Active Pursuits

Beaches

Dennis harbors more than a dozen saltwater and two freshwater beaches open to nonresidents. The bay beaches are charming and a big hit with families, who prize the easygoing surf, so soft it won't bring toddlers to their knees. The beaches on the sound tend to attract wall-to-wall families, but the parking lots are usually not too crowded, since so many beachgoers stay within walking distance. The lots charge $15 per day; for a weeklong permit ($55), visit Town Hall on Main Street in South Dennis (tel. 508/394-8300).

• Chapin Beach, off Route 6A in Dennis: This is a nice, long bay beach pocked with occasional boulders and surrounded by dunes. There is no lifeguard, but there are restrooms.

• Corporation Beach, off Route 6A in Dennis: Before it filled in with sand, this bay beach -- with wheelchair-accessible boardwalk, lifeguards, snack bar, restrooms, and a children's play area -- was once a packet landing owned by a shipbuilding corporation comprised of area residents.

• Mayflower Beach, off Route 6A in Dennis: This 1,200-foot bay beach has the necessary amenities, plus an accessible boardwalk. The tide pools attract lots of children.

• Scargo Lake in Dennis: This large kettle-hole pond (formed by a melting fragment of a glacier) has two pleasant beaches: Scargo Beach, accessible right off Route 6A, and Princess Beach, off Scargo Hill Road, where there are restrooms and a picnic area.

• West Dennis Beach, off Route 28 in West Dennis: This long (1/2-mile) but narrow beach along the sound has lifeguards, a playground, a snack bar, restrooms, and a special kite-flying area. The eastern end is reserved for residents; the western end tends, in any case, to be less packed.

Bicycling

The 25-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail (tel. 508/896-3491) starts -- or, depending on your perspective, ends -- here, on Route 134, a half-mile south of Route 6's Exit 9. Once a Penn Central track, this 8-foot-wide paved bikeway extends all the way to Wellfleet (with a few on-road lapses), passing through woods, marshes, and dunes. Sustenance is never too far off-trail, and plenty of bike shops dot the course. At the trail head is Bob's Bike Shop, 430 Rte. 134, South Dennis (tel. 508/760-4723), which rents bikes and in-line skates and does repairs. Rates are $12 for 2 hours and up to $24 for the full day. Another paved bike path runs along Old Bass Road, 3 1/2 miles north to Route 6A.

Boating

Located on the small and placid Swan River, Cape Cod Waterways, 16 Rte. 28, Dennisport (tel. 508/398-0080), rents canoes, kayaks, and paddleboats for exploring 200-acre Swan Pond (less than a mile north) or Nantucket Sound (2 miles south). A full-day kayak rental costs $58 for a single, $74 for a tandem.

Bass River Cruises, located at Bass River Bridge (at Rte. 28) in West Dennis (tel. 508/362-5555; www.capecodrivercruise.com), explores the Bass and Weir rivers the way Leif Eriksson might have -- by boat. This one, a poky but stable custom minibarge, the MV Starfish, is motorized, so the whole circuit takes only 1 1/2 hours. If some of the tales strike you as rather tall, there's still plenty of wildlife and prime real estate to ogle. Trips are offered four times a day mid-May through mid-October; tickets are $18 for adults and $7 for children ages 1 to 11. Call for the schedule.

Fishing

Fishing is allowed in Fresh Pond and Scargo Lake, where the catch includes trout and smallmouth bass; for a license (shellfishing is also permitted), visit Town Hall on Main Street in South Dennis (tel. 508/394-8300), or Riverview Bait and Tackle at 1273 Rte. 28 in South Yarmouth (tel. 508/394-1036). Plenty of people drop a line off the Bass River Bridge along Route 28 in West Dennis. Several charter boats operate out of the Northside Marina in East Dennis's Sesuit Harbor, including the Albatross (tel. 508/385-3244), which charges $32 for adults, $28 for children 11 and under and seniors. It makes two 4-hour trips per day.

Fitness/Jogging

For joggers, and fitness freaks in general, the 1.5-mile Lifecourse trail, located at Old Bass River and Access roads in South Dennis, features 20 exercise stations along its tree-shaded path.

Golf

The public is welcome to use two 18-hole championship courses: the hilly, par-71 Dennis Highlands on Old Bass River Road in Dennis and the even more challenging par-72 Dennis Pines on Golf Course Road in East Dennis. For information on either course, call tel. 508/385-8347. Both charge $60 for a round, less in the afternoons.

Nature & Wildlife Areas

Behind the town hall parking lot on Main Street in South Dennis, a half-mile walk along the Indian Lands Conservation Trail leads to the Bass River, where blue herons and kingfishers often take shelter. Dirt roads off South Street in East Dennis, beyond the Quivet Cemetery, lead to Crow's Pasture, a patchwork of marshes and dunes bordering the bay; this circular trail is about 2.5 miles round-trip.

Tennis

Public courts are located at the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in South Yarmouth and at Wixon Middle School on Route 134 in South Dennis; for details, contact the Dennis Recreation Department (tel. 508/394-8300). Or you may be able to book time at the Mashantum Tennis Club off Nobscusset Road in Dennis Village (tel. 508/385-7043), which has clay courts for $10 per person. Also try Sesuit Tennis Centre at 1389 Rte. 6A in East Dennis (tel. 508/385-2200). At Sesuit, singles and doubles are $25 per person.