Cape Cod seashore - A treasure in the national park system

There's much to see and many things to do on the Cape, but the Cape Cod seashore and its beaches are still the main draw.

Henry David Thoreau called the sandy stretch from Eastham to Provincetown "The Great Beach," and few would dispute that title. Towering cliffs carved into sand dunes, called scarps, overlook the beaches of fine sand along the Atlantic Ocean side of Outer Cape Cod. As the tide comes in, the Atlantic's strong waves provide hours of entertainment for swimmers and surfers. As the water recedes, it leaves behind colorful rocks and seashells for the beachcomber. The beaches are kept reasonably clean, and the water tends to be cold. Some say there is nothing else like the Cape Cod seashore in the world, with its beautiful sand dunes that in spots rise more than 100 feet above the beach.

The area that Thoreau described is part of The Cape Cod National Seashore, a designation authorized on Aug. 7, 1961, by a fan of Cape Cod, President John F. Kennedy. Although the 40-mile uninterrupted stretch of beach, the largest on the East Coast, is by far the lead attraction, the Seashore also includes hiking and biking trails, marshes, fresh- and salt-water ponds, forests, historic structures, and lighthouses. In all, the federally protected land includes more than 43,000 acres.

Highlights

Cape Cod Beaches - Six beaches along the Atlantic side of Cape Cod are part of the National Seashore - Coast Guard, Nauset Light, Marconi, Head of the Meadow, Herring Cove, and Race Point. There are additional town-managed beaches in the area along Cape Cod's bay side. All of the National Seashore beaches are staffed with lifeguards during the summer season, and all have restrooms. Seasonal passes to Cape Cod National Seashore beaches can be purchased at one of the two National Seashore visitor centers, in Eastham and Provincetown.

Marconi Station Site - Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi set up shop on the high cliffs overlooking what is now Marconi Beach in Wellfleet in the early 1900s to work on his project of sending wireless transmissions across the Atlantic. While repairs were being made to the Wellfleet station, Marconi sent a transmission across the seas from a station in Nova Scotia. But in 1903, Marconi sent historic messages back and forth from the U.S. President and the King of England from Wellfleet.

Great Island - Great Island in Wellfleet was a center of mariner activity in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, a walking trail winds around marshes, by sand dunes, and along Wellfleet Harbor. Measuring three miles one way, the trail is the National Seashore's largest and most difficult, and possibly the most scenic. It is one of 11 trails in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Lighthouses - There are seven lighthouses on Cape Cod that are still in operation and several more that have been decommissioned. The lighthouses in the National Seashore section of the Cape are the Three Sisters Lighthouses in Eastham, off Nauset Light Beach; Nauset Light, also by Nauset Light beach; and Highland Light, in North Truro. Visitors should check at the Salt Pond Visitor Center for information about tours of the Three Sisters and Nauset Light, or at Highland Light for tours of that facility. Also at Highland Light is a small museum.

Visitor Center Information

Salt Pond Visitor Center
U.S. Highway 6
Eastham, MA 02642
(508) 255-3421

Province Lands Visitor Center
Race Point Road
Provincetown, MA 02657
(508) 487-1256

Web Links

Cape Cod National Seashore - The National Park Service's Web site on the National Seashore

Author: C. Danko
Last update: