Every place below is listed and verified by Cape Cod Certified.
Visiting Cape Cod
Spend a perfect day in Harwich, Cape Cod — Wychmere Harbor at sunrise, Red River Beach, the Nantucket Fast Ferry, and a quiet evening in Harwich Port village.
Visiting Cape Cod
Steamship Authority vs Hy-Line, car vs walk-on, parking, standby lines — everything you need to get the Cape Cod ferry right in 2026. Real costs, real timing.
Visiting Cape Cod
A Cape Cod local ranks the 15 best lobster rolls of 2026 — with real prices, meat-per-ounce data, and the spots actually worth the wait or the drive.
Beach DayPrivate and small-group boat tours out of Harwich and into Chatham waters. Book a 90-minute sunset harbor cruise, a seal sighting excursion to Chatham Harbor, or a custom private charter for any occasion.
Beach DaySet sail aboard The White Shark out of Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich Port. This 45-passenger open-boat cruise features a full bar, handicap access, and restroom onboard. Daily departures Memorial Day through mid-October, including a 5pm Cocktail Cruise and evening Sunset Cruise.
Cape ClassicsDaily farm tours by advance reservation with a 35+ year cranberry grower in Harwich. See working bogs year-round, with the dramatic harvest flood (September through November) — when growers flood the bogs and bogs turn solid red — as the highlight.
Beach DayA 75-minute glide through quiet channels to the gray-seal colonies off Monomoy, with a naturalist on the history and wildlife. Family-run, departing Saquatucket Harbor.
Beach DayFamily-focused public fishing trips aboard the 65-foot Coast Guard–certified vessel Cap'n Kid, departing Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich Port. All equipment, bait, and experienced crew included. Multiple daily departures July through September — advance booking strongly recommended.
A tucked-away Nantucket Sound beach sitting just west of the iconic Wychmere Harbor in Harwich Port. Named for Dr. Merkel, whose family donated surrounding land to the town, it offers a quiet stretch of sand with harbor views. No parking on-site — walk or bike in for the best experience.
The largest beach in Harwich, stretching nearly a third of a mile along Nantucket Sound. South-facing with warm, gentle waters and soft sand, plus the town's biggest parking lot, lifeguards, restrooms, beach wheelchairs and mobile concessions. One of four beaches selling daily passes on-site.
A clean, family-friendly south-facing beach on Nantucket Sound with soft sand, warm ocean water and ample parking. Lifeguarded with restrooms, beach wheelchairs and mobile concessions, and one of four Harwich beaches that sell daily passes on-site.
A clean, family-friendly south-facing beach on Nantucket Sound with gentle, warm water and plenty of parking. Lifeguarded with restrooms, beach wheelchairs and mobile concessions, and one of four Harwich beaches selling daily passes on-site.
A popular Harwich Port beach with wonderfully soft sand and panoramic views of Nantucket Sound, within walking distance of Harwich Port shops and restaurants. Lifeguarded with restrooms, a bike rack, beach wheelchairs and mobile concessions; parking requires a season sticker (no daily passes sold here).
A small, quiet south-facing neighborhood beach on Nantucket Sound near the heart of Harwich Port, an easy walk from local shops and restaurants. Parking is very limited (about two spaces) and requires a season sticker, so most visitors arrive on foot or by bike.
Harwich's premier freshwater swimming beach on Long Pond, with calm, warm water that is ideal for young children and swimming lessons. Amenities include lifeguards, restrooms, a boat ramp, non-motorized craft launch, beach wheelchairs and mobile concessions; one of four beaches selling daily passes on-site.
A freshwater pond beach with calm, warm water and generous parking, popular with families. Amenities include restrooms, handicapped parking, a non-motorized craft launch and mobile concessions; a season sticker is required for parking (no daily passes sold on-site).
A small, quiet freshwater pond beach in East Harwich with calm water, suited to a peaceful swim away from the crowds. Parking is very limited (about two spaces) and requires a season sticker; there are no posted amenities on-site.
A scenic 1.8-mile loop along nearly half a mile of Monomoy River (locally called Muddy Creek) in East Harwich. The trail winds through forest with benches positioned over the river, ending at a distant view of Pleasant Bay. A birder's favorite for herons and shorebirds; dogs are not permitted on this preserve.
A 17-acre preserve with 1,400 feet of frontage on the headwaters of Muddy Creek, acquired by the Harwich Conservation Trust in 2017. A short loop trail passes through open meadow, shrub wetland, and wooded upland — a surprisingly diverse habitat for such a compact parcel. The trailhead is accessed from Church Street off Route 137.
259-acre conservation area surrounding the freshwater West Reservoir and brackish East Reservoir along the Herring River. About 2.75 miles of trails wind past sweeping salt marsh, tidal creeks, and wind-ruffled water. A premier birding spot for ospreys and black-crowned night herons; each April river herring climb the herring ladder at the west trailhead. Canoe/kayak launches near each trailhead.
57-acre town conservation area of open fields and woods, purchased in 1984 to protect groundwater feeding the adjacent public wellfield. About 2.75 miles of trails cross a mosaic of grassland and pitch-pine/red-cedar woods bisected by the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Popular with dog-walkers and birders thanks to its open-field habitat.
66-acre wetland and upland preserve where a 2025 eco-restoration returned retired cranberry bogs to free-flowing wetlands along Cold Brook, which runs from spring-fed Grassy Pond to Saquatucket Harbor. About 2 miles of trails cross the brook on berms in three places, and a half-mile wheelchair-accessible All Persons Trail loops the bogs. Home to 280+ plant species and a 44-box bluebird trail. Named for HCT founding trustee Robert F. Smith.
230-acre DCR-managed state park in Harwich's Six Ponds district, a 'hidden gem' of old Cape Cod. DCR maps about 2.3 miles of trails (more exist), a mix of dirt fire roads and singletrack looping around Hawksnest, Oliver's, and Black Ponds. Popular blue-rated mountain-biking singletrack ridable both directions, set among pitch-pine woods and clean-air lichens.
The Cape Cod Rail Trail is a 25.5-mile paved DCR rail trail running from Yarmouth to South Wellfleet; its Harwich stretch passes the Headwaters Drive trailhead and links to Thompson's Field and the Hinckleys Pond preserve. The smooth asphalt path is ideal for cyclists, walkers, runners, inline skaters, and strollers, winding past ponds and woodlands.
Newest HCT preserve, where a recently completed eco-restoration rewilded about 30 acres of retired cranberry bogs into thriving wetland at the headwaters of the Herring River. A roughly mile-long All Persons Trail loops the former bogs with an overlook at Hinckleys Pond and a direct connection to the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Prime river-herring spawning habitat and birding.
HCT nature preserve of former cranberry bogs and woodland along the Bank Street / Cold Brook corridor near the Herring River. Quiet walking trails wind among restored bog wetlands and ponds, offering water views and strong birding. Note: closely associated with the adjacent Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve restoration.