Outer Capemikes.beach.guide

Massachusetts · Cape Cod National Seashore

Outer Cape

Nauset Light, Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, and Marconi in Wellfleet — the Atlantic backside of the Outer Cape.

Family Surf

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Best stretches and who they’re for

Three National Seashore beaches, one pass, three different days. Nauset Light is the lighthouse and the pinch. Coast Guard is the family and wheelchair beach — in summer you park inland. Marconi is the overflow lot and the surf beach. Same ocean as Orleans Nauset and the Wellfleet hollows; not the same pass.

Outer Cape Beaches

Outer Cape beaches, north-up Atlantic Cape Cod Bay Wellfleet Harbor Route 6 P P Truro Wellfleet Eastham Orleans Nauset Marsh Salt Pond 1 Head of the Meadow 2 Wellfleet hollows 3 Marconi 4 Nauset Light 5 Coast Guard 6 Nauset Beach
  1. Head of the Meadow Directions same NPS pass · Truro
  2. Wellfleet hollows town beaches · Ocean View Drive
  3. Marconi Directions largest NPS lot · stairs · surf
  4. Nauset Light Directions lighthouse · 87 spaces · typically full by 10 am in summer
  5. Coast Guard Directions family · step-free · beach lot open to all Sept–late May
  6. Nauset Beach, Orleans Directions Orleans town lot · $35
  • Little Creek (368) is the summer Coast Guard lot; from September to late May, anyone can park at the Coast Guard beach lot. Nauset Light is 87 spaces, typically full by 10 am in summer. Marconi is 530.
  • One NPS pass covers Nauset Light, Little Creek, Marconi, and Head of the Meadow.
  • Nauset Beach, Orleans is a town $35 lot.
  • Wellfleet hollows take a Wellfleet town sticker — Maguire Landing, White Crest, Cahoon Hollow, Newcomb Hollow.
  • Route 6 is the spine. Fee booths are at the lots; fee collection has ended for the season.
  • Coast Guard is the beach-level ramp. Mid-June through Labor Day the beach lot is residents and handicap placards only.

Lighthouse · smallest lot

Nauset Light Beach

Eastham, NPS. Bluff-top lot at Ocean View Drive and Cable Road, one mile north of Coast Guard Directions. Typically fills by 10 am in summer. Vehicles over 20 feet are prohibited year-round in the lot and driveway. Drop-off and pickup are prohibited. Eastern face of the lot is closed (erosion buffer). 120 Nauset Light Beach Rd is the lighthouse address; park at the beach lot. Three Sisters is a short walk inland on Cable Road (small Cable Road lot). NPS lists the bathhouse and restrooms as seasonal; bring drinking water. This is not Nauset Beach, Orleans.

Family · step-free

Coast Guard Beach and Little Creek

Eastham, NPS — not Coast Guard Beach, Truro. From September to late May, anyone can park at the beach lot at the end of Doane Road Directions. The Little Creek shuttle has ended for the season. Mid-June through Labor Day, the beach lot is Eastham residents and handicap placards only; everyone else parks at Little Creek (368 spaces), 1.5 miles east of Salt Pond Visitor Center, 50 Nauset Road, via Nauset and Doane roads, and takes the shuttle. Drop-off at the beach is prohibited. The historic station is not open to the public. Limited accessible parking at the station lot (state plate or placard required). Tram closed to pets (working service animals excepted). From September to late May, anyone can park at the beach lot at the end of Doane Road.

Large lot · stairs · surf

Marconi Beach

Wellfleet, NPS. End of Marconi Beach Road, six miles north of Salt Pond off Route 6 Directions. 530 spaces. No official fill time. Stairs only — not the accessible or family-entry beach. 99 Marconi Site Road is park HQ, not the beach lot. 195 Marconi Station Road is the Cedar Swamp trailhead / station site — a different lot; no beach fee if you are only visiting the station. Wellfleet town stickers are not accepted. Official surf beach; still outside the lifeguarded swim area when guards are on. 15 mph lot-to-bathhouse. NPS lists the bathhouse and restrooms as seasonal.

Same day, different decision

These three change the day when an NPS lot is full or a GPS pin is wrong. They are not the same-pass home beaches — except Head of the Meadow, which is the same pass and not next door.

Name collision · $35

Nauset Beach, Orleans

Town of Orleans, Beach Road, East Orleans Directions. Same ocean, not Nauset Light. In season (weekends from May 23, then daily June 20–Labor Day in 2026): daily $35 (credit at Nauset; no cash) / weekly $165 / non-resident season $420, valid at Nauset or Skaket. Under the town’s 2026 rules, parking is free after Labor Day. Stickers do not guarantee entry if the lot is full. Bikes free. NPS pass not valid. Town oversand (Nauset Spit / Nauset Beach South) is Orleans, not the NPS Race Point corridor, and an OSV sticker does not include lot parking. NWS tides labeled “Nauset Beach” are the east-facing Cape tide line — not a direction to drive here.

