Best of Cape Cod

Cape Cod Beaches

Eastham

Eastham is an outer Cape coastal community featuring the Cape Cod beaches of the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and Cape Cod Bay to the west. The east side is comprised of the Cape Cod National Seashore. These are the raw, untamed beaches of the Atlantic, featuring big surf and cold water. Here you will find the beaches protected by high dunes, making beach access difficult for those who cannot climb stairs.

To the west are the Cape Cod beaches of the bay, featuring calm, placid waters, and miles of tidal flats at low tide...Ah, Eastham...The best of both worlds!

Eastham beach stickers can be purchased at the Recreation and Beach Department, located at 2500 State Highway in Eastham. For more information on Eastham beach stickers, call 508-240-5974. These stickers are for town beaches only. They are not for Cape Cod National Seashore beaches, however, if you pay to park at a National Seashore beach, save your reciept, because that entitles you to access any of the Cape Cod National Seashore beaches.

Campground Beach

Campground Beach is a small Cape Cod Bay beach with no amenities. A beach sticker is required for parking.

Directions: Take Massasoit Rd. off of Rt. 6.

Coast Guard Beach

When we think of Cape Cod beaches, Coast Guard is one that comes to mind. Coast Guard Beach is run by the Cape Cod National Seashore, and is recognized as one of the top ten beaches in America, that's right, top ten in America! Very popular with both local tourists and surfers, Coast Guard can get quite crowded, but if you are willing to walk, you can always find an uncrowded spot. There is no parking at the beach, except for disabled persons. All beachgoers are shuttled from seperate parking lots. We have found that by packing our bikes and parking at the Salt Pond Visitors Center, we can ride the couple of miles to the beach, and bike parking is free. Amenities include:

Restrooms

Showers

Lifeguards In-Season

$15 Daily Parking Fee

Directions: From Rt 6 Take Doane Rd at the Salt Pond Visitor Center and follow the signs.

Cooks Brook Beach

Cooks Brook is a Cape Cod Bay beach in North Eastham. There are restrooms and a beach sticker is required for parking.

Directions: Take Massasoit Rd. off of Rt. 6

First Encounter Beach

First Encounter get its name from the first encounter between Pilgrims and Native Americans before they landed at Plymouth Rock. This is a great Cape Cod Bay beach featuring warm, calm water and plenry of parking with easy access to the beach. A beach sticker is required for parking. Amenities include:

Restrooms

Lifeguards In-Season

Ice Cream Truck visits regularly

Directions: From Rt 6 take Samoset Road to its very end.

Nauset Light

Nauset Light is run by the Cape Cod National Seashore and is a wide Atlantic beach protected by a high dune bluff. Named for the lighthouse that once sat on top of the bluff, but had to be moved 300 feet back in 1996, due to advancing erosion. Another very popular Cape Cod beach with tourists and surfers. Amenities include:

Restrooms

Showers

Lifeguards In-Season

$15 Daily Parking Fee

Directions: From Route 6 in North Eastham take Nauset Rd. to Cable Rd.

Sunken Meadow Beach

Sunken Meadow is a Cape Cod Bay beach known for some good fishing. There are no amenities, and a beach sticker is required for parking.

Directions: In N. Eastham off Massasoit Rd.


Return to Cape Cod Beaches

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: add to BlinkBlink add to Del.icio.usDel.icio.us add to DiggDigg
add to FurlFurl add to GoogleGoogle add to SimpySimpy add to SpurlSpurl Bookmark at TechnoratiTechnorati add to YahooY! MyWeb

"A man may stand there and put all America behind him."

Henry David Thoreau

The great Outer Beach described by Thoreau in the 1800s is protected within the national seashore. Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape CodÂ’s past and continuing ways of life. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon today's visitors.


Salt Pond Visitor Center

No trip to Eastham would be complete without a stop a the Salt Pond Visitors Center located just off Route 6.
The National Park Service built the Salt Pond Visitor Center in 1965, and it has served close to 500,000 visitors annually ever since. It is Cape Cod National Seashore's main visitor facility, with orientation movies on the half hour, a well-stocked bookstore, a comprehensive museum and restroom facilities. Be sure to stop here before you visit the Cape Cod beaches of the National Seashore.

First Encounter Beach Eastham

Looking down the path to First Encounter Beach.

Nauset Lighthouse

Nauset Light had to be moved to its current location in order to protect it from advancing erosion.

Nauset Light Beach

A view of Nauset Light Beach from the top of the dune.



Cape Cod Bay Tidal Flats
Eastham features the Cape Cod beaches of the bay. When the tide goes out on these beaches, the flats can stretch more than a mile into Cape Cod Bay.

Cape Cod National Seashore
Eastham also features the untamed beaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore.