Scenic route?

Hi, first I have to say that this is a great forum. The Boston people who consistently provide insightful and detailed answers are amazing. My wife and I, also both teachers, will be driving from Toronto to your city for 4 days in July (15-18). You%26#39;ve already answered most of our Boston questions but I have one about leaving Boston. Our CAA route from Boston to the Cape takes Route 3. We are looking for a more scenic way of going south from Boston. We%26#39;d like to see some typical New England towns, back roads etc. on our way to the Cape and the view from the highway isn%26#39;t what we had in mind. Any suggestions for a more meandering and interesting route? Thanks and sorry for the meandering question.

Scenic route?

If you are going to the Cape, I would wait until you get over the bridge to explore all the back roads. There will be plenty here to see and not enough time.

You can take 3A from Quincy downn thru Cohassett and Scituate, Marshfield and Duxbury. This is nice but not nearly as nice as once you get over the bridge. It is all long and can be stop and go.

Scenic route?

Waiting til you%26#39;re over the bridge and actually on the Cape is better in that the side roads on the South Shore tend to wind and are badly marked. I%26#39;m thinking in particular of the intersection of 3A just after Wollaston Beach which turns a sharp right and then a sharp left past the Quincy Police station and is poorly signed.

But, you could take Rt 3 south to Rt 228 Rockland/Nantasket and zip down onto Nantasket Beach. Follow Nantasket Ave. all the way out to what%26#39;s called Hull Gut, and you end up with a really cool view of the Boston Harbor Islands from a southerly viewpoint. Backtrack a little out of Hull and you can get on 3A South towards Cohasset and Scituate, which have some lovely homes overlooking the Atlantic. Jerusalem Road and Atlantic Ave. are not 3A; look carefully on Google Maps to see how it all fits together.

Rt. 6A on the Cape is great. With low speed limits you can just putter along. Brewster and Dennis are especially nice. 6A does overlap with Rt. 6 for a short stretch between North Truro and Provincetown but it%26#39;s negligible.

Jerusalem Road in Hull/Cohasset and the drive up to Scituate are lovely.

3A is very long. You might go down the coast and then jump back onto 3.

Another nice place along the way is Plymouth...