Cape Cod Canal Region Vacation Rentals

Straddled by the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, the Cape Cod Canal connects Cape Cod Bay in the east and Buzzards Bay in the west. The canal is lined by the historic towns of Sandwich, Bourne, Wareham and Onset Village. These towns are perfect places to stay whether you're visiting Cape Cod, the South Coast or Buzzards Bay. They are ideally situated so that you have the option of enjoying recreation and leisurely pursuits in the canal towns themselves or making daytrips to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket or other parts of the Cape.

Within easy traveling distance from Boston, Providence and Connecticut's cities, Bourne and the other Cape Cod Canal region towns became summer destinations early on and remain so today. While perhaps not as renowned as destinations on Cape Cod like Provincetown and Hyannis, the towns of the Cape Cod Canal region offer the same amenities and similar attractions while letting you spend less time in Cape Cod's summer traffic congestion.

Renting a vacation home in the Cape Cod Canal region puts you close to numerous beaches. Besides relaxing on the beach you can go fishing, deep-sea fishing, swimming, whale watching, sailing or exploring the hike and bike trails. There is plenty of fresh seafood and other fine dining, and the area has many shops, from crafts to antiques.

Rentals in Bourne

Inhabited by colonists in the 1620s, Bourne was a locus of early trade between pilgrims and New York's Dutch settlers. As currency they used the white and purple parts of quahog clam shells and called it wampum. A reproduction of that early trading site, the Aptucxet Trading Post, can be visited today in Bourne Village.

For almost 40 years Bourne has been holding an annual scallop festival. Plan to visit Sept 21-23 for the 2007 event. The festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors and is one of New England's largest festivals under tents. The scallop festival has arts and crafts, live entertainment, rides and games for kids and, of course, seafood, from scallops to lobster rolls to clam chowder.

Summer rentals in Sandwich

The oldest town on the Cape, Sandwich was incorporated in 1639. Much of Sandwich's history is on display even when walking or driving through the town. Many of its 18th century inns and taverns are well preserved and maintained, appearing as they did in their early days.

Sandwich's main industry in the 1800s was making glassware, primarily at the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, but it has also been a place to accommodate travelers since before the Revolutionary War. Sandwich was an ideal spot to break up the trip when traveling from Boston to points farther on the Cape, especially Provincetown, way out on the Cape's tip. Staying at a summer rental in Sandwich will connect you with that town history.

You can see the highly valued Sandwich glassware on display at a musseum in Sandwich Village. In addition to that museum, there are other historic sites, antique shops and restaurants serving fresh seafood. Sandwich is a quiet town, perfect for a restful summer vacation.

Wareham house rentals and Onset vacation rentals

Onset is a historic Victorian village in Wareham that has been a vacation destination for nearly its entire existence. Connected to Boston by trains in the mid-18th century, hotels and cottages soon followed, luring vacationers from the city. It was also a stop for ferries that connected Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard with Woods Hole and New Bedford. The town boomed as a summer destination in the early 20th century and now presents a great alternative to the traffic and more crowded areas of the Cape.

Especially noteworthy events in Onset are its 4th of July fireworks and the illumination of the beach, also in July. The illumination of the beach involves the lighting of more than 1000 flares that line Buzzards Bay after the sun goes down. Besides hanging out on the beach, other popular activities are boating, fishing, golf and tennis. The village has a number of restaurants and shops for when you need a break from the beach.

Purchased by the Plymouth Colony in the 1660s, Wareham (then known as Agawam) developed from an agricultural area to a fishing center to the more industrial business of nail production. The only remaining nail company, Tremont Nail Company, is open daily for visits.

Cape Cod Canal Beaches

There are a number of beaches in the area, although many are small and private. Some of the more well-known beaches in the Cape Cod Canal region include: Monument Beach, Onset Beach, Sagamore Beach, Scusset Neck, Sandy Neck Beach and Sandwich Town beach.