Cape Cod Weekend Getaway by Bike, Ferry and Train

CAPE COD WEEKEND GETAWAY

WEEKEND GETAWAY, 50-85 MILES

We begin with a high-speed ferry from Boston to the lovely, remote tip of the Cape, Provincetown. Surface streets carry you southward towards the vast National Seashore and Wellfleet, home to arguably the best oysters in the world, and to the starting point for the Cape's wonderful rail trail. We've found plenty of food and drink stops dotting your route south to Dennis, where the rail trail ends and more surface streets pick up your route west to Hyannis and the Cape Town Flyer, a bike-friendly train that will take you back to Boston.

+ Overview (click to open)

This Cape Cod bike route was curated for the novice rider and is meant to enjoy over 2-3 days.

TYPES OF BIKING

Quiet on-road riding out of Provincetown, unavoidable busy Route 6 that connects the upper cape to Wellfleet (but has a wide shoulder) and those that carry you the last western third of the trip to Hyannis, and of course the blissfully flat and quiet rail trail section. The northern portion of the Cape is more hilly than most realize, so in hot weather and with a loaded bike, you may need a lot more water than you think.

Cape Cod Rail Trail

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE, SAMPLE ITINERARIES

This weekend getaway is your's to customize but here are a few ideas:

  • Beach Bum - Take the ferry to Provincetown, hang out, bike around the lovely city, maybe a day trip to Truro and back, explore the beaches and Province Lands Bike Trail and then head back to Boston on the ferry.
  • 2 day Provincetown to Hyannis - Take the ferry to Provincetown and stay in Ptown or Truro. Saturday-bike 25 miles to Eastham or Orleans and spend the night with a side visit over to the National Seashore. Sunday - bike 25 miles to Hyannis and take the train home.
  • 2 day Hyannis to Provincetown - Take the train to Hyannis and simply reverse the itinerary above. The benefits of this itinerary is that you get to end with a coastal ride into Provincetown, which is a much nicer town than Hyannis.
  • Long Weekend - split the 50 miles into 3 days or add some detours to the Province Lands Bike Trail, National Seashore or the Old Colony Rail Trail to Chatham for a total of 83 miles.

Maps

Bikabout-Bike-Tour-Map-of-Cape-Cod-Weekend-Getaway-PDF.jpg
Cape Cod Rail Trail Interactive Bike Map (PDF)
$3.00

This PDF map is interactive with links to hotel reservations and Google maps if you need more information about the businesses or directions. Just hover your mouse over points and click.

Experience Cape Cod by bike, ferry and train. We begin with a high-speed ferry from Boston to the lovely, remote tip of the Cape, Provincetown. Surface streets carry you southward towards the vast National Seashore and Wellfleet, home to arguably the best oysters in the world, and to the starting point for the Cape's wonderful rail trail. We've found plenty of food and drink stops dotting your route south to Dennis, where the rail trail ends and more surface streets pick up your route west to Hyannis and the Cape Town Flyer, a bike-friendly train that will take you back to Boston.

Curated by founder, Megan Ramey

Route Details and Trip Planning Guide

Add To Cart
Bikabout-Bike-Tour-Map-of-Cape-Cod-Weekend-Getaway-avenza badge.jpg
Cape Cod Rail Trail Digital Bike Map (Avenza)
$4.99

This digital product includes an Avenza Map PDF of this trail. You can use the free Avenza Map app on your smart-phone while offline to track your progress (blue location dot) and annotate your trip.

Experience Cape Cod by bike, ferry and train. We begin with a high-speed ferry from Boston to the lovely, remote tip of the Cape, Provincetown. Surface streets carry you southward towards the vast National Seashore and Wellfleet, home to arguably the best oysters in the world, and to the starting point for the Cape's wonderful rail trail. We've found plenty of food and drink stops dotting your route south to Dennis, where the rail trail ends and more surface streets pick up your route west to Hyannis and the Cape Town Flyer, a bike-friendly train that will take you back to Boston.

