Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

In the town of Harwich on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, it's all about the cranberry. You know, that little tart red fruit that you probably only eat at Thanksgiving? Well, it is the lifeblood of this traditional New England-style town. Harwich lies just north of the Nantucket Sound and west of Chatham. Vacation rentals here are either cottage or private homes. A Harwich vacation home can run from $1,000 per week up to $7,500 per week, and a cottage vacation rental might range between $550 and $2,200 a week in peak months. The cranberries will run you a lot less. Creating Harwich as your home base for a Cape Cod vacation is ideal. You have access to three harbours: Wychmere, Allen and Saquatucket, as well as Nantucket Sound and Pleasant Bay beaches. During the summer months, grab a ferry boat out of Saquatucket Harbor and head to Nantucket, and explore the lovely salt water beaches along Nantucket Sound. The historic Harwich Center and Harwich Port bring you a slice of Americana by offering up band concerts all summer long. There is also plenty of golf, fishing and even bike trails to keep you active and entertained during your stay.

The commercial growth of cranberries began in the Pleasant Lake part of Harwich in 1844, long after Native Americans introduced them to the European settlers. It remains a huge industry today, thus Harwich puts on a world class Cranberry Harvest Festival every September. This one of the Cape's oldest and most popular festivals, drawing over 100,000 visitors every year. With autumn and the turning of leaves right around the corner, this is an ideal time to visit Harwich, and hone your taste for cranberries. There are also twenty two fresh and salt water beaches from which to choose for relaxing and playing. A trip to Cape Cod really isn't complete without a visit to one of the museums either. In Harwich check out the Harwich Historical Society and learn all about Enoch Crosby, a simple shoemaker who spied on the loyalists during the Revolutionary War. This quaint little town, filled to the brim with cranberries, has plenty of history and activities to offer the Cape Cod visitor.