Locations and Landmarks Along the Race Route
Woods Hole center, as it once looked. Since 1973, the Falmouth Road Race has kicked off here, at the Captain Kidd Restaurant on Water Street. The first race had fewer than 100 participants, but by 1975 that number had jumped to almost 900.
As they leave Woods Hole, runners pass Little Harbor, in view of the ferry line from Woods Hole to Oak Bluffs. They might also glimpse the Airplane House, a striking Prairie School-style home built in the 1910s. True to its name, it seems about to take flight from its spot on Juniper Point.
Built in 1953, the Dome Restaurant is one of the Road Race's odder landmarks. It's one of Buckminster Fuller's first geodesic domes, and left its mark in Falmouth memory as a must-visit destination. Now unused, it peeks from the trees above the intersection of Woods Hole Road and Church Street, where runners turn to round Nobska Point.
A striking stone church overlooks the route on the east side of Little Harbor. Donated to the community in 1850 by cotton merchant Joseph Story Fay, the Church of the Messiah is the first Episcopal church on Cape Cod.
www.churchofthemessiahwoodshole.org || A brief history in Spritsail
As runners begin to round Nobska Point, one of Falmouth's favorite landmarks comes into view.
With Nobska Pond on one side and a view of Vineyard Sound on the other, runners make their way around Nobska Point toward the southernmost extreme of the race course.
The race course is known for its picturesque views, and Nobska Light is one shining example. There's been a lighthouse on Nobska Point since 1829, 144 years before the race's founding. Now deaccessioned, there are plans to establish a maritime history museum there.
A view down Mill Road, which connects Surf Drive to Falmouth center.
After turning slightly inland on Oyster Pond Road, runners come back to hug the coast on Surf Drive. This is one of the narrowest stretches of land on the course, bounded to the north by a string of small ponds and to the south by Katharine Lee Bates' "shining sea."
Once part of Falmouth's commercial lifeline, the Old Stone Dock has a much more unassuming presence these days. It marks the race course's turning point at the corner of Surf Drive and Shore Street, before the loop around the harbor and the final stretch in Falmouth Heights.
After the Old Stone Dock, runners follow Shore Street inland, preparing to make their loop around Falmouth Harbor.
Falmouth Harbor was created in 1907 by the dredging of Deacon's Pond. The race course follows it inland, passing waterfront restaurants, ferry depots, and other favorite spots like the Falmouth Yacht Club.
The Flying Bridge Restaurant, founded in 1983, overlooks Falmouth Harbor from the west. Runners pass it on Scranton Avenue, on their way around the harbor and into Falmouth Heights.
A view of Falmouth Heights, the race's endpoint, from across the harbor.
Clinton Avenue was split in two when Deacon's Pond was opened to become Falmouth Harbor. East of the harbor mouth, it picks up again briefly before widening into Grand Avenue.
Here comes the home stretch! The seaward side of Falmouth Heights, along Grand Avenue, is a long string of waterfront homes and businesses, many of which are staples of Falmouth history.
The Casino and Terrace Gables are both fixtures of the Heights waterfront, but Terrace Gables lives on only in memory.
The Heights waterfront has long been the place to get front row seats to the action - any action. Baseball games, civic events, the Road Race finish line - and on quiet days, that sweeping view of Vineyard Sound.
