Surf Drive Beach

Right off the Shining Sea Bikeway with views of Martha's Vineyard. Warmer sound-side water and a wide sandy beach. The bike path connection makes it easy to beach-hop without a car.

Surf Drive Beach is Falmouth's downtown beach — a wide stretch of Vineyard Sound sand a mile south of Main Street, accessible by car (resident-sticker lot), by foot from the village center, or most happily by bicycle via the Shining Sea Bikeway, which dead-ends at the beach's east edge. The water is warm sound water with a gentle slope; the swimming is great for kids, and the southwest afternoon breeze makes it one of the better Upper Cape windsurfing and small-craft sailing spots. The bathhouse and snack bar are old-school 1960s town-beach issue, all pleasingly weathered. Across the sound the Vineyard lies six miles south — Vineyard Haven harbor and West Chop are easy to pick out on clear days. The beach connects directly east to Bristol Beach and on to the Trunk River inlet, giving you a two-mile walking option. On summer weekday evenings the locals gather here to swim laps, picnic, and watch the sun set over the Knob.