Dennis is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts which is coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 15,973 at the 2000 census.
Dennis spans the width of Cape Cod, with Cape Cod Bay to the north, Brewster to the northeast, Harwich to the southeast, Nantucket Sound to the south, and Yarmouth to the west. The town is about ten miles east of Barnstable, twenty-four miles east of the Sagamore Bridge, and seventy-eight miles southeast of Boston. The Town of Dennis is comprised of the villages of Dennis Port, Dennis Village (North Dennis), East Dennis, South Dennis and West Dennis.
The town lies on the eastern banks of the Bass River, which nearly divides the cape in half. There are several small ponds and lakes in town, as well as Sesuit Harbor to the north and West Dennis Harbor to the south. The area of Scargo Lake and Scargo Hill in Dennis Ancient Native American Legend of the Lake's creation were the inspiration for a Children's Book and American Folklore tale. When viewed from the tower atop Scargo Hill, the lake appears to be in almost perfect shape of a fish.
The Cape's Bay Colony Rail officially ends in the town.
The ending point is also the starting point of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a bicycle trail which runs "down" the Cape to Wellfleet along the former right-of-way of the rail. There are also several other bicycle trails in town. The nearest regional air service can be reached at the Barnstable Municipal Airport, and the nearest national and international air service can be reached at Logan International Airport in Boston.
All the public beaches in Dennis are owned by the town. The Northside Beaches are located on Cape Cod Bay, while Southside Beaches are located on Nantucket Sound. Some of them have different names for different entrances. On the Northside, Corporation Beach and Howes Street Beach are on the same strip of public beach.
Graphic sourced with thanks from http://www.masscities.com