BEACH FOR KIDS: Onset Beach on Onset Ave. Municipal parking available. Restrooms at the pier.
CAPE COD CANAL CRUISE: Hy-Line sails the Cape Cod Canal three times daily in season. Special family discount on 4pm cruise (1 child free w/ each paid adult ticket). 508-295-3883 · www.hy-linecruises.com
PLAYGROUND: Onset Avenue at Leonard Lopes Memorial Park. A great playground -- lots of things to keep the kids busy!
WATER WIZZ WATER PARK: Rts 6 & 28, Wareham (near Buzzards Bay), just 5 minutes off Rts. 25 & I-95. Considered by Yankee Magazine to be the best water park in New England, it’s only an 8 minute drive from the Bourne Bridge. There are water slides and pools geared to all ages and abilities -- including a fantastic wave pool and new attractions. Lockers are available for your gear and there is plenty of parking! The park is impeccably clean and meticulously run. Open daily all summer, beginning in June. Call for hours and information. 508-295-3255 · www.waterwizz.com
CARTLAND: Rte 28. Cartland has much to offer for family fun. The batting cages are very popular. Mini golf is always a hit, and this one is very child-friendly. The bumper boats and cart track are a blast! Cartland accommodates a range of ages -- even toddlers can have fun on the kiddie rides and a children’s railroad. 508-295-8360 · www.cartlandofcapecod.com
MARINE MAMMAL VISITOR’S CENTER: 120 Main St. The National Marine Life Center’s new center for stranded marine animals offers exhibits, activities, gifts, souvenirs and more. Free admission. 508-759-8722 · www.nmlc.org
ONSET CREATIVE ARTS ASSOC: Great offerings for kids -- from children's weaving, children's belts, beginning drawing and more. 508-295-1501
THERMOMETER MUSEUM: Undoubtedly one of the region’s more unique attractions, the world’s only, Guinness world record holding thermometer museum is located in the basement of collector and educator Richard T. Porter’s home. Incredibly, over 4,800 thermometers are on display. 49 Zarahemla Rd., Onset. Free admission. Open daily, call ahead for directions: 508-295-5504 · members.aol.com/thermometerman
RYAN FAMILY AMUSEMENTS = FAMILY FUN FOR EVERYONE! Each of Ryan's family entertainment centers feature bowling, candlepin and/or ten pin, a large game room filled with the hottest, coolest arcade and skill games and private party rooms for birthdays, company parties and group events. The centers, located on the Main Streets of Hyannis (508-775-3411), So. Yarmouth (508-394-5644) and Buzzards Bay (508-759-9892) offer clean, healthy FUN! Mystic Bowling, a state-of-the-art light and sound show that enhances your bowling experience is available in Hyannis and So. Yarmouth on Friday and Saturday nights. www.ryanfamily.com
CAPE COD BASEBALL LEAGUE: Catch a free baseball game with the Wareham Gatemen. See the Cape League special feature & baseball schedule in this issue of Kids on the Cape. www.capecodbaseball.org
Routes 6 and 28 join to make the famed Cranberry Highway, the road that links the villages of Onset, Wareham and Buzzards Bay. Located immediately west of the Bourne Bridge, the area boasts miles upon miles of shoreline interspersed with cranberry bogs, tranquil harbors, herring runs, the Cape Cod Canal, and some of the Cape's best seafood establishments plus the big Water Wizz water park. Onset Village is an original Victorian seaside village. Victorian homes and gingerbread cottages border the wide sandy beaches in a gentle reminder of summers past.
