1. Bridge-Bourne Hotel
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (508) 759-0800, (800) 675-0008
Address: 100 Trowbridge Rd.
Description: Buses to and from Logan International Airport in Boston and the Woods Hole ferries to Martha’s Vineyard depart practically from the front door of the hotel. This 43-room hotel with modern rooms sits high above the Cape Cod Canal and features an indoor heated pool, hot tub, wireless Internet, complimentary continental breakfast, and eight deluxe suites with Jacuzzis and kitchenettes. Function rooms are available for weddings and other events, and the on-site dining is available at the Trowbridge Tavern & Ale House. Children 17 and younger stay free in their parents’ room. It is open year-round.
2. Bay View Campground
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (508) 759-7610
Address: 260 Rte. 28 (MacArthur Boulevard)
Description: Perched on one of the highest points of land on Cape Cod, this 425-site campground is a good spot to enjoy sunsets and take advantage of the recreational opportunities in the area. Bay View is 20 minutes by car from both Falmouth and Sandwich. Walkers, runners, and in-line skaters will enjoy the nearby canal bike path, while bargain hunters will appreciate the proximity to factory outlet stores. Bay View is popular with families. The campground has a range of facilities for every taste from shuffleboard to swimming pools. There is also a full-time recreation director who organizes daily activities, including teen dances and Wiffle Ball. Each site has a picnic table, fireplace, and water hookups, electricity (full hookup sites have 30 amps), sewer, and cable TV. Facilities include showers and toilets, ice, gas, and wood. You can buy RV supplies such as hoses and awnings at the office. The Top Dog eatery serves concession-style foods in season and on weekends, and wireless Internet access is available at the campground’s recreation building.The campground is open from May to mid-Oct. Reservations are accepted in early Feb for the upcoming season. The in-season rate for two people is $55 plus $5 for children younger than 18 and $10 for those 18 and older. The off-season rate—for May and June and Labor Day to Oct—is $43.
3. Bourne Scenic Park
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (508) 759-7873
Address: 370 Bourne Scenic Hwy. (U.S. Route 6 and
Description: Situated on the banks of the world’s widest sea-level canal, this 450-site facility offers shady woods and proximity to shops and grocery stores. And the scenery is extraordinary: gigantic white cruise ships and tankers glide past your campsite along the canal and occasionally give a massive blast on their horns. From the park, bikers and strollers have several access points to the popular canal bike path, where people push baby strollers, walk dogs, bike, and in-line skate all day long. In the summer, the park offers a waterslide, pig roast, and live entertainment, including bands and DJs. Operated by the Bourne Recreation Authority, the Scenic Park has electric and water hookups, a dump station, playgrounds, a recreation hall, a canalside picnic area, a basketball court, and activities for children throughout the summer. The country store sells basic supplies, including ice and wood. In season the rates are $39 per day with electricity hookup and $32 without, or $234/$192 for a week. In the off-season, a week stay costs $170 with electricity.
4. Bourne Health Center
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Health Care
Telephone: (508) 743-0322
Address: 1 Trowbridge Place
Description: Affiliated with Falmouth Hospital, this year-round, walk-in clinic has a physician on call at all times. Medical services include primary care, physical therapy, lab and X-ray, immunizations, and allergy injections. Major insurance and Medicare are accepted. Call for walk-in hours.
5. John Gallo Ice Arena
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (508) 759-8904
Address: 231 Sandwich Rd.
Description: Located along the Cape Cod Canal, the Gallo Ice Arena plays host to hockey schools, camps, and clinics, as well as figure-skating camps and public skating. There is a pro shop on-site. The arena is open year-round with free skating Sept to June. There is no free skating during the summer months due to camps and league play.
6. Rma Nautilus Racquetball & Fitness Center
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (508) 759-7111
Address: 130 MacArthur Blvd.
Description: This club has a full complement of Nautilus equipment and free weights plus cardiovascular equipment and racquetball courts. Soothe those aching muscles in the sauna, spa, and steam rooms.
7. Lobster Trap Restaurant
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (508) 759-3992
Address: 290 Shore Rd.
Description: Open from May through Columbus Day, the Lobster Trap is a busy lunch spot and is packed at dinnertime. On the menu are popular dishes such as fish and chips, broiled haddock, chowders, steamers, and, of course, lobster, as well as many other kinds of broiled, boiled, and fried seafood. Special treats may include such tasty dishes as broiled swordfish tips. Burgers and chicken dishes are also served. The restaurant has a casual atmosphere—diners eat on paper plates with plastic forks on a large deck overlooking scenic Buzzards Bay. This seasonal restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
8. Aptucxet Trading Post
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 759-8167
Address: 24 Aptucxet Rd.
Description: Aptucxet (pronounced Ap-tuc-set) is the site of a Pilgrim trading post, the first of its kind in the New World. Situated on the banks of what is now the Cape Cod Canal, this replica trading post (built in 1930) has displays that include a collection of prehistoric tools from the Wampanoag tribe and a rune stone supposedly chiseled by Vikings. Also on the grounds is a Victorian railroad station built by the Old Colony Railroad in 1892 for President Grover Cleveland (President Cleveland had a summer place in Bourne) and a Dutch-style Jefferson windmill shipped here from the Netherlands and once owned by 19th-century actor and Bourne resident Joseph Jefferson. The trading post is open Tues through Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun 2 to 5 p.m. from late May through Columbus Day, andby appointment in early May and late Oct. Groups of 10 or more can arrange special tours. Admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.50 for senior citizens, and $2.00 for children ages 6 to 18.
9. Briggs-Mcdermott House Andblacksmith Shop
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 759-6120
Address: 22 Sandwich Rd.
Description: This Greek Revival–style house, furnished with 1830-1910 period furniture, is maintained by the Bourne Society for Historic Preservation. On the National Register of Historic Places, the house is located across from the Bourne Public Library and is significant because it features a dazzling Charles Raleigh–painted ceiling, as well as some of his paintings. An adjacent blacksmith shop—a restored shop with working forge, artifacts, tools, and wagons—is said to be where President Grover Cleveland had his horses shod. The house and working blacksmith shop are open for tours from late June through the end of Aug on Tues and Sat from 1 to 4 p.m.
10. Jonathan Bourne Historical Center/Bourne Historical Society
City: Bourne, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (508) 759-8167
Address: 30 Keene St.
Description: This is a late 19th-century colonial Revival building of architectural significance, designed as a library by noted architect Henry Vaughn (1845-1917). There is an exhibition gallery with changing exhibits relating to the history of Bourne, including paintings, photographs, furniture, and other artifacts. The building also houses the Bourne Archives, which makes Bourne one of the few towns on the Cape with its own archive building. The house is open Mon and Tues from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Wed from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. There is no admission fee.