Planner’s Travel Series
About the series: Welcome to our ongoing travel series. These are all posts written by planning students and professionals about what to do in a given city when looking for Brunch, a Brew, or a good idea on a Budget. To cap it all off, we include a fun planning fact!
By Jen Farris
About the visit: Growing up, I spent a portion of my summers on Cape Cod visiting my grandparents and cousins. It has always been one of my favorite places to be and a summer doesn’t feel complete without a trip there. This year, I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks working remotely from the Cape. I am excited to share with you some of my favorite spots to visit:
Brunch
One of my favorite breakfast spots is Pie in the Sky. Located in Woods Hole, MA, this cafe is conveniently located near the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. Be prepared for long lines on weekends, but it is worth the wait. At Pie in the Sky, they roast their own coffee and bake their pastries in-house. As a self-proclaimed croissant enthusiast, I was pleased with their options.
Pro-tip: The best way to get here is by bike or bus! Extend your multi-modal journey by hopping on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.
Brew
This classic New England seafood shack is a local favorite. Grab a beer or cocktail and relax on their porch overlooking the Black River. They are rumored to have the best Mudslides in the area, but I am partial to a local brew. If you’re trying to eat as well as drink, I recommend either the fish and chips or the crab cake.
Budget
This was the first time I biked along the Shining Sea Bikeway and the trail certainly lived up to the hype. This ~11 mile bidirectional rail-trail multi-use path features scenic views of marshes, rivers, and the ocean at various portions of the ride. Plus, I saw a fantastic selection of dogs riding in their human’s bike baskets and trailers. One pup was even wearing a neon yellow visor!
I parked my car at the head of the trail in North Falmouth before bicycling south to Woods Hole for a pastry stop (see Brunch section above!). Afterwards, I continued back to Falmouth for a ~22 mile round trip. One thing I liked about this trail was that it felt accessible to people of different ages and abilities. The bikeway was very flat, had multiple entry points, and had benches placed along the path, which allows folks to customize their desired distance and intensity level. The trail is a bit narrow (only ~8ft), so on the weekend when the trail gets busy it is best to start early to avoid traffic.
There are several nearby bike rental shops if you are interested in exploring the path on two wheels.
Fun Planning Fact
After bicycling along the Shining Sea Bikeway, I learned of a proposal to extend the Shining Sea Bikeway to the Cape Cod Canal bike path. This proposed 6.5-mile shared-use path is one of many trail projects across the state that appear on the Priority Trails Network vision map released by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Massachusetts Trail Team.
According to the MassTrails webpage, the majority of MassTrails grants in recent years have been dedicated to extending and linking existing trails to create a cohesive trail network. Their interactive map highlights existing, under construction, and proposed trails across the state.
Featured Image: View of the Great Sippewisset Marsh
Photo Credit: Jen Farris
Jen is a third-year MCRP/MPH student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the Department of City and Regional Planning and Gillings School of Global Public Health. At UNC, she specializes in transportation and health behavior and is interested in how the built environment can shape community health outcomes. In her free time, she enjoys baking and befriending the neighborhood cats and chickens.