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The Weekly

Notes from the coast,
written here.

Restaurants reopening, beaches worth the parking hassle, the shows worth a trip, the small things we'd only mention to a friend.

The latest
Stone gothic arches frame the Atlantic at Hammond Castle
4 min readOctober

The Week Before Halloween on Cape Ann

Hammond Castle is doing its last two weekends. The clam shacks are counting down. Here's what the week of October 19 actually looks like out here.

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Motif No. 1 fishing shack at Rockport harbor in clear daylight
4 min readOctober

Mid-October on Cape Ann: Peak Light, Thinning Crowds

The leaves inland are turning hard this week, the harbor is cold and clear, and the kitchen at your favorite spot is finally not slammed. This is the week to come.

A person walking a dog along a rocky Rockport beach with kayaks in the dunes
4 min readSeptember

Late September on Cape Ann: The Best Water Week

The crowds are gone and the ocean is still warm from August. This is the week we've been waiting for all summer.

Good Harbor Beach with sandbar exposed at low tide
4 min readSeptember

Mid-September on Cape Ann: The Coast Exhales

The Schooner Festival crowd has gone home and the water is still warm. This is the week the coast starts feeling like it belongs to us again.

Annisquam Light at golden hour from above the rocks
4 min readSeptember

Labor Day, and the Cape Ann We Wait All Year For

The Schooner Festival boats sailed home yesterday and the crowds are thinning by the hour. What comes next is the best six weeks on Cape Ann.

Eastern Point Lighthouse and breakwater at sunset
4 min readAugust

The Second Week of August on Cape Ann

August is at its fullest right now. Here's how to spend the week without fighting for a parking spot.

Humpback whale tail surfaces alongside a Gloucester whale-watch boat
4 min readJuly

The deep-summer week: what to do on Cape Ann July 20-26

Fiesta is over, Fourth of July is behind us, and the coast settles into its truest summer self. Here's what this week actually looks like.

Fireworks over Rockport harbor on a summer night, breakwater crowds visible
4 min readJuly

Fourth of July Week on Cape Ann: What to Do

Fiesta just wrapped, the Cape Ann Museum reopens tomorrow, and the Fourth lands on a Saturday this year. Here is how to spend the week.

The Man at the Wheel, Gloucester's fisherman memorial, against a dramatic evening sky
4 min readJune

Fiesta Week: What to Know Before You Go

Saint Peter's Fiesta starts Wednesday and runs through Sunday. Here's how to navigate the busiest week of the Gloucester year.

Saint Peter's Fiesta greasy pole tradition, Gloucester
4 min readJune

The Week Before Fiesta

Saint Peter's Fiesta starts a week from Wednesday. Here is how the harbor feels in the days leading up, and what else is happening while you wait.

A peek through an alley at Motif No. 1 with hydrangeas in bloom
4 min readSpring

The First Week of June on Cape Ann

Memorial Day is behind us and the real summer rhythm hasn't started yet. This is one of the best weeks of the year if you know how to use it.

The Man at the Wheel, Gloucester's fisherman memorial, against a dramatic evening sky
4 min readSpring

Memorial Day on Cape Ann: the harbor, the parade, the quiet after

Today is Memorial Day. Here is what the day actually looks like on Cape Ann, from the morning ceremony at the waterfront to the slower hours that follow.

Good Harbor Beach with sandbar exposed at low tide
4 min readSpring

Memorial Day Weekend: What's Actually Open

The unofficial start of summer lands this Saturday. Here's what's running, what's still finding its footing, and how to plan a weekend that doesn't fight the crowds.

Lobster traps and rope stacked on a working pier
4 min readSpring

What to do this week before the crowds arrive

The ten days before Memorial Day are the last quiet stretch of the season. Here is how we would spend a weekday afternoon.

Tucked-away Half Moon Beach in summer, granite ledges and quiet water
4 min readSpring

The Shoulder Week Before Memorial Day

The middle two weeks of May are the quietest stretch of the warm season on Cape Ann. Here is how to use them.

Drone aerial of Rockport harbor with Bearskin Neck and the breakwater
3 min readSpring

Planning the Memorial Day Weekend on Cape Ann

The long weekend is eleven days out. Here is what is open, what is worth booking now, and what the coast actually feels like in late May.

Stone arches at Hammond Castle frame the Atlantic, Magnolia
3 min readSpring

Hammond Castle Is Open Again, and May Is the Time to Go

The castle on the rocks opened two weeks ago and the summer crowds are still a month away. This is the window.

Colorful dories tied up alongside a pier
4 min readSpring

The Week the Water Warms Enough to Think About Boats

May's first full week is when Cape Ann shifts from looking at the water to getting on it. Here is what is open, what is starting, and what to do in between.

