Since my family lives in Falmouth, this is the town on the Cape that I am most familiar with.  Falmouth is one of the towns on the Cape that has an established year round population. Yes, there are tourists, but much of the town operates for the year round locals. 

Falmouth’s main street is one of the largest on the Cape. Spanning about half a mile, Falmouth’s downtown has a vast array of homegoods, clothing, souvenir, sport, and toy stores mixed in with eateries of all types.  Because this is more than just a tourist center, the shops are reasonably priced, and it’s easy to find staples as well as specialty items. 

Another center of commerce is Woods Hole; however, a visit here isn’t usually about the food and stores but about the science centers.  Woods Hole is home to the Woods Hole Oceanic Institute (WHOI). According to their website, they are the “world’s leading, independent non-profit organization dedicated to ocean research, exploration, and education.” While much of their space is closed off to the public, they have an aquarium and discovery center that are open and free (with a suggested donation). Both are small, but worth a stop. The Woods Hole Science Aquarium, which is the country’s oldest marine aquarium,  is made up of two floors. The first has a wall of tanks with a variety of local fish on one side and informational panels about the ocean on the other. The second floor is called “behind the scenes” because it brings you above the tanks and talks about the work of scientists at the aquarium. 

The Ocean Science Discovery Center is composed of videos, models, and informational panels talking about the tools and vessels that WHOI developed and used to explore the ocean.  One of the objects on display is their shark camera that shows the teeth marks of an attacking shark, and right above the camera is a video showing the attack in action. 

Parking at Woods Hole is very limited, so one way to visit the area is the Shining Sea Bikeway. Following the original route of the New Haven/Hartford railroad, the path is flat and hugs the coastline as it passes through conservation land for scenic views of the beaches, marshes, cranberry bogs, and the ocean.  The 11 mile bikeway goes from North Falmouth to the Steamship Authority parking lot in Woods Hole. The bikeway was named after a line in the song “America, the Beautiful”, which was written by Falmouth native Katharine Lee Bates. 

Just outside of Woods Hole is Nobska Lighthouse.  Looking out over the Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds, the Nobska Lighthouse has been in operation since the late 1800s. As I’ve said before, I always try to hit up at least one lighthouse when I’m along the coast, so here is my Falmouth one. Since the lighthouse is situated on a hill, it looks grand from below and offers nice views of the water around it. After being closed for renovations, the lighthouse has recently reopened to public tours: offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Another place with lovely views of the ocean is The Knob. Because it is a short hike (less than a mile) with great views, I often leave a little time before I head to my family’s place to take a walk here. There is a small wooded section that abuts Quissett harbor before the exposed sandy path along the peninsula out to the hill at the end (the knob). At the top of a short staircase is a bench to take in the panoramic views of Buzzard Bay with New Bedford in the distance. There are a series of staircases to access the shoreline in both the harbor and ocean side. One reason for these designated stairs is to make sure that people don’t disturb the boulder wall that is preventing the path from eroding.

Spohr Gardens was a surprise find for me during my latest visit to Falmouth.   Wooded trails meander through the hillside along Oyster Pond.  Until Margaret Spohr’s death in 2001, these were the private gardens of the Spohr family. However, Margaret and Charlie always loved to share their gardens with the public, so they made them officially public in their wills.  While I enjoyed beautiful flowers during my summer visit, the gardens are known for their extensive daffodil display in the spring.  They are also known for Charlie’s substantial collection of millstones and anchors. 70 millstones are spread throughout the gardens: some are used as steps, benches, or paving stones.  Anchors also dot the wooded paths, but the largest collection of them are laid out along the shore of Oyster Pond, including Charlie’s most prized 14 foot long 1760 English anchor called “The Bounty”. 

Another place to appreciate some gardens and wooded paths is the Highfield Hall and Gardens. While I have never been inside the house, I have enjoyed the gardens, music installations, art displays, and trails on their grounds. Highfield Hall’s art installations are site specific and work with the natural setting, which correlates to their mission to create a sense of place. Highfield Hall is also on the edge of Beebe woods, named after the Beebe family which created the estate, so it has been easy to extend my walk by picking up some of the Beebe wood’s trails from the property. 

My most recent visit also brought me to Coonamessett Farm for their weekly Jamaican Night.  While the farm stand is open any time to the public, the grounds are only open to members. However, during the summer, the farm hosts a Jamaican night every Wednesday where they offer a buffet and live music.  I could tell that some people were regulars as they brought tablecloths, lawn games, and refreshments to make the night more festive.  The food was delicious, the farm was beautiful in the evening light, the people were friendly, and the music was lively.