Shell City – Your Ultimate Summer Escape! Brought to you by the Heart of Cape Cod, this bright and airy retreat on Lieutenant Island offers the perfect blend of adventure and relaxation. Spend summer days kayaking, biking, exploring tidal pools, and catching breathtaking sunsets. With a fun Wii game space a dog-friendly policy, it’s the ideal getaway for families. Come experience island life and make unforgettable Cape Cod memories!
I respect the autonomy of my guests and can easily be reached by facetime, email, text, carrier pigeon, smoke signal, or yodeling. Communication with guests is important to us. Please be sure you have app notifications turned on for your phone as this will be our means of communicating with you before, during, and after your stay. Our digital guidebooks contain directions, instructions, and access information. It is your responsibility to review this information prior to arrival.
Quiet cul-de-sac in a family oriented neighborhood where we all watch out for each other. We are great friends with our neighbors!
The island is accessed by one road and you must be aware of the tides that are above 10 feet. (Tides are on our website, provided in our guide, and available online at any time as well).
While many homeowners pay to have that pristine shell driveway, the road to Lieutenant Island is naturally lined with the white clamshells from the birds that drop their catch on the pavement to break open and retrieve the prize inside. At low tide, the landscape reveals itself as a soft bed of beach grass, marsh cuts, and valleys of mud banks rife with unseen sea life and shellfish, and a variety of birds searching for their next meal. At high tide, a brand-new landscape appears covering the entire area with water and offering new and beautiful views from your decks, living, and dining rooms.
Timing the tides right, you come across the old bridge to get onto the island. Here you enter a special place where you can relax your shoulders, rest your head, and literally feel the tension release from your body. Sunsets on the beaches, kayaking out of Deep Hole, “jumping the bridge” at high tide, or walks through the Mass Audubon’s Wildlife Sanctuary, Lieutenant Island is one of the most diverse and beautiful places on the Cape to stay.
Your entire family will enjoy our bright and comfortable home which can sleep up to 9 (plus overflow on a futon) and your furry family is welcome too. Beautiful marble countertops adorn the new kitchen with bright cabinetry and all the appliances you need for a gourmet meal. The dining table is perfect for game night or meals and with two sliding doors to the large wrap around deck, dining can be done inside or out! Most of the top floor is comprised of large windows and sliding glass doors that capture all the beauty the island has to offer. The dappled sun across the back of our soft, new sectional is the perfect place for an afternoon snooze and is large enough for movie night with the family as well. The window a/c units keep the house cool on the hottest of days while the breeze off the bay carries the cool, salty air through our home on others.
The master bedroom is bright and airy with a queen bed and en suite bath and a tub/shower combo. Off the living room is another half bath to serve the family’s needs throughout the days of fun during the stay. Down the stairs you will find the sunny laundry room with additional laundry sink and the back door that leads out to the outside shower and patio. Off the laundry room is the large second bedroom with its two additional full-size beds, dresser, wall-hung tv and hanging space for your clothing. Another sleek half bath is down the hall which leads to additional rooms for your family to relax and sleep in. The bunk beds will make the kids happy, along with an additional twin bed. Our home has Roku streaming tv’s in the living room and in most bedrooms so everyone has a space to get away to.
Come play for hours catching the crabs and minnows in the tidal pools, float with the tide in Loagy Bay, walk down to the beach to enjoy the sunsets, ride bikes to hop on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and enjoy ice cream in the evenings down at Bob’s Sub-n-Cone. Our home is ready for you to come and make memories to last a lifetime.
Highlights include:
- An award-winning, custom, state-of-the-art digital house guide with recommendations is provided for your visit.
- Dog Friendly with fee of $100 (limit 1 dog – must be over 1 year old). No birds, cats, hamsters, ferrets, chocolate Easter
bunnies, or pet rocks. Only a (one, uno, un, ichi, eguh, isa, otu, een, imwe, 1) dog that says woof.
- 7 night minimum in August
- Kayaks and 4 bikes available
- Gas grill & deck furniture for outside dining
- Walk to beaches
- Explore Loagy bay for shells or horseshoe crabs
- Bird-watching at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
- 5 Beds
o 1 Queen, 2 Fulls, 1Twin, 1 Bunk Bed (2 twins), 1 futon (for overflow)
- Luxurious linens, duvets, Turkish bath towel sets with charcoal infused bamboo wash cloths, and beach towels
provided (please inform if using the futon as linens are not onsite for this)
- Strong Wifi throughout
- Washer & Dryer
- 1 full & 2 half bathrooms plus huge outside shower
- Coffee bar with drip coffee maker, French Press, hot water kettle, regular and decaf coffee and an assortment of teas
provided
- Minimum age to book is 25 years of age
- Many vacation add-ons available such as Beach Cabanas, Pack-n-Plays, Farm Fresh Eggs, Romance Packages, Tours
and much more! Details provided after booking
- Our cleaning teams use thorough checklists, followed by sanitization and disinfection of high touch points throughout
the home. We follow CDC guidelines and use only approved EPA products for cleaning
The island is accessed by a bridge and the road may become covered in water if the tide exceeds 10 feet. You will see island residents and guests pull over to the side of the road waiting for the tide to recede sometimes. Depending on how high the tide is, it may only be 30 minutes or so before the road is tide-free (again, it depends on the tide).
For example:
First high tide is at 2:47 am and is 10.73 ft/Second high tide is at 3:05 pm and is 10.95 ft
Residents and guests with plans at 3:00 pm would simply arrive or leave between 2:00/2:30 (depending on the tide). If they miss the window, they simply wait 30/45 minutes until the tide recedes off the road. It isn't a big deal and a part of island life.
We understand that life happens and always recommend purchasing travel insurance for your vacation
Properties on Lieutenant Island are accessed via a short causeway that at times can be covered by water at high tide (two times a day for approximately one hour). A tide chart is provided to plan accordingly.
