Truro, Massachusetts

• More about your oliver guide: Rachel Wynne
• Trip type: Family, Beach
• Activity level: easy
• Ideal length of trip: One or Two Weeks

to & from

Drive from Boston or during the summer there are regular Cape Air flights from Boston Logan and Provincetown Airport but better still, take the 90-minute ferry from Boston run by Bay State Cruise Company and Boston Harbor Cruises at the South Station. (Provincetown is 9 miles up the road).

Where to Stay

Rent for a week in Truro, but make *note* there is a difference between Truro and North Truro; staying in Truro you will not have to be on Rt 6 as much.

Where to Eat and Drink

Truro has just a few options for food and drink. We love our local market and restaurant. For more restaurants head out to Wellfleet and Provincetown.

• Jam’s Market: A Gourmet market with all of the essentials for a quick shop. Great sandwiches and baked goods for take away. It is a perfect beach town market.
• Blackfish: Really the only game in downtown Truro. Fantastic bar with friendly bartenders and always some sort of Boston team playing above the bar. The food is good and the atmosphere lively. I always order the lemon panko crusted sole with cauliflower mash and the dense chocolate cake with pretzel crust for dessert.
• Truro Vineyards: Up the road in North Truro heading to Ptown is Truro Vineyards and South Hollow Spirits (Rum and Gin). Really pretty place to visit. They have tours and you can picnic and play corn hole on their expansive lawn. They have a food truck and bar truck to sample the their libations.

What to Do

Think beach, beach and more beach in Truro…then throw in the occasional farmer’s market and studio visit and that sums up how summer flows on the Outer Cape.

• You need a beach sticker to go to most Truro Beaches. The local Beach office sells Resident and Non Resident beach stickers here.
• Due to shark activity in the area- Truro beaches are closely monitored for sharks and occasionally closed.

• Long Nook Beach- Incredible dunes and expansive beach. Depending on the year there can be great sandbars and pools at low tide.
• Ballston Beach- Beautiful and remote. My favorite beach on The Cape (or really anywhere).
• Corn Hill- (pay per day without sticker) Bay side beach. Can get crowded in summer months.
• Fischer Beach- Bay Side beach with a small amount of parking. Great place to watch the sunset. The Hopper house is perched on the hill overlooking this beach.
• Farmer’s Market- Downtown Truro (the market has moved to the Truro School for Summer 2020 due to Covid) every Monday Memorial Day to Labor Day Fantastic local produce, flowers, honey, lobster and much more. We stock up for the week here. There are also honor system Farm Stands all over town. The one on Longnook Road is great for tomatoes and I get my flowers from the stand on the right downtown as you approach the Rt 6 ramp heading south. Check out the incredible Sustainable Cape for more info about Farmer’s Markets up and down the Cape.  Labor Day they host a very popular Agriculture Fair.
• Golf Highland Links- Deep natural rough, Scotch broom, heath, non irrigated open fairways, and spectacular ocean views keep the course a genuine links, as close to the Scottish tradition found anywhere in the eastern United States.
• Live Music-  Check out the Payomet for their fantastic summer music series.
• Jobi Pottery https://jobipottery.com In North Truro off of Route 6, worth checking out this iconic pottery studio and gallery established in 1953 in Truro.
• Accent on Design Tucked away behind Jams in downtown Truro. This amazing little store has everything from one of a kind vintage jewelry to beautiful home furnishings. Amy, the shop owner, has an incredible eye and is very welcoming.

inside scoop

Check out the arts in town! Edward Hopper spent over 40 summers in Truro- ‘Hopper painted the Outer Cape’s ineffable light.’ Since that time many artist have become residents of this town or spend summers capturing the ‘Cape Cod light’. Open studios are the best way to view local artists works.

• Thomas A. D. Watson a year round resident of Truro paints incredible realist depictions of seascapes and outer Cape life. His studio is definitely worth a visit. Tuesday/Thursday 9-12 and by appointment 508.349.1631 http://thomasadwatson.com
• Amy Wynne, a painter, has been coming to Truro her entire life. Mostly painting plein air keeps her process fresh and recharges her color perception. You can often see her with her easel out in the elements in Truro. She also offers workshops in Truro. By appointment only. 401.651.6281
• Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill has served a single purpose for more than 45 years: to create an inclusive and supportive arts community by providing a wide range of artistic experiences to students at all levels of ability. Weekly classes in painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, jewelry and writing.

skip it

Skip the tourist traps along Route 6- whirly gig shops and bad lobster rolls. Drive the extra mile for the fresh local catch and beautiful beaches!

What to Pack

Bathing suits, flip flops, beach dresses, hats and sunscreen. Life is very casual in Truro. I did not realize my daughter had lost all of her sandals over the summer when we were departing for our Cape flight- so barefoot living is more than acceptable!

more...

Truro’s land is 75% designated National Seashore (thank you President Kennedy) , Truro is one of the most pristine and undeveloped little towns on the East Coast. Downtown consists of a Post Office, Gourmet Market and a restaurant- nothing more, nothing less. My dad always says- ‘blink and you will miss it.’ It is slow living in Truro, and that is the way we like it.