Curated by Founder, Megan Ramey.

Route Details and Trip Planning Guide

Add To Cart

Google Map

Ride with GPS

+ Map, Bike Rentals and Packing List (click to open)

PRINTABLE MAP
Buy a printable map using the link above.

VOICE NAVIGATION

Download the RideWithGPS app to experience this route with voice navigation.

BIKE RENTALS

WHAT TO BRING? Ergo for Napping on Bike Reality check. Just like hiking or even car camping, less is more. Especially when you'll be lugging everything on your bike, we usually opt for the credit card style of tour (hotels, bnbs, eating out). But awesome if you can bike pack, too!

Bare essentials - sunblock, water bottle, change of clothes, swimsuit. If you have young children, make sure to figure out the napping while biking situation. Trailers are great for this and our special trick for front/rear child seats is using an Ergo baby carrier and pillow.

+ Transportation (click to open)

FERRIES

Bay State Cruise Company

  • Bay State Cruise Company

    FARES - One way fairs are $59 (adult), $39 (3-12 years), $23 (babies - don't shoot the messenger), $6 (bikes)
    DATES - May 16 - Oct 16
    FRIDAY - leaves World Trade Center at 8:30am, 1pm, 5:30pm
    SUNDAY - leaves Provincetown at 10:30am, 3pm, 7:30pm

Boston Harbor Cruises

  • Boston Harbor Cruises

    FARE - One way fairs are $58 (adult), $39 (3-12 years), $23 (babies - don't shoot the messenger), $6 (bikes)
    DATES - May 16 - Oct 10
    FRIDAY - leaves Long Wharf at 9am, 2pm, 6:30pm
    SUNDAY - leaves Provincetown at 11am, 4pm, 8:30pm

TRAIN

CapeFlyer train

  • CapeFLYER-bikes ride FREE!

    FARE - $22 one way
    DATES - Memorial Day to Labor Day
    FRIDAY - leaves South Station at 5:50pm
    SUNDAY - leaves Hyannis at 6:40pm

CapeFlyer's bike car is convenient for 3 reasons: 1) roll-on from the platform (no lifting), 2) floor and hanging bike storage and 3) IT'S NEXT TO THE BAR CAR!

CapeFlyer's bike car is convenient for 3 reasons: 1) roll-on from the platform (no lifting), 2) floor and hanging bike storage and 3) IT'S NEXT TO THE BAR CAR!

+ Lodging (click to open)

We curated these accommodations because they are conveniently located off the bike route. If you prefer maps like us, please check out the google map linked above to see their locations.

YURTS & CAMPING

HOSTELS Truro Hostel

$ HOTELS

$$ HOTELS Even'Tide Motel

$$$ HOTELS Ocean Edge Resort

"Hatch House" in Wellfleet, is a modern house you can rent. Photo credit to NYTimes

"Hatch House" in Wellfleet, is a modern house you can rent. Photo credit to NYTimes

+ Highlights (click to open)

PROVINCETOWN

A. PROVINCETOWN

Beaches and marsh land surround a small town at the very end of the cape, world famous for its food, art, and gay scene. You should definitely consider the early ferry so you can bike the Province Land bike trails!

B. WELLFLEET

Best known for its namesake oysters, Wellfleet is perhaps the quintessential cape town, full of sea food, beaches, and modern ’50s homes.

C. CAPE COD RAIL TRAIL

22 miles of flat, quiet, off-street trail riding between Wellfleet and Dennis.

D. CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE

This protected park encompasses the entire shoreline from the "elbow" of the cape at Chatham up and around Provincetown, eventually protecting over 43,000 square miles of beach.

