Cape Cod Beaches

Literally hundreds of salt and freshwater beaches surround the Cape offering visitors swimming, sunbathing, and beach sports.

Excellent beaches for long walks, swimming or surfing on the Lower and Outer Cape include Nauset Beach in Orleans, Coast Guard and Nauset Light in Eastham, Cahoon Hollow in Wellfleet, Highland Beach in Truro, and Race Point in Provincetown. Nantucket Sound offers warm saltwater swimming and sizeable beaches. Major beaches on the southside include Craigville in Centerville, West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Red River Beach in Harwich, Kalmus in Hyannis, and Hardings Beach in West Chatham.

Cape Cod Bay offers miles of spectacular sandy beach with exposed flats at low tide. To walk the tidal flats and enjoy beach sports like frisbee, soccer or volleyball, try Sandy Neck in Sandwich, Corporation and Cold Storage Beaches in Dennis, and First Encounter Beach in Eastham.

In addition to these saltwater beaches, there are numerous freshwater lakes that offer swimming, fishing, waterskiing and boating in almost every Cape town. Sailing and waterskiing are popular on the Cape's largest lakes including Long Pond in Harwich, Lake Wequaquet in West Barnstable, and the five lakes at Nickerson State Park in Brewster.

Each beach has its own personality, and part of the fun in visiting the Cape is finding the one that best suits you!

Beach Stickers

If you plan to stay on Cape for an extended visit or are thinking about becoming a summer resident, consider getting a weekly or monthly parking sticker for your favorite beach. Daily parking fees for some popular beaches are expensive.

Beach stickers are issued by individual town halls. Each town sets the costs of these stickers and some combine them with a dump sticker option.

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