Cape Cod towns: Top things to see and do in Orleans
Dating back to the 1600s, Orleans was originally the South Parish or South Precinct of next-door-neighbor Eastham until becoming its own town in 1797, named for the Duke of Orleans in France.
Today, it’s the retail hub of the Lower Cape, the last stop just off the traffic circle known as the Orleans Rotary, where Route 6 switches from a four-lane highway to a two-lane road along the arm of the Outer Cape.
Why is Orleans worth a stop or a stay? Here are some ideas and highlights:
The outdoors
Orleans has access to the Atlantic Ocean, Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod Bay and Great Marsh and there are many ways to get out on ponds and to enjoy other waterways — enough that there has been a Celebrate Our Waterways festival in town. Fishing is also popular here, including taking a charter out of Rock Harbor.
Visitors can enjoy a stroll through Paw Wah Conservation Area (parking at 163 Namequoit Road, South Orleans) on a mile-long trail. Nature there includes white pine, pitch pine and Spartina grasses. For biking and walking, part of the Cape Cod Rail Trail extends through town.
Find a spot on the sand: Cape Cod Beach Guide 2022
A top beach
Expansive and gorgeous Nauset Beach (Beach Road) offers plenty of space and is known as a great spot for fishing, sunning and swimming. Try to arrive early in the day or late in the afternoon to secure a parking spot. (Fees apply in peak season.)
Spots with a view
Famous (so often busy) places for watching sunsets are Skaket Beach (West Road, Orleans) or Rock Harbor.
Eat and shop
Longtime Orleans favorite Land Ho (38 Main St., Orleans) has a wide range of options, including jalepeño poppers, club sandwiches and kinds of seafood. The Alley Bowling & BBQ, combines 12 bowling lanes, a 58-seat dining room, 11 55-inch TVs, and a kitchen that has become known for its barbecue.
The Rail is a new breakfast, lunch and cocktails place located in what was originally a 1930s-era cottage on the way to Nauset Beach.
Orleans’ downtown has a range of shops, including the longtime Snow’s (22 Main St., since 1887!), which carries items for home and gardens, outdoor furniture and more. Bird Watcher’s General Store (36 Route 6A, Orleans) has hummingbird feeders, bird houses, games, puzzles, books, journals and more.
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Goose Hummock Shops, which describes itself as “Cape Cod’s Largest Outdoor Outfitter,” (15 Route 6A, Orleans) offers rentals and sales of various watercraft and fishing gear that you might need before heading out to the water.
Worth a stop
Kids might enjoy swinging by Cape Escape Adventure Golf (14 Canal Road, Orleans) offers 18 holes of miniature golf complete with authentic fishing boats, waterfalls and a koi fish pond.
For ways to enjoy the arts, there’s Addison Art Gallery (43 South Orleans Road, Route 28), and shows at the revamped Academy of Performing Arts (120 Main St.).
More to see: Curious Cape Cod: A civilized hike in Orleans
If you're looking for a treat, Cottage Street Bakery (5 Cottage St., Orleans) has confections that include key lime pie, chocolate eclairs, peanut butter cookies, apricot almod bars and the “dirt bomb” — a house specialty nutmeg muffin dipped in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Historic claims to fame
The French Cable Station (which has its own museum at the corner of Cove Road and Route 28) was used by the government to communicate with France during World War I, and in 1927, the news of Charles Lindbergh landing in Paris passed through this station and was then shared with the rest of the country.
Orleans was the only site in the United States attacked by the enemy during World War I. A German submarine attacked a tugboat near Nauset Beach and the four barges it was towing. The barges were sunk, two people were injured and several shots hit the shore.
Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod town of Orleans: Top places to see, eat, shop, be outdoors
