Outer Cape Dunes Road

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Orleans

   Orleans sits at the elbow of Cape Cod, where the arm of the peninsula bends north into the open Atlantic, and the sense of being at the edge of something begins here. It is a small town of about fifteen hundred year-round residents, with a handful of shops, a pleasant harbour at Rock Harbor and a few miles of beach on either side. The Cape Cod National Seashore, created in 1961 under President Kennedy, begins to the north in Eastham and runs along the outer shore for forty miles, a long line of high dunes, marsh and ocean beach.

   Read the complete Orleans write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Orleans is where the day begins. Next is Eastham.

2. 2. Eastham

   Route 6 runs down the length of Cape Cod like a spine, and in Eastham it finally stops pretending to be a highway. The trees get lower and scrubbier, the sky gets bigger, and somewhere around here you realise the land has narrowed to a strip of sand with the Atlantic on one side and Cape Cod Bay on the other. Eastham is the gateway to the Outer Cape, and it has the practical side of that job: a proper town of a few thousand year-round residents, with fuel, groceries and a decent chance of a coffee before you commit to the dunes.

   Read the complete Eastham write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Eastham comes up about 5 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wellfleet.

3. 3. Wellfleet

   Wellfleet is a small town on the outer arm of Cape Cod, where the land narrows and the Atlantic is never far away. It has a snug harbour on the bay side, with oyster beds on the flats, and a long, wild coast on the other, where the dunes and beaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore face the open ocean. The oysters here have been famous since the seventeenth century, and the briny, plump Wellfleet oyster is served in restaurants across the country. A plate of them at a harbourside bar, with a cold beer, is the thing to do.

   Read the complete Wellfleet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 20 km into the recorded legs you reach Wellfleet. Next is Truro.

4. 4. Truro

   Truro is the narrowest part of Cape Cod, where the land is so thin that you can see the ocean on one side and the bay on the other from the same low hill. It is a town of rolling dunes, scrub pine, heath and small cottages, with only a couple of thousand people living here year round, and a quiet that is unusual in this much-visited region. The Cape Cod National Seashore covers much of the town, protecting the dunes, cliffs and beaches, and the sense of space is wonderful.

   Read the complete Truro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Truro, late in the day. Next is Provincetown.

5. 5. Provincetown

   Provincetown sits on the very tip of Cape Cod, a hooked finger of sand and scrub curled into the Atlantic, and the road, Route 6, ends here because there is nowhere further to go. The town is a long, narrow strip between harbour and dunes, with one main street, Commercial Street, running along the water, and a population of about 2,600 that multiplies many times in summer. Truro, the next village back along the Cape, is much smaller and quieter.

   Read the complete Provincetown write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Provincetown. That is the ride.