Same pass · not next door

Head of the Meadow, Truro

NPS, 285 spaces. Same NPS / America the Beautiful pass Directions. Use when Nauset Light is full and you already paid NPS, or when you want officially gentler waves than Marconi and Nauset Light and will accept access over a tall dune. Often seaweed and large seal populations — higher shark-smart relevance. No tram. It is the next NPS ocean beach north after the Wellfleet hollows and Truro town beaches.

Town pass · north of Marconi

Wellfleet hollows

Ocean View Drive, immediately north of Marconi. Town-managed. NPS pass not valid. Official names: Maguire Landing at LeCount Hollow; White Crest (town high-surf; surfing permitted on the guarded portion); Cahoon Hollow (Beachcomber adjacent is a private lot); Newcomb Hollow (town’s more forgiving path / gentler surf / family). Permit season: 3rd Saturday in June–Labor Day, 9:00 am–5:00 pm. In summer, lots can fill by midday. The 2026 daily fee is not posted online. Federal tracts between Newcomb and White Crest, east of Ocean View Drive: alcohol closed May 20–September 10.

Not these beaches: Eastham bay (First Encounter, Campground, Cooks Brook, Wiley Park) is Cape Cod Bay — different water, different pass. Coast Guard Beach, Truro is a different, town-managed beach (name collision; it sits on the NPS oversand table). The NPS ORV corridor is Race Point to High Head in Provincetown–Truro.

Passes, parking & getting here

NPS fees — 2026, cashless, booths

  • No beach entrance fee is collected now. Fee collection and annual-pass sales have ended for the season at all six Seashore beaches: Coast Guard, Nauset Light, Marconi, Head of the Meadow, Race Point and Herring Cove. The prices below apply when collection resumes.
  • Private vehicle (daily) $25 — driver and passengers
  • Motorcycle (daily) $20
  • Walk / bike (age 16+) $15 — under 16 free
  • Cape Cod National Seashore annual $60 — any of the six fee beaches. Sold in person at the beach booths only, so it goes back on sale when fee collection resumes. Not sold at visitor centers or online. Little Creek Fee Booth is a listed in-person location
  • America the Beautiful Resident / Non-Resident annual $80 / $250 — physical or digital via Recreation.gov. Photo ID. Receipts are not a pass. This is the pass you can buy online
  • Senior annual / lifetime $20 / $80. Military, Access, 4th Grade, Volunteer as listed
  • Cashless at fee booths since July 1, 2025 (credit / debit / mobile). Beach booths: credit/debit only
  • Collected only at the six beaches, not at a park gate, in spring, summer and fall. The 2027 start date is not published yet

Updated Oct 19, 2026 · NPS fees and Current Park Conditions

Which lot takes which pass

  • Nauset Light, Little Creek, Marconi, Head of the Meadow — NPS daily / $60 park annual / America the Beautiful. Not Eastham visitor or $30 bay daily, not Wellfleet, not Orleans
  • Nauset Light town/taxpayer section — Eastham Taxpayer Seashore Sticker (free) in summer. A general NPS pass does not put you in taxpayer stalls
  • Coast Guard beach lot — September to late May, open to everyone. Mid-June through Labor Day, Eastham residents and handicap placard only; everyone else parks at Little Creek
  • Nauset Beach, Orleans — Orleans $35 / weekly / season. NPS pass not valid
  • Wellfleet hollows — Wellfleet town/visitor sticker. NPS pass not valid. No 2026 dollar amount here
  • Eastham bay — town taxpayer or visitor sticker, or $30 daily at Campground, Cooks Brook, First Encounter, Wiley Park (cash/check), June 20–Labor Day in 2026. Stickers and passes are not required now. Does nothing at the ocean NPS lots
  • Provincetown — town paid parking ends Mon Nov 2, 2026 and resumes May 1, 2027
  • Lots at Little Creek, Coast Guard, Nauset Light, and Marconi close overnight; the hours are posted at each lot
  • Salt Pond Visitor Center, 50 Nauset Road — orientation and fire-permit desk, open daily year-round. Park annual passes are not sold here

There is no visitor gate onto the Outer Cape. Route 6 is the spine. The fee booths are at the beach lots. NPS oversand permits are a Race Point, Provincetown product — they cannot be acquired for rental vehicles, and they are not how you swim at these three beaches.

