Yarmouth Port is a village on the north side of Cape Cod, and its main street, Route 6A, is one of the most beautiful old roads in New England. This is the Old King's Highway, laid out in the seventeenth century and lined with the houses of sea captains who made fortunes in the nineteenth. White clapboard mansions with widow's walks, grey shingled cottages and neat gardens sit behind low walls, and the whole village is a historic district. It is slow, quiet and handsome, and the pace seems to adjust you.
The captains' houses tell the story of the Cape's maritime age. The Captain Bangs Hallet House, built around 1840, is open as a museum, and Hallet's Store, with its old soda fountain, has been serving ice cream since 1889. Edward Gorey, the author and illustrator of strange, elegant, darkly comic books, lived in the village for years, and his old house is now a museum full of his drawings and his collections. Down at the bay, Gray's Beach has a boardwalk across the marsh and a long, shallow shore that is warm in summer and ideal for children.
For a rider, the road demands the right mood. The speed limit is low, the lanes are narrow, and the road curves gently between stone walls and old trees. There are cyclists, walkers, and drivers admiring the houses, and local police take speed seriously. This is a ride for looking rather than racing. Traffic builds on summer weekends, with the Cape's bridges backing up at peak times, so go early in the morning or in autumn, when the light is soft and the crowds are gone.
Fuel is available in Hyannis and Yarmouth, a few minutes away, and the village has cafés and a few restaurants. Park and walk, because the details are lovely. Salt marsh smells, the creak of old signs and the occasional church bell make the stop an easy one.