Wholly Worth It
Woods Hole, Mass. is more than just a stopover
From May to October, Falmouth, Massachusetts’ sleepy seaside village of Woods Hole wakes up to welcome thousands of seasonal visitors. Many will just pass through on the way to Martha’s Vineyard—parking a car, grabbing a cup of chowder, and hustling to catch one of the Steamship Authority’s regularly departing ferries. These Vineyard travelers may think of the area only as a stopover, but Woods Hole boasts enough attractions to delight those with time enough to stay ashore.
Though the livelihoods of local business owners depend on the increase in visitors in the summer, year-round, Woods Hole is a scientists’ town. Jammed into its 2.16 square miles are numerous scientific organizations, including branches of the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Geological Survey, and the privately funded Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)—the organization behind the discovery of the Titanic in 1985. The resulting feel of the tiny community by the sea is decidedly hipster-meets-hippie intellectual, with a bit of old salt toughness stirred in.
Parking is extremely limited in “the Hole,” as locals call it, so if your not already planning on arriving by shuttle bus from one of the Steamship Authority’s many parking lots throughout Falmouth and beyond, two wheels may be a more convenient mode of transport than four. The Shining Sea Bikeway is a four-mile paved stretch of flat and friendly terrain that begins just outside Falmouth center and ends at the main Steamship Authority parking lot on Railroad Avenue in Woods Hole. Named after a line in the song “America The Beautiful,” written by Falmouth native Katharine Lee Bates, the scenic bikeway travels through the woods, past salt ponds and marshes, and along the ocean. If you’d rather not break a sweat, the charming Whoosh Trolley loops from Main Street in Falmouth to Woods Hole every twenty minutes in the summer ($1/ride, $3/day pass).
Whether arriving by car, bike, or trolley, Woods Hole’s attractions are easily navigable by foot and are generally located around Eel Pond, the small harbor in the middle of the village. If you pull into town in time for breakfast, the Pie in The Sky (10 Water St.) and Coffee Obsession (38 Water St.) offer baked goods, coffees, teas, and juices in cozy atmospheres complete with local art, funky employees behind the counters, and free wireless Internet access. If you take your fare to go, make sure to stroll by the post office (16 Water St.) for a postcard-worthy photo of its ever-blooming window boxes below the village’s name marked in gold gilt on the plate-glass windows.
For a sit-down breakfast, Fishmonger’s Café (56 Water St.) cooks up omelets and homemade muffins and is perched next to the tiny drawbridge that separates Eel Pond from Great Harbor. On the hour, the bridge raises to let boats, large and small, pass through. The process of closing the road and raising and lowering the bridge is undertaken by a single bridge-tender and often draws a crowd.
Just past the bridge you will see a marker that annually draws a crowd of a different sort. Outside the Captain Kidd Bar and Restaurant (77 Water St.), you will find a thick line painted from sidewalk to sidewalk indicating the starting point of the Falmouth Road Race. This thirty-five–year-old athletic tradition draws 10,000 runners and swells the town’s population in the beginning of August each year.
If there is a need for the requisite souvenir t-shirt, Sweats (6 Luscombe Ave.) provides the standard variety, but Howlingbird Studio (89 Water St.) creates designs with a local flare. For more than thirty years, the studio has sold t-shirts and other apparel with screened images of marine life such as horseshoe crabs and cuddlefish. For other homegrown keepsakes, Woods Hole Handworks (68 Water St.) is a cooperative gallery featuring unique items including jewelry, stained glass, and ceramics. Under the Sun (22 Water St.) also provides an outlet for local artisans.
The spirit of localism is strong in Woods Hole. The village’s businesses are all locally owned and residents like it that way. In 1996, McDonalds was set to move into the first floor of the Lee Side Restaurant (2 Luscombe Ave.). Locals were vehemently opposed to the chain opening and launched a campaign to voice their displeasure. T-shirts and buttons urging officials to “Keep Woods Hole Franchise-Free,” a parade, and legal action ensued. Eventually brothers Joe and Jamie Crowley, also owners of The Captain Kidd, purchased the Lee Side and eliminated the possibility of the golden arches glowing by the sea.
Being local though, is not a requirement for two of Woods Hole’s most popular summer residents. LuSeal and Coco, harbor seals who call the Woods Hole Science Aquarium (166 Water St.) home, were rescued after being stranded on the beaches of Maine. The pair draws large crowds to their twice-daily feedings and is quite popular with school groups. The small aquarium showcases animals from regional waters and welcomes visitors behind the scenes to interact not only with the staff, but also with snails, crabs, and other small creatures in two shallow “touch tanks.” Especially on a rainy day, the aquarium is widely considered a top attraction.
Another free draw lies away from the hustle of Water Street. Constructed in the 1880s, St. Joseph’s Bell Tower and its accompanying garden on Church Street overlook the boats tied up in Eel Pond. In line with the community’s scientific emphasis, the tower’s two bells are named Mendel and Pasteur.
After the walk back from the Bell Tower around Eel Pond, you’ll probably have worked up an appetite for lunch. To sit on the water with a view of the Steamship Authority ferries docking, and smaller vessels tying up at an arm’s length from your table, head to the Landfall Restaurant (3 Luscombe Ave.). Opened by David Estes in 1946, the restaurant is now run by his sons, Don and Jim and displays a mass of nautical décor. The classically New England menu features a clam chowder that shouldn’t be missed.
If a fresh squeezed cocktail and a quahog (a stuffed clam) are on your must-try list, walk down the cobblestone path off Water Street to Shuckers World Famous Raw Bar and Café (91a Water St.). The casual dining restaurant is located practically in Eel Pond and serves it’s own signature Nobska Light Beer, named for picturesque Nobska Lighthouse located just outside the heart of Woods Hole.
If your perfect Cape Cod day involves more lying on the beach and less exploring, Stoney Beach (Gosnold Rd.) is the place to get comfortable in the sand. A favorite among scientists, families, teenagers, and seniors alike, the beach is packed on the weekends, so plan to arrive early. If you do drive, a one-day Falmouth Town Beach sticker will cost you $20.00.
For the less adventurous, Woods Hole may never be anything more than the last bit of dry land on the way across Vineyard Sound. But for everyone from a family of five to someone looking to enjoy a cold cocktail on a hot summer day, Woods Hole brings a whole lot of choices to a Cape and Islands vacation.
See Woods Hole from three different perspectives on these free, guided walking tours. Reservations are recommended.
WHOI
Access to WHOI dock area and other restricted village facilities, background on WHOI history and research information.
(Late June through early September, M–F, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., 508-289-2252, information@whoi.edu.)
MBL
Video presentation, visit to Marine Resources Center to see research animals.
(Late June through the end of August. M–F, 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., off-season tours available upon request, 508-289-7623, comm@mbl.edu.)
Woods Hole Historical Museum
10 downloadable audio tours with photos and interviews.
Your Comments
Nothing yet.