Beach safety — who to trust

Skip tourism widgets, Surfline, and town Facebook. The Seashore does not run a staffed surf report. Use this stack:

  • Rip / surf / east-coast water temp / Atlantic-face tides — NWS BOX SRF for MAZ022 Barnstable east coast. Tides labeled “Nauset Beach” are the east-facing Cape line, not a pin for Orleans. Latest SRF · Surf-zone hub
  • Nearshore marine — ANZ254 (Provincetown to Chatham to Nantucket out 20 NM). ANZ254
  • Land / point forecast — MAZ022 Barnstable. Eastham ocean pin
  • Beach open / restrooms / shuttle-fee calendar / sharks — NPS Current Park Conditions, last updated Sept 24, 2026, says sharks are active in park waters through October. For flags, read the signs at the beach.
  • Beach flags — on the sand only. No official live web feed
  • Tide sensor — there is no NOAA gauge on the open sand at Nauset Light, Coast Guard, or Marconi. Wellfleet Harbor (8446613) and Chatham Lydia Cove (8447435) measure harbor water, with about 10 ft of range on a day the Nauset Beach surf forecast shows about 4–5 ft
  • Glance imagery, not a conditions source of record — USGS CoastCam at Marconi only (project page; half-hourly daylight, 10-minute delay; stale may mean offline). No official NPS webcam at Nauset Light or Coast Guard. The Nauset Beach cam on the NPS webcams page is Orleans, not Nauset Light. Head of the Meadow USGS cam is temporarily decommissioned

The vibe

These three are Cape Cod National Seashore Atlantic beaches: cold water, real surf, a glacial scarp or a spit, and a federal landscape that is allowed to move. If you learned “Cape Cod” on the bay — warmer, smaller chop, a town sticker, a snack bar — this is a different product.

Coast Guard is the gentlest access of the three, not bay-calm water. Nauset Light is the lighthouse poster under a steep scarp. Marconi is the large lot, the stairs, and the official surf beach. One NPS pass covers all three, plus Head of the Meadow in Truro. It does not cover Orleans Nauset or the Wellfleet town hollows.

On the sand

  • No official shade at these three. Bring your own, or plan on none.
  • Water is 60–70 °F in summer. Not the bay.
  • No lifeguards now. NPS guards the six Seashore beaches typically from late June through Labor Day (Sept 7 in 2026), so the Atlantic is unguarded until late June. NPS says sharks are active in park waters through October.
  • Rips are park-wide, not ranked by beach. Swim near a guard; exit parallel to shore. Flags on the sand: green / yellow / red / red no-swim / purple marine life / purple shark. There is no official live flag feed.
  • Surfing / SUP allowed on saltwater beaches; prohibited in the lifeguarded swimming area when guards are on. Marconi and White Crest are the official surf pitches.
  • Stay 150 feet from seals. Do not swim among them. Do not set up on Nauset Spit sandbars with hauled-out gray seals. A purple shark flag means a shark sighting. NPS cites white-shark bites since 2012 in waters off Truro and Wellfleet.
  • Pets: 6-foot leash; pack out waste. Not on the Coast Guard tram. The NPS seasonal pet closures (April 1–October 15) have ended for the year; signs and active closures on the beach still come first. Leashed pets are allowed on the Nauset bike trail November 1–April 30. In summer, pets stay off lifeguarded sand. More in Dogs this off-season.
  • No glass on beach or dune areas. No rafts / rubber tubes, snorkels / masks on lifeguarded beaches. No climbing slopes or dunes. No holes deeper than knee level. No bikes on beaches or dunes. No drones. No metal detectors. No public nudity. Smoking / ENDS prohibited on protected swim beaches when guards are on.
  • Fires need a free permit — 4 per day at each of Coast Guard, Nauset Light, and Marconi. Reserve up to 3 days ahead from 9 am, in person preferred, at Salt Pond, 508-255-3421 ext. 0. The permit desk gives the conditions for the date you book. Portable pits prohibited. Self-contained charcoal / gas grills OK without a permit.
  • There is no general alcohol ban at Nauset Light, Coast Guard (Eastham), or Marconi. Open alcohol is banned on the federal Cahoon Hollow tract (Newcomb–White Crest, east of Ocean View Drive) May 20–September 10. Town Wellfleet bans alcohol on town public lands. Glass is the injury rule.