A sloop under sail on open water
4 min readSpring

The First Week of May on Cape Ann

The season tips this week. Whale boats run again, the castle opens its doors, and the coast remembers how to be busy.

Walking down Bearskin Neck on a quiet spring afternoon, Rockport
2 min readSpring

This Week on Cape Ann

Not a guide. Not an event calendar. Just a quick note on what the coast feels like in the third week of April 2026.

River herring running up the Essex River ladder
2 min readSpring

The Herring Run at Essex

Every April, a small river in Essex fills up with fish and the town turns out to watch. It is the oldest returning ritual on the North Shore, and most visitors have never heard of it.

Stone arches at Hammond Castle frame the Atlantic, Magnolia
2 min readSpring

The Gardens Are Waking Up

Cape Ann's public gardens and estate grounds open one after another through April. The first full week of the month is when it starts to be worth planning a day around them.

Cape Ann oysters on the half shell with lemon
3 min readDining

Spring Returns to the Table: Cape Ann's Dining Season Stirs Back to Life

Late March is when Cape Ann starts to turn over. Restaurant doors prop open, Main Street picks up, and the dining season activates.

Humpback whale tail surfaces alongside a Gloucester whale-watch boat
3 min readSpring

What to Do on Cape Ann This Spring

Spring on Cape Ann is short, but there's a lot packed into it this year. Stacked shows at The Cut, whale watches restarting, and the Cape Ann Museum's biggest exhibition in years.

Aerial view of Gloucester Harbor and the city neighborhoods
2 min readGloucester

St. Patrick's Weekend: The Half-Irish Side of Gloucester

Gloucester is famous for its Italian fishing families. It is also half-Irish. The weekend around St. Patrick's Day is the best time to see the other half.

The Man at the Wheel, Gloucester's fisherman memorial, against an evening sky
2 min readGloucester

A Day at the Fish Pier

Gloucester still lands fish. Not as much as it used to. Enough to make the pier one of the most honest places on the coast in any month.

Granite ledges at Rafe's Chasm under an early-spring sky
2 min readSpring

When the Ice Goes Out

There is a week in early March when the ice in the marshes finally breaks up and the first osprey comes back. The whole coast changes in three or four days.

Working trawlers tied up at the Gloucester fish pier
3 min readDining

The Winter Restaurants: Who Stays Open

Half the restaurants close for the season. The other half are the ones locals actually eat at. A field guide for late-winter visitors.

A family walking down Bearskin Neck in winter coats, Rockport
3 min readWinter

School Vacation Week Without a Lift Ticket

Most of New England goes north in February. Some of us go east. Here is how to spend a week on the coast with kids.

Eastern Point Lighthouse and breakwater at sunset, Gloucester
2 min readWinter

A Quieter Kind of Valentine's Weekend

Boston is a lovely city fifty-one weekends of the year. Valentine's is not one of them. Forty-five minutes north is a different proposition.

A Cape Ann lighthouse at dusk under a heavy sky
3 min readWinter

Storm Watching Is the Winter Sport of Cape Ann

Nor'easters come through the peninsula four or five times a winter. Here is where to watch them, and why you should.

A Cape Ann waterfront house with chimney and lit windows at golden hour
2 min readWinter

Where to Find a Fire on Cape Ann

A fireplace in late January is a small miracle. Here are the restaurants, bars, and corners worth driving for.

A schooner under sail on a quiet stretch of Gloucester Harbor
3 min readWinter

The Quiet Week: Cape Ann in Mid-January

The week after the last holiday light comes down is the quietest Cape Ann gets. Which is exactly the argument for coming now.

Motif No. 1 at Rockport harbor
3 min readRockport

A First-Timer's Guide to Rockport, MA: Bearskin Neck, Halibut Point & the Art Scene

Rockport is small enough to walk completely, beautiful enough to make you stop for photos every few minutes, and genuinely interesting in a way that has nothing to do with manufactured quaintness.

Good Harbor Beach with the sandbar exposed at low tide
3 min readGloucester

Gloucester Beaches: Good Harbor, Wingaersheek & What Nobody Tells You About Parking

America's oldest seaport has some of the best beaches on the Massachusetts coast. If you know how to plan your day, you'll spend it on the sand instead of circling the parking lot.

Annisquam Light at golden hour, Gloucester
4 min readCape Ann

Cape Ann vs. Cape Cod: How to Choose the Right Massachusetts Coast Trip

Massachusetts has two capes. Most people who haven't been to both assume Cape Cod is the obvious choice. Here's an honest comparison. The right answer depends entirely on your trip.

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