Best way to go to the Cape without crossing the bridge

The North Shore just doesn't cut it for you: small beaches, rocks, or (at best) rocky sand, expensive parking, the vista bordered by a waste plant or bisected by flight paths to Logan, subzero water temperatures, and biting flies the size of peanut M&M's. What you crave is wide expanses of soft, sandy beachfront, ocean stretching as far as you can see, and water warm enough to swim in. In other words: the Cape. The only problem is a two-hour-plus drive that gets lengthened by the miles-long backup to get over the dread Sagamore or Bourne Bridges. What's a beachcomber to do?

Only an hour and 15 minutes from Boston, Horseneck Beach is a very attractive alternative. By late June the water is warm enough for extended swimming, and the miles of perfect sand continue past Horseneck's border on either side. Dunes overlook the beach -- how Cape is that? -- and piping plovers dart in and out of the sunning throngs. The state-owned expanse has multiple parking lots for $2 a day (we're not making that up), and one end of the beach has a snack bar, bathrooms, and showers. There's a gay section right in the middle of things (use the main entrance, go right, and it'll become perfectly clear). And the occasional backups on Route 88, during the middle of the hottest summer days, don't come close to the Sagamore gridlock. It's the perfect way to satisfy all your Cape cravings without the Cape headaches.

Horseneck Beach, Route 88, Westport Point. (508) 636-8816.