Trip Planning. Looking for new things to do.

We will be staying in Sandwich June 7-14 and are looking for some things to do that we haven%26#39;t done before. I have a short list and was hoping for some suggestions from everyone.

Wellfleet drive-in. My kids have never been to a drive in theater so this will be a treat. Not sure if we will stay for the second feature. It depends on what will be playing and whether or not the kids will be asleep ;)http://www.wellfleetdrivein.com/index.htm

Rent bicycles and ride the Cape Rail Trail. Right now the plan is to pick up the bikes at a place right on the rail trail in Dennis and bike north to Nickerson State Park for a picnic and then back. If the ride isn%26#39;t too hard we may go further out towards the National Seashore before we turn around.

http://www.ccrailtrail.com/rentals.html

Campfire at Ballston Beach in the National Seashore. I think we will combine this with a trip to the lower cape for another activity. The campfire is FREE and has a Ranger on hand to talk about the Nat%26#39;l Seashore. It is about an hour back to Sandwich but we should be home by 10:00 which isn%26#39;t too bad. Did I mention it was FREE?

nps.gov/caco/…FamilyMayJune2008.pdf

Anything else you can share?

Trip Planning. Looking for new things to do.

Those are great ideas for your trip as long as you realize how far the Wellfleet Drive In is from Sandwich (at least 45 minutes....probably closer to an hour). The first feature won%26#39;t start until sundown which should be about 8:30 or later in early June.

The Cape Cod Rail Trail is fairly flat so you won%26#39;t have too much trouble with the Dennis to Nickerson ride. There are several sandwich shops along the way if you%26#39;d prefer not to pack in advance. Pushing on from there to the National Seashore is quite a long ride....not for anyone who isn%26#39;t in good shape or used to riding.

Trip Planning. Looking for new things to do.

Thank you very much!

I guess staying for the second feature will be out of the question but I won%26#39;t mind driving home while everyone else sleeps in the car!

We%26#39;ll have to wait and see if we are up to the extra trip on the bikes. My boys are 12 and 13 and not sure how much riding they want to do on vacation.

I just read another post on the Cape Cod boards that recommends the Little Capistrano bike shop in Eastham. Now I am waffling between a shorter drive to Dennis and bike to Nickerson State Park or the longer drive to Eastham and ride into the National Seashore.

If you have a bike rack: You can load your bikes and park at various parking areas along the bike trail, ride a bit of the bike trail, and then bicycle back to your car for the ride back to Sandwich.

Here%26#39;s a map of the trail:

www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/print/ccrt.pdf

Thanks fussy!

We are renting a minivan which wont have a bike rack. I believe I read another option that said some of the city busses have bike racks, but I don%26#39;t want to go there!

We may be able to take the middle seats out and gently cram the bikes in to drive to different parts of the bike trail.

Looking at the map it looks like it is a longer ride on the trail from Dennis to Nickerson SP than from Eastham all the way to the end of the Rail Trail.

I love the bike trail. We ride it in little bits. None of us are ';Tour de France'; bicyclists, we just take our time. We advise our friends to pick parts of the ride that are on the designated bike trail rather than the parts of the ride that take you through towns and traffic.(You can see what I mean on the map).

You%26#39;ll be sharing the trail with walkers, runners and in-line skaters..it gets a bit crowded in parts but it%26#39;s a fun thing to do.

One cool thing my parents used to take me to when I was younger was the Sandwich Fish Hatchery. They raise different types of trout to stock Massachusettsrivers and lakes. It is a pretty cool take...feed the fish...get outside...

fodors.com/world/…review-183871.html

Chip

The National Seashore will have programs starting memorial day weekend ... in addition to the camp fire you mentioned, they%26#39;ll have guided tours and exploratory type stuff. Last summer we did one at the Eastham Vistor%26#39;s center where the kids waded into the salt pond to look for critters.

Also ... if you are going that far to the Outer Cape, you might as well check out P-town. Consider a dune tour with ';Art%26#39;s Dune Tours'; Don%26#39;t know how old your kids are but mine always loved the %26#39;Critter Cruise%26#39; aboard the Viking Princess up to about age 10. That leaves from MacMillan Pier, if it%26#39;s there this year ... it%26#39;s worth looking for. Also in ptown, the %26#39;army-navy store%26#39; is always fun ... all sorts of surplus stuff and things --- shells, American Airlines dishes, US Navy Dishes, strange hats and bits of military uniforms from all over the world, etc, etc. www.ptownarmynavy.com

Have fun!!!

Also a visit to the Penny Patch (fudge shop/candy store) or Cabots when the old-fashioned automatic taffy wrapper is running would be fun, too.

If you decide to rent from Little Capistrano Bike Shop in Eastham you will have several biking options. Cross Rt. 6 at the Visitor%26#39;s Center light and bike to Coast Guard Beach along the bike trail. It is a short ride but hilly, not flat, so it should get you warmed up! Bike back to the rail trail and head south through Orleans, stop for an ice cream along the way, and head to Nickerson State Park. You can continue further south or head back north and go all the way to Wellfleet. There are ponds along the way, so bring your bathing suits and take a dip to cool off. Ride back to Eastham to drop off you bikes. Here are a couple of URLs that may help:

http://www.capecodbiketrails.com

http://capecodbike.com/