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Cape Cod Traffic
The Worst Travel Days & Times

How bad is Cape Cod traffic ... really? 

I'm not going to sugar-coat it. During the summer months, especially on the weekends, traffic conditions can be downright ugly traveling on and off-Cape.
  

As much of a challenge as bridge traffic tie-ups might be, all will be well once you're here.

You'll just need a little patience behind the wheel in some notorious trouble spots on our Cape Cod roads, like:

• the Rt. 6 lane-drops in Harwich and Wellfleet
  
  
• the rotary in Orleans
  
  
• along Rt. 28 from Falmouth to Dennis.
  
  

Heavy Traffic Times in July and August

These are the travel days and times to avoid, if it's at all possible:

Coming to Cape Cod

• Friday - noon to 8 p.m.
  
  If you'll be arriving on Friday during the summer, try your best to get here before noon. Or wait until later in the evening. Anytime in between, I can just about guarantee you'll get stuck in heavy Cape Cod bridge traffic with the "weekenders" and daily business commuters.
  
  
• Saturday - 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  
  These are the hours when you absolutely, positively don't want to be approaching either of the two bridges onto Cape Cod. Saturday morning traffic coming to Cape Cod is right up there in nastiness quotient with departing traffic on Sunday afternoon.
  
  That's why it's super-important to plan your road trip right, and keep up with the latest traffic report, if you're driving to Cape  Cod on Saturday in July or August!
  
  
• Sunday - 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  
  Traffic coming across the bridges from the mainland is generally a little lighter on Sunday morning than it is on Saturday morning. But it still gets busy. Especially on warm sunny days, with lots of day-trippers coming to hang out at the beach.
  
  

Leaving for Home

• Saturday - 8 a.m. to Noon (or so)
  
  Traffic leaving Cape Cod on Saturday mornings is a lot busier than you might guess. That's because many visitors rent a house or cottage for their vacation. And most rentals run from Saturday to Saturday.
  
  So, just as lots and lots of people arrive on Saturday morning - lots of people leave on Saturday morning, too.
  
  
• Sunday - noon (or earlier) to 7 p.m.
  
  If I had to pick the worst of all times to try to leave Cape Cod, this would be it.
  
  Almost everyone who has to be back to work on Monday morning leaves sometime Sunday afternoon or early evening.
  
  FYI: Weather plays a big role in the Sunday exodus. If it's not a good beach day, traffic leaving Cape Cod on Sunday can get nasty as early as 9 or 10 a.m.
  
  

Off-Season Traffic

The day after Labor Day, it's like someone waved a magic wand. All of a sudden, it's quiet around here. The summer traffic has disappeared.

Our local roads get busy again on weekends through Columbus Day. That's when visitors come for one last day at the beach or to attend our fabulous September festivals and  special events in October.

But even then, it's still a heck of a lot less busy than a summer weekend.

From Columbus Day on, everything goes back to normal ... until late May when "the season" begins again.

Traffic on Holidays

These U.S. national holidays bring heavier than normal Cape Cod traffic:

When the official holiday falls on a Monday (Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day) traffic tends to be busy coming to Cape Cod on Friday afternoon/evening of the holiday weekend. Then it gets heavy again on Monday afternoon as visitors leave.

Related Pages:

Find Alternate Routes with this Detailed Map of Cape Cod

Driving to Cape Cod from Boston Logan Airport

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