Woods Hole: a Cape Cod Treasure

It’s been over a decade since I first visited Cape Cod and back then, I, like so many, thought of the tiny hamlet of Woods Hole as a place to catch the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. Eventually, high winds forced the ferry to stay snug in the harbour. Seeking a lemonade from lemons moment, I decided to see what there was to see in the smallish confines of the coastal village.

After only a few steps down the main drag of Water Street, I saw a sign for the Woods Hole Oceanagraphic Institution’s Visitor Center. I knew of WHOI’s involvement with discovering the wreckage of the Titanic but that was about it. After spending some time in the center, I soon realized WHOI was a global force when it came to marine sciences and on the cutting edge as far as new discoveries in the remote and dangerous depths of the worlds oceans. Now more than ever, WHOI is integral to the health and well being of all marine life around the world.

As I walked on through town I walked past the Marine Biological Lab and its small village campus (there is also a WHOI Quissett Campus a few miles from town). I then came across the Woods Hole Science Aquarium at the west end of town, a joint operation of the National Marine Fisheries Services and the Marine Biology Lab, and decided to take a look around. I was surprised to find the admission was free and even more surprised at the quality and quantity of marine life and exhibits. A couple of non releasable harbor seals, in their state of the art pool out front and the touch tanks inside make this a must see for children.

After communing with the ocean life, I headed back up Water Street to a place I’d passed on the way down. The Captain Kidd is the kind of place mariners from around the world flock to after a long time at sea. It has all the necessities to make landlubbers and veteran sailors happy; a big old wooden bar, good food and great beer. There’s also a restaurant that I later found held its own when it came to seafood in a village that prides itself on good seafood.

In the following years, I made it over to Martha’s Vineyard a couple of more times but I never missed a chance to spend some quality time in Woods Hole. I’ve had the pleasure of dining at The Landfall where the atmosphere is always as good as the food, Fishmongers Cafe where the name says it all when it comes to seafood and the Leeside Bar and Grille where the pub grub is of the highest order. If so inclined, you could stay at the Woods Hole Inn on Water Street and have the makings for a really nice pub crawl at the places I’ve mentioned. When morning comes around, just go a few feet up Water Street to the Pie In The Sky Bakery, the hub of morning activity, and have a made to order egg on a popver or croissant or just have a cup of some very good coffee and watch the Woods Hole world go by.

The thing that really puts Wood Hole over the top is its location on Nantucket Sound. A drive out Church Street to Nobska Lighthouse and on up Shore Road provides some scenic views of the sound and the sailboat and ferry traffic. If you’re so inclined, the Shining Sea Bike Path that runs from Woods Hole to North Falmouth (about ten miles) is a good way to get the blood pumping and see some aspects of Falmouth and Woods Hole rarely seen by most visitors.


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