If you are considering Sandwich as a travel destination, you can plan your trip around three themes: glass and local history, garden and woodland trails, or experiences by the water. Each place offers a different focus. The Sandwich Glass Museum is dedicated to glassmaking, historic homes and a grist mill offer insights into local history, while gardens, woodland and coastal trails provide other options.
Glass, Automobiles and Local History
The Sandwich Glass Museum features exhibits on more than three centuries of glassmaking history. It offers a dedicated museum visit for an overview of this craft. Another collection can be found at Heritage Museums & Gardens: it includes 42 outstanding automobiles. The collection spans from the 1899 Winton to the 1965 Ford Country Squire Station Wagon. The two collections emphasize different things—on the one hand, the long history of glassmaking, and on the other, a period made tangible through specific vehicles.
Built around 1640, Hoxie House offers a glimpse of life in Sandwich in the 17th century. It stands on its original site and was fully and faithfully restored in 1959. At Dexter Grist Mill, the focus is on the history of a working grist mill. It offers a view of Lower Shawme Pond. Together, these sites offer different ways to explore local history: a 17th-century house, a mill and a glassmaking museum.
Gardens, Trails and Woodland
Heritage Museums & Gardens encompasses 100 acres of grounds and trails along the shore of Shawme Pond. Several miles of nature trails wind through the grounds. Those looking to combine a visit with time outdoors will find, alongside the automobile collection, a dedicated focus on gardens and trails. The Adventure Park at Heritage Museums & Gardens offers five treetop trails for adults and children aged 7 and older. Program details may change, so check the current offerings before your visit.
Shawme-Crowell State Forest offers a different landscape: this 700-acre forest consists of pitch pine and scrub oak. Sandwich therefore offers garden trails and a woodland area with a specified tree composition as distinct nature themes.
Coast and Waterfront Trails
At Scusset Beach State Reservation, 1.5 miles of shoreline run along the canal. Activities listed there include walking, running and cycling, as well as birdwatching, watching ships and picnicking. A 3,000-foot breakwater and a fishing pier add to the features of this stretch of coast. If you are choosing a visit based on what you can do on site, you can choose between getting active, observing your surroundings and taking a break with a picnic.
Town Neck Beach/Boardwalk runs from Town Neck Road to Wood Avenue. The Sandwich Boardwalk connects the village with Town Neck Beach; the reconstructed structure was completed in 2024. This connection differs from the stretch of shoreline along the canal: at Town Neck, the boardwalk leads from the village to the beach, while Scusset Beach State Reservation brings together the activities listed along the canal.
Free beach wheelchairs are available at Sandwich’s beaches. They are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and require a refundable deposit of $100. Availability is seasonal; check with the Recreation Department in advance. This lets you take this condition into account when planning without assuming that seasonal availability is guaranteed at all times.
Whether cultural history, nature trails or coastal trails are what draw you, Sandwich offers several clearly distinct themes for planning your trip. The museums and historic sites explore glassmaking, automobiles and life in earlier centuries; gardens, woodland and the shore offer other focuses. Choose based on the visits you would like to make the centerpiece of your trip.
Discover more destinations: Bourne, Harwich, Provincetown, Dennis, Brewster, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Mashpee
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