For some of the best views overlooking Cape Cod, Fort Hill is a great place for visitors and locals alike. Now part of the National Seashore, the location provides the opportunity to walk through open fields and forests.

In a nod to its past, the entire Fort Hill Rural Historic District has a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Fort Hill dates back to the time the Pilgrims first settled in the area in the mid 1600s.

Likely used as a way to defend themselves from possible threats, scholars suspect Fort Hill was probably part of the plan to help protect an adjacent Pilgrim meetinghouse from the threats imposed by other European settlers. While the origin of it name is up for debate, other high points in settlements along the eastern

Photo: Chris Murphy

Set on the tip of Cape Cod, Nobska Light stands as a longtime tribute to the Falmouth area. First established in the 1800s, the historic light station now sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

Generations of Cape Cod residents and visitors have no doubt seen the light station, and now plans are underway to ensure it will be enjoyed for generations to come. A few years ago, the Friends of Nobska Light formed to help preserve the tower, keeper’s house and its grounds. That led to work on the lighthouse tower first.

Now the non-profit has turned its focus to a much larger renovation plan. Members recently kicked off phase one of their project, focused on making renovations to the old light keeper’s house.

The

Bordering Nantucket Sound, Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay, Falmouth offers up an excess of waterfront possibilities. In fact, you’ll find nearly 70 miles of seashore in Falmouth, including 12-miles worth of sand beaches.

Formed thousands of years ago by melting glaciers, small kettle ponds now dot the area. At just 44-square miles in size, Falmouth is home to both freshwater ponds and saltwater harbors.

Just like its residents did generations ago, many Falmouth businesses of today still depend on the sea, and the beaches still entice locals and visitors. While Falmouth’s Main Street is now filled with locally-owned shops and restaurants, you’ll also find plenty of history.

Some old homes still stand in Falmouth, including those constructed

The iconic Pilgrim Monument has been a part of Provincetown for about a century, but this historic landmark actually reflects a part of history that dates back nearly 400 years. The monument first began going up around the turn-of-the-century, but it was built to commemorate an important event several centuries before that.

The Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association built the monument in honor of the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing in Provincetown in 1620. It’s said the pilgrims spent about five weeks exploring the region before moving on to Plymouth.

Not only is the historic landmark an important Provincetown tourist attraction today, but it’s also important for understanding American history. Before leaving for Plymouth, the Pilgrims wrote

Now the destination of curious visitors to Cape Cod, the North Truro Air Station maintains a unique history. Spurred by Russia testing its first atomic bomb, the North Truro Air Station was born in the early 1950s. Its location was utilized to monitor Soviet bombers, as one of the first radar listening stations.

Decommissioned, however, in the mid 1990s at the end of the Cold War, most of the land of the abandoned military site came under control of the National Park Service, and part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Still though, its old barracks, officers’ quarters, buildings and even a bowling alley remain. While the radar dishes are no longer there, the concrete pads where they used to stand remain in the ground.

Some buildings have been

From museums to historic sites, restaurants to old inns, you’ll find it all as you explore the varied options of Sandwich Village. The oldest town on Cape Cod, Sandwich Village was first founded in the 1600s, named for Sandwich, England.

First settled by around 60 families, residents constructed a Town House and gristmill. The introduction of a large glass factory then led to a major boost in the town’s population, and set the stage for decades of progress.

Now some of the old historic homes and buildings house bed-and-breakfasts, while you’ll also find rebuilt properties adorned with furnishings with a nod to the town’s past. You’ll find antique furniture in old homes and old businesses, plus that famous Sandwich glass.

Many homes in the village display

Photo: Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism

A delightful location to ring in the holiday season on Cape Cod, you’ll want to consider making a holiday visit to Highfield Hall. Currently the Falmouth destination is filled with the holiday spirit, with music, food, and décor dedicated to paying tribute to the magical season ahead.

Holidays at Highfield is an annual event open to families of all ages. It provides the opportunity to shop for unique gifts for family and loved ones, plus sample holiday-themed treats and view interesting collections. There are also opportunities including everything from cookie decorating to visits with Santa and even a specially planned pajama story time.

While the holiday season is no doubt a special time to view the

Cape Cod is known for many things, including its incredible natural beauty and its history. Some of that history is proudly on display at the Sandwich Glass Museum, and with a unique twist.

While much of the Cape is renowned for its maritime history, the oldest town on the Cape has ties to glass, or more specifically glass manufacturing. That’s because the town of Sandwich, formerly tied to agriculture, eventually transitioned to a town heavily tied to the beginning of the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, founded in the area in 1825.

It’s said the company was a world leader in glass manufacturing during the early 19th century. While its factory has long since closed, these days it’s still possible to watch glassblowers create glass for tourists and

One of Cape Cod’s most prominent landmarks is closed for the time being. Truro’s Highland Light just closed down for at least a year, part of a $1.2 million project to address safety and structural concerns with the lighthouse.

Known as Cape Cod’s tallest and oldest lighthouse, the Highland Light currently sits on the National Register of Historic Places. Also known by some as Cape Cod Light, it is traditionally open for guided tours during select months of the year, with its grounds open all year long.

Owned by the National Park Service and part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, a non-profit operates the lighthouse as a tourist attraction, while the Coast Guard operates the light. It’s a landmark, though, that’s served Cape Cod for centuries, with

Much more than just unearthed treasures on display in a Cape Cod museum, the old Whydah pirate ship continues to attract interest, hundreds of years after it first disappeared. The galley ship came under control of pirates in the early 1700s, only to wreck during a powerful storm near Wellfleet, taking most of its crew down with it, and possibly its many treasures.

It’s said that up to five tons of pirated gold, silver and jewelry may have been onboard when the ship went down. Published reports suggest the ship’s wreckage scattered across four miles of coastline.

It’s suspected that locals likely quickly scoured the beach looking for some of that treasure, possibly even burying it in what’s now part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Much of that’s