What first-time visitors often get wrong

  • Bay vs Atlantic. First Encounter, Campground, Cooks Brook, and Wiley Park are Cape Cod Bay — warmer, calmer, a different pass. An Eastham $30 daily bought at a bay lot does nothing at the ocean NPS lots.
  • Nauset Light (Eastham, NPS) is not Nauset Beach (Orleans, town). GPS “Nauset Beach” often routes to Orleans. Different town, different $35 (2026) pass, different oversand rules.
  • Coast Guard Beach parking changes with the season. From September to late May, anyone can park at the beach lot at the end of Doane Road. Mid-June through Labor Day it is resident / handicap only, and everyone else parks at Little Creek and takes the shuttle, or bikes or walks from Salt Pond. Drop-off is prohibited.
  • August parking. Nauset Light is typically full by 10 am; it is the only beach with a posted fill time. Little Creek is larger (368) but finite. Marconi is largest (530) with no official fill time. Orleans stickers do not guarantee a space. Same-pass backups: Marconi or Head of the Meadow — and Head of the Meadow is not next door.
  • No lifeguards until late June. NPS guards typically end on Labor Day (Mon Sept 7 this year). NPS says sharks are active in park waters through October.
  • Cliff / stair access. Marconi is stairs only. Nauset Light is a downhill path on a steep scarp. Coast Guard is the accessible one. Vehicles over 20 ft cannot enter the Nauset Light driveway.
  • No official shade.
  • Cold water. Summer ocean 60–70 °F. Not Caribbean; not bay.
  • Rips. Park-wide. NWS Low / Moderate / High is for the Barnstable east coast, not a ranking of these three lots.
  • Coast Guard Beach, Truro is not Coast Guard Beach, Eastham.
  • Passes are not sold at visitor centers. The $60 park annual is sold only at the beach booths, which are closed for the season. Digital America the Beautiful via Recreation.gov is the online product. Cashless at the booths.
  • Dogs this fall. The NPS seasonal pet closures ended October 15. Most park walking trails stay closed to pets. Not on the Coast Guard tram.
  • Seals mean sharks. Stay 150 feet. Don’t swim among seals.

If you are already here

Pair a beach with one stop that is actually on this shore. Dated ranger programs are not online for 2026 — ask at Salt Pond.

Nauset Light

The tower at 120 Nauset Light Beach Rd Directions — that address is the light, not the beach lot. Park at the beach lot (fee or pass in season) and walk. Interior only during posted open-house hours (see Coming up). Grounds dawn to dusk.

Three Sisters

Short walk inland on Cable Road from Nauset Light. Small lot on the north side of Cable Road, or walk from the beach lot. Towers in original line, 150 feet apart. Grounds are visitable without a tour. Interiors historically closed except on guided tours — 2026 interior days are not posted. Call Salt Pond, 508-255-3421.

Marconi Station and Cedar Swamp

195 Marconi Station Road Directions — a different lot from Marconi Beach. No beach fee if you are only visiting the station. Observation platform and waysides; almost the entire 1903 wireless site has fallen onto the beach. Atlantic White Cedar Swamp is a 1.2-mile loop from the same road; no pets.

Salt Pond Visitor Center

50 Nauset Road, Eastham Directions. Open daily year-round; restrooms in the parking area are open year-round. Fire permits for Coast Guard, Nauset Light, and Marconi. Nauset Bicycle Trail to Coast Guard (1.6 mi); leashed pets are allowed on it November 1–April 30. Park annual passes are not sold here.

Province Lands and Highland Light

Province Lands Visitor Center, 171 Race Point Road, Provincetown, is closed for the season; its last day was Sat Oct 3. The restrooms in its parking area are open. The Highland Light building in Truro closes for the season on Sun Oct 25, 2026.

Notes before you pack

Names

Nauset Light is not Nauset Beach

Nauset Light Beach is Eastham, National Seashore, Ocean View Drive at Cable Road. Nauset Beach is Orleans, town-managed, $35 in 2026, NPS pass not valid. If your pin says “Nauset Beach,” check the town before you drive.

Coast Guard

The lot is inland because the storm took the old one

The white station at the end of Doane Road is a 1937 life-saving building — not open to the public. The beach-side lot went in the February 1978 northeaster. Parking was rebuilt inland so the spit could keep moving. The Little Creek shuttle is that decision, not a convenience. In summer, do not drive to the station expecting a public space.

Names

Two Coast Guards

Coast Guard Beach, Eastham is this guide — NPS, Little Creek, ramp, families. Coast Guard Beach, Truro is town-managed and sits on the NPS oversand table. Same name, different town, different day.

Tides

No gauge on this sand

For high and low on the Atlantic face, use the NWS Surf Zone Forecast line labeled “Nauset Beach.” Wellfleet Harbor and Chatham Lydia Cove are the wrong basin — useful for harbors, not for how wide this beach is.

Dogs

Dogs this off-season

The NPS seasonal pet closures (April 1–October 15) at Coast Guard Beach right of the access path, Nauset Marsh, Jeremy Point, Hatches Harbor and Herring Cove northwest have ended for the year.

Seashore freshwater ponds are open to leashed pets through May 14, and the Nauset and Province Lands bike trails November 1–April 30.

Most park walking trails stay closed to pets; Doane Trail, Pilgrim Spring Trail and the start of Great Island Trail are open to them. Use a 6-foot leash; signs and active closures on the beach come first.

Orleans allows dogs at Nauset Beach through March 31. Wellfleet’s summer dog limits on its guarded ocean beaches start again the third Saturday in June.

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Off-season