Cohasset, Massachusetts, USA

Cohasset, Massachusetts is a small sea side town which, honestly, won’t take you long to tour if you’re in a car. You may, in fact, end up in Scituate or Hull and not realize it until a sign alerts you.

That said, Cohasset is a lovely town and the magnificent sea side homes make a leisurely drive through town worthwhile.

It was suggested to us (by our postmaster in Humarock) that we visit the harbor to view the duplicate top of the Minot’s Ledge Lighthouse. As the closest you can get to the actual lighthouse is by boat this is the next best thing. The little park also has a historical plaque, a monument to two lighthouse keepers lost during a storm and a couple of large bells. Very interesting are the circular forms used for fitting the pieces of the lighthouse together before it was permanently assembled at sea.


One note on the park: when we were there we encountered a lot of dog poo. In fact we encountered a lot of dog poo at every park we visited in the Boston area. I am not sure if this is common (we never observed anyone pick up poo after their dog made a “deposit”) or if it was due to the time of year (February-April, after winter). I will just say to watch your step in the parks.

Cohasset has many beautiful beaches, the most beautiful we saw being Sandy Beach. This beach is open to all but parking is by permit only. (This is common all along the South Shore. I found two great beach resource guides: South Shore Moms & Dads and Plymouth County’s website to help you find a beach with public parking.) I have no idea where you should park if you are not a resident…

We stopped in to French Memories Bakery for a pastry before wandering the village center. We did some window shopping at the three real estate brokers along South Main Street before wandering into Carmela Drew Fine Foods where we were heartily welcomed by co-owner Michelle Rizzo and her mother (Rizzo’s sister is also co-owner and her father bakes cookies specially for the shop. He makes a mean oatmeal chocolate chip.) This gem of a shop has fine cheeses, an amazing array of specialty foods & products, entrees & side dishes to take with you and even provides catering.

Carmela Drew is housed in the Samuel Bates House (as is Bia Bistro) and has two vacation rental units above it that we walked through. (The smaller of the two is listed here. I would inquire about the larger, 2 level unit if you need more space.) On the other side of Carmela Drew is Atlantic Bagels, which I have heard is the best bagel place outside of New York City. Having not had a bagel in New York City I’ll have to believe this until I learn otherwise.

Cohasset town center isn’t terribly large and it’s not a day-long destination unless you have plans to visit the beach. But it’s a great little stop if you’re touring the South Shore.

If you have a desire for Asian Food I suggest a stop at Feng Shui, on highway 3A. Located in a strip mall the restaurant was a surprise to us when we walked in as it was much nicer than the exterior led us to believe. The restaurant is quite kid friendly- the girls’ chocolate milks came with umbrellas which amused them to no end. The Feng Shui Sampler with shrimp, crab Rangoon, boneless spare ribs, beef skewers, chicken fingers, chicken wings & eggs rolls –which Doug ordered a double- was more food than we needed. The addition of my Orange Chicken and Doug’s Crispy Duck left us with enough food for the next day’s lunch. I also planned ahead, knowing my girls would be “done” after the appetizer, and ordered this kid friendly dessert. Feng Shui also has sushi & sashimi (the Feng Shui Love Boat is huge) and we fully intend to return for their buffet (available for lunch throughout the week and on Sunday evenings).