Cape Cod’s Sandy Shores - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 935

15. Highland Light
Also known as Cape Cod Light, this bright beacon has been warning ships away from the
treacherous sandbars found undersea off Truro's coast since 1857.
Theoriginallighthouse,erectedin1797,wastorndownwhenthebluffstartedtoerode.
Today its replacement is also on shaky ground, as the bluffs below it crumble slowly into
the sea and the ocean's waves undermine the shore. Just to the north is one of the Cape's
loveliestbeaches,HeadoftheMeadow.Togetthere,youcanreturntoRte.6anddriveeast
on Head of the Meadow Road.
16. Provincetown
Although Provincetown is the northernmost town on Cape Cod, it certainly is no lonely
outpost. P-town, as the locals affectionately call it, combines the jazziness of a small city
with the lazy charm of a coastal village. In summer the town's population multiplies ten-
fold,bringing together suchdiverse groupsassightseeing families, alargegaycommunity,
Portuguese-American fishermen, and bohemian painters hawking their wares.
Stroll the busy environs of Commercial Street, then watch the day's catch come in
along MacMillan Wharf, one of only three surviving piers out of the 59 that once lined
the harbor. (Throughout the mid-1880s Provincetown was known for a catch of a grander
scale: It was the nation's third-largest whaling center, after New Bedford and Nantucket.)
No tour would be complete, of course, without a visit to Pilgrim Memorial Monument,
built to commemorate the first landing of the Pilgrims here in 1620. From atop the
255-foot-high tower, a 360-degree view takes in the entire Upper Cape, the ocean, and
Cape Cod Bay from Provincetown to Plymouth.
17. Race Point Beach
Curving west on Rte. 6, the drive grazes the south shore of Pilgrim Lake, then jogs north
on Race Point Road at the Province Lands visitor center. Because Race Point Beach faces
northwest into the Atlantic, you can watch the sun here set into open ocean—perhaps the
only spot on the East Coast where such a feat is possible—a fitting end for one's first visit
to Cape Cod.