+ Eats & Drinks (click to open)

WIRED PUPPY COFFEE Snowy Owl Coffee

  1. WIRED PUPPY, 379 Commercial St, Provincetown, 508-487-0017
    Pour over coffee, 7 days 6:30am-5:30pm
  2. HOT CHOCOLATE SPARROW, 5 Old Colony Way, Orleans, 508-240-2230
    Chocolate served hot and cold. Su-Th 6:30am-8:30pm / F-Sa 6:30am-10pm
  3. SNOWY OWL COFFEE ROASTERS, 2624 Main Street, Brewster, 415-640-1912
    Pourover coffee with free range chickens! M-F 6:30am-3pm (closed Wed), Sa-Su 7:30am-4pm

WINE, COCKTAILS, BREWERY

  1. TRURO VINEYARDS + SOUTH HOLLOW SPIRITS, 11 Shore Rd, North Truro, 508-487-6200

Truro Vineyards

  1. DEVIL'S PURSE BREWING, 120 Great Western Rd #3715, South Dennis, +1 508-694-7171

Salty Market MARKETS

  1. SALTY MARKET, 2 Highland Rd, Truro, 508-487-0711
    Groceries, gourmet deli and curated beer & wine. M-Sa 7am-9pm / Su 8am-9pm Main Street Wine & Gourmet
  2. MAIN STREET WINE & GOURMET, 42 Main St, Orleans, 508-255-1112
    Curated selection of wine and beer. M-Sa 10am-6pm / Su 12-5pm
  3. ORLEANS WHOLE FOOD STORE, 46 Main St, Orleans, 508-255-6540
    Hippy groceries and deli. M-Sa 8:30am-6pm / Su 9am-6pm

Ice Cream Cafe ICE CREAM

  1. BOB'S SUB & CONE, 814 US-6, South Wellfleet, 508-349-6181
    Trailside ice cream shop. 7 days 11am-10pm
  2. ICE CREAM CAFE, 5 S Orleans Rd, Orleans, 508-240-0003
    Homemade ice cream (V, GF)
  3. KATIE'S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM, 568 Main St, Hyannis, 508-771-6889
    "The Best Ice Cream on Cape Cod." 7 days 10:30am-11pm

RESTAURANTS Relish

  1. RELISH, 93 Commercial St, Provincetown, 508-487-8077
    Bakery, sandwiches and GF chocolate chip cookies. 7 days 7:30am-6pm
  2. THE WICKED OYSTER, 50 Main St, Wellfleet, 508-349-3455
    Wellfleet oysters, craft cocktails and also serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Th-M 7:30am-2pm, 5-9pm
  3. PJ'S FAMILY RESTAURANT, 2616 US-6, Wellfleet, 508-349-2126
    Family restaurant with GF rolls and seafood breadcrumbs. 7 days 11am-8:30pm
  4. PB BOULANGERIE BISTRO, 15 Lecount Hollow Rd, South Wellfleet, 508-349-1600
    Authentic French bakery. 7 days 7am-7pm PB Boulangerie Bistro
  5. RED BARN PIZZA & MORE, 4180 State Hwy, Eastham, 508-255-4500
    Pizza (GF). Su-Th 11am-8pm / F-Sa 11am-9pm
  6. HOLE IN ONE, 98 MA-6A, Orleans, 508-255-3740
    Donuts, bagels, bakery, breakfast & lunch. 7 days 5am-3pm
  7. FARE AND JUST KITCHEN, 2628 Main St, Brewster, +1 508-896-8804
    100% Plant-Based, Dedicated Gluten-Free & Peanut-Free! El Guapo's
  8. EL GUAPO'S, 239 Underpass Rd, Brewster, 508-896-3338
    Fresh, simple tacos with a cause. Eat Cake 4 Breakfast
  9. EAT CAKE 4 BREAKFAST, 302 Underpass Rd, Brewster, 508-896-4444
    Trailside bakery right next to a bike shop. Tu-Su 7am-2pm
  10. NAKED OYSTER BISTRO & RAW BAR, 410 Main St, Hyannis, 508-778-6500
    Oyster bar with barrel-aged spirits, local beer and seafood menu. 7 days, 12-3:30pm / 5-9:30pm
Naked Oyster, Hyannis

Naked Oyster, Hyannis

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