End of summer Cape Cod bucket list: Grab the fun while there's still time

Eric Williams, Cape Cod Times
·3 min read

In June, summer on Cape Cod looks like an endless party, with tons of time for frolicking, swimming and lounging on the beach like a basking seal. You think you'll get around to everything, scooping up joy in a giant sand pail. Heck, maybe summer will last forever!

Sadly, that's not the way it works. Suddenly Labor Day is riding into town on a motorcycle, with autumn in the sidecar. Thus, my friends, it's time to spring into action to grab all the summer fun you can. To help out, we've put together our semi-official "End of Summer Cape Cod Bucket List." Here we go!

Swim in a kettle pond

Kettle ponds in Wellfleet.
Kettle ponds in Wellfleet.

Sure, summer on Cape Cod is all about the beach. And for most folks that means plunking down on a sandy strand next to salt water.

But perhaps you have forgotten about the joys of bobbing around in one of the Cape's pristine kettle ponds? This is watery relaxation at its finest, especially when augmented by an inflatable seahorse or a neon-hued pool noodle.

According to the Association to Preserve Cape Cod "the "Cape’s natural ponds are the result of the glaciers that left this area 18,000 years ago. Chunks of glacial ice gouged depressions into the substrate, creating 'kettle ponds' that are recharged by rain and melting snow."

Keep in mind that beach stickers are still in play in most Cape towns until Labor Day or so. But you can always take a pond dip after about 5 p.m. I try to do it every day after work. My favorites are Long Pond and Great Pond in Wellfleet and Cliff Pond in Nickerson State Park (which still charges an entrance fee into October).

Eat fried oysters

The line starts to form for lunch at Mac’s On the Pier in Wellfleet.
The line starts to form for lunch at Mac’s On the Pier in Wellfleet.

I live in Wellfleet, surrounded by the best oysters in the world. Mostly, I eat them on the half shell, and I couldn't imagine anything more delicious than slurping 'em down raw.

But then, something odd and wonderful happened. A few years ago, back when I was emceeing the Shuck Off at the Wellfleet OysterFest, we gathered up hundreds of shucked oysters from the contest and brought them over to the back of the food tent, where a kindly fry cook sprang into action.

Well, that was it. All the other yummy foods I had eaten in my life were knocked down a peg. To this day, those fried oysters are the number one tastiest thing I have ever had the pleasure of consuming.

So, you gotta get some before summer is over. I suggest eating fried oysters at your favorite seasonal Cape Cod clam shack — it's a great way to savor summer!

Hike at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge

Quality time at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Chatham.
Quality time at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Chatham.

This falls into the "enjoy it before it's gone category." At least those were my thoughts when I spent a beautiful afternoon hiking the Morris Island Trail at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Chatham about a year ago.

I hadn't been there for a while, and it was shocking to see how erosion had taken a huge bite out of the bluff. In 2021, the Cape Cod Times reported that a 2017 break in a barrier beach that protected the area had unleashed erosion "from five to 10 feet a year in some locations, 40 feet in a year in others."

Lots of terrain has been munched by the sea, including a spectacular scenic overlook. The approach to the Morris Island Trail now involves walking through a lovely Chatham neighborhood to a path through the woods that heads down to the beach.

The beauty payoff is huge: vast rippled sand flats, blue sea and North Monomoy Island looming in the distance. Beyond the refuge's boundary, there is a publicly accessible peninsula that borders the entrance to Stage Harbor, so the whole walk can approach three miles or so, and it is worth every step.

Eric Williams, when not solving Curious Cape Cod mysteries, writes about a variety of ways to enjoy the Cape, the weather, wildlife and other subjects. Contact him at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @capecast.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: End of summer Cape Cod bucket list: Big fun before fall