Unforgettable Cape Cod Vacations: The Gift of National Seashore
Take a captivating journey through the Cape Cod National Seashore with miles of white sand beaches, breathtaking trails and hikes, and majestic sand dunes. Keep reading and you can visit all those places right now.
Cape Cod National Seashore is a 4,308-acre park reserved by an act of Congress in 1961 to preserve and protect a unique geological area and New England wildlife habitat.
Cape Cod is about 60 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts. It was formed when the last glaciers to visit the region melted around 12,000 years ago leaving a large lake. Due to the special features and material surrounding the glacial lake, the water drained away exposing sediments and deposits left behind by glaciers from earlier times.
With rising sea levels and the devastating ocean protection provided by Georges Bank gone, nature began to reshape all of Cape Cod, especially the Atlantic area off the National Seashore.
The relentless shaping of the Cape continues even today. But this is the place to escape. This is the place to come to experience nature.
So let’s take a short vacation trip to Cape Cod together. Are you ready?
Nauset Beach …
The first stop on your trip is Nauset Beach in the city of Orleans.
The entrance to Nauset Beach is in East Orleans at the end of Beach Road, where there is a large parking lot. The lot is about 2 miles from routes 6 / 6A. During the summer months you will pay to use the lot.
Protection is the name of the game in Nauset not only for the dunes, but also for the birds that nest in the spring. Always pay close attention to beach erosion and bird nest protection signs anywhere on your Cape Cod vacation. Paying attention to signs means the area could still be here the next time you visit.
At the entrance to the beach you can turn left and walk. North, or take the South Walk turning right. Both walks offer spectacular views and hidden areas of the Cape that even many residents have not discovered. Time your hikes to be at low tide so that you can walk on exposed sand bars on the north walk, or have a dry crossing to Pochet Island on the south walk.
In the summer, Nauset Beach is very popular with vacationers, but there always seems to be room even during the busiest times. Swimming is good, but stay close to shore. It is the Atlantic Ocean, so it will be a little cooler than in the Cape cod bay side or the beaches of Nantucket Sound.
National Seashore Eastham Visitor Center …
The Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham is your next Cape Cod vacation stop. It will point you to the park and offers short films, a museum, and free maps for hiking and biking trails.
Note: The Salt Pond Visitor Center building has been closed for renovations since 2003. It is scheduled to reopen in 2005, in fact right now!
From the visitor center is the short and easy 1 mile Nauset Marsh Trail, which follows a path around the salt pond and Nauset Marsh before returning to the visitor center. It is a varied terrain of oily marsh, juniper and blueberry bushes, and a great place for bird watching due to the proximity of the swamp.
The salt pond itself is a glacial pond that was once fresh water, but the ocean has leaked out.
The Lighthouse Beaches …
Two wonderful beaches to visit in the Eastham area are Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach.
Coast Guard Beach can be reached by bike from the bike path from the Salt Pond Visitor Center, or by car from Nauset Road, off Route 6, directly past the Visitor Center; just follow the signs to the parking lot on Doane Road. This beach is one of my favorite walks in Low tide, and it was the area where Henry Beston wrote The outermost house. Sadly, the 1978 snowstorm washed away the cabin where he lived while writing the book, Out to Sea.
Yet another example of the impressive forces that continually sculpt Cape Cod’s national shoreline.
But here’s another beach gem for you …
Nauset Light Beach can be reached from Brackett Road, also from Route 6, and then Cable Road Y Ocean view unit. The parking lot is small and fills up quickly in the summer.
Near the beach is the Nauset lighthouse. Originally built in Chatham in the late 1800s, it was moved here shortly thereafter and relocated again in 1996 when cliff erosion threatened to topple the lighthouse.
The beach is popular for imposing and towering, clean cliffs White sandand walks that create a memorable Cape Cod vacation.
Great island hike in Wellfleet …
The Great Island hike in Wellfleet is a 6 mile hike, so allow yourself at least half a day to explore this wonderful area.
Located on the Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape in Wellfleet, drive to the trailhead at Checkset Neck Road and get ready – and the camera – for a thrilling hike. The area is quite open so take sunscreen and a hat.
What are you going to see?
Wonderful views of Wellfleet Harbor and Cape Cod Bay await you once on the island (innuendo: no longer an island).
Another clue: this is a true nature hike. There are not sandwich shop gold coke machine waiting for you at the end, so take your own snacks and drinks. Of all the trails in Cape Cod National Seashore Park, this is perhaps the most remote, and I like that!
On the island itself there used to be a secluded tavern used by Whalers and the like. Today there is nothing left of him, except a sign that marked the place where he was.
National Land Visitor Center of the Province of Costa …
The Province Lands Visitor Center is located off Route 6 and on Race Point Road. This is the north end of the park and marks our last stop together on this vacation trip to Cape Cod.
The Visitor Center itself has an observation deck where you can see the majestic surroundings of the ocean, Forestand the towering omnipresent dunes. The area includes two swimming beaches: Race Point and Herring Cove, one bike trail, and a for walk path. There is also a beautiful lighthouse at Race Point.
The bike trail is a challenging 5.25 mile loop that you can start from the visitor center. I would describe it as rolling around hills.
There are also a fair amount of hairpin turns, so helmets and a safe speed are a must. Believe me, the downhill sections are very challenging, but you can easily forget and misjudge oncoming bike traffic. I’ve seen a lot of tangled messes – yikes!
And that is the end of this short journey.
Woof! You did a lot in a few minutes, from your chair. But now is the time to do the real thing. Are you ready?