Cape Cod towns: Top things to see and do in Yarmouth
While many vacationers know Yarmouth for the busy strip of restaurants, motels and family-friendly activities on Route 28 near the southside beaches, the town offers a rich history of mills, trails, sea travel and more. There’s also an array of natural resources.
And it turns out, the history of the town (founded in 1639) might even be a little haunted — in a good way, Duncan Oliver, a past president of the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth, explained to the Times in 2020. Sometimes, the ghosts find their way into historical tours, with the society’s self-guided one listing 37 haunted locations.
“They’re fun ghosts,” he says. “There’s no such thing as a bad ghost on Cape Cod, and that makes it easier when you’re dealing with kids. It’s folklore more than anything else and superstition, and you just tie it in.”
Oliver says that the Hallett House supposedly has three ghosts, and because Anna (the captain’s wife) was economical, the lights turn on and off by themselves. The Ancient Cemetery is said to be haunted as well.
“If you're not a believer, you’re never going to see a ghost. If you are a believer, you’ll see them everywhere,” Oliver says.
Interested visitors can check out the self-guided ghost tour of Yarmouth here: https://bit.ly/2CaCMEz. And the town, of course, has more points of interest:
Some noteworthy beaches
Bass River (Smugglers) Beach at 220 South Shore Drive, South Yarmouth, offers soft sand, calm waters, places for boating and swimming plus a fishing pier. Or if you’d prefer to relax, watch the boats and look for shells, consider checking out Bay View Beach at 175 Bay View St.
What beach should you visit?: Cape Cod Beach Guide 2022
A place to hike or bike
The Cape Cod Rail Trail runs 25 miles from South Yarmouth to South Wellfleet. Offering plenty of space and largely shaded by trees, the Rail Trail can be enjoyed by the entire family. (Bike rental shops can be found along the trail.)
What the kids might like
There are mini golf choices along Route 28 in South Yarmouth, including Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf at 728 Main St, South Yarmouth or Skull Island Adventure Golf & Sports World, 934 Main St.
Looking for a treat?
Ice cream European-style can be found at Caffe Gelato Bertini (46 South St., South Yarmouth). Choose between dozens of flavors of gelato ranging from pumpkin to Cape Cod beach plum to kiwi to marscapone coffee crunch. If you're looking for the more typical ice cream, choices include Cape Cod Creamery, 5 Theatre Colony Road in South Yarmouth or Penguins Ice Cream Igloo at 519 Main St., West Yarmouth.
Where to see a sunset
Take in the sunset from the boardwalk at Gray’s (Bass Hole) Beach, at Center Street, Yarmouth.
On the Lower Cape: Cape Cod towns: Top things to see and do in Orleans
Fun museums to visit
The Whydah Pirate Museum, at 674 Route 28 in West Yarmouth since 2016, and its related facilities hold the largest collection of authenticated pirate artifacts from a single shipwreck, according to its website. Visitors can see what was there and learn about ongoing research into the pirates who lost their lives in the worst shipwreck off the Cape coast. Details and COVID-19 protocols: discoverpirates.com.
The Edward Gorey House (8 Strawberry Lane, Yarmouth Port is a museum dedicated to the author, illustrator and costume designer who won a Tony Award for costume design (and was nominated for set design) for “Dracula” and is widely known for the drawings on the introduction of PBS’s “Masterpiece Mystery.” Gorey published 116 pieces of work, including “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” and “The Doubtful Guest.” Information: 508-362-3909, edwardgoreyhouse.org.
On the Upper Cape: Cape Cod towns: Top things to see and do in Falmouth
Into sports?
If you’re interested in playing a shorter round of golf, consider checking out Bayberry Hills (365 West Yarmouth Road, West Yarmouth), which offers three different nine-hole courses (named The Winds, The Sands and The Links). Information: https://www.golfyarmouth.com/
Love the arts?
The Cultural Center of Cape Cod (307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth) has a steady schedule of art shows, concerts, art and cooking classes, other events and a shop in a community hub that grew from a former bank building. (One of the gallery spaces is The Vault.) Information: cultural-center.org.
Spot with a view
Enjoy a cup of clam chowder or other seafood at Skipper’s Chowder House (152 South Shore Road Dr., South Yarmouth) while taking in the views of Nantucket Sound. Established in 1936, Skipper’s is one of the oldest waterfront restaurants on Cape Cod. Information: https://skipperrestaurant.com/
Where the shops are
While Route 28 offers a lot of the restaurants and family-fun activities, the Route 6A area on the north side is the place to look for more quaint and unusual shops, some with local art or antiques. Just Picked Gifts at 13 Willow St. in Yarmouth Port stocks everything from books to beach towels to garden decorations (in what was the location of the original Christmas Tree Shops store). If you’re a book lover, just down the street is Parnassus Book Service (220 Route 6A, Yarmouth Port), which offers used books for a new read for the beach. Information: https://www.parnassusbooks.com/; https://www.facebook.com/parnassusbookservice/.
Claims to fame
Yarmouth ties as the oldest town to be incorporated on Cape Cod, in 1639. The Baxter Grist Mill, which has swans and a herring run at 151 Route 28 at Mill Pond, is the only surviving turbine water-powered mill remaining on Cape Cod.
Fact from the past
The Christmas Tree Shops chain began in Yarmouth Port in the 1950s as a store in a barn, selling ornaments and gifts at reasonable prices. It slowly grew locally, adding home decor, kitchenware, outdoor items and more (though the original name stayed) and in 2003, the stores became part of Bed, Bath and Beyond organization. Today, the chain is known as CTS and has dozens of stores in multiple states.
Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod towns: Top things to see and do in Yarmouth
