outer Cape is a gem, particularly if you live in New England. For us, the beauty is centered around Wellfleet, MA. It is so unique to be able to visit the bay, the ocean and clear kettle ponds in the same day. You can watch the sun set and the sun rise. You can eat well or just sit on beach and listen to the birds sing. I also think that it is a fantastic place to be a child and to bring your own. In fact, I have been coming here since I sat, eating grass (literally) when I was 1. Here are my list of family friendly favorites, including those that I have visited for 35 years and others that are more recent additions.The kettle ponds of Wellfleet are crystal clear, warm and gorgous. Long Pond is particularly good for families as there is it is very accessible. You can usually find parking and while shade is limited, there is a large grassy area that is perfect for picnics. For older children there is a dock for diving and jumping. Other ponds are more spectacular. Duck Pond is a hidden jewel if you don’t mind walking through the woods for about ½ mile. Great Pond has shade, though there is a walk down a hill. Gull Pond has a large dock with boat rentals.

Indian Neck Beach-this is a fantastic bay beach for children. At low tide you can collect shells, animals and beach comb for miles. At high tide, the water is calm and warm. You can watch birds, and beautiful boats. If you don’t have a beach permit, you can enjoy the bay beach at the Town Center at Mayo Beach. Another option is the lesser known beach at Lieutenants Island.Newcomb Hollow Ocean Beach. The ocean beaches of the Outer Cape are just spectacular with tall dunes, soft sand and dramatic waves. Newcomb Hollow is great for families with small children as it is fairly easy to walk down a slopping dune to get to the beach.

Wellfleet Harbor Square Dancing-for some real fun (seriously, it is a blast), head to Wellfleet Harbor on Wednesday nights and dance.

Wellfleet Audubon-a lovely place to explore for a few hours. They have a butterfly garden and nice walks.

The Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail-at the National Seashore, this 1.2 mile trail is on a boardwalk making it easy for strollers. It is also shady.

The Wellfleet Library-With a friendly staff, wireless Internet access, a lovely children's room filled with books, games, trains, puppets and more, this is our first choice for rainy (and even very sunny) days.

The town of Wellfleet itself. There are many wonderful art galleries here and a few nice children's stores. I prefer to walk around with my husband or mother, and leaving the kids at home so I don't need to worry about a beautiful piece of pottery being knocked to the ground.

Wellfleet Town Pier-this was redone recently, and you can now take a lovely stroll around, looking at boats, birds, the jetty. And, the best part for my kids-you can get ice cream at Mac's at the end of the pier.