Cape Cod National Seashore
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 Cod's past and continuing ways of life. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon today's visitors.
About 1.5 hours from Boston and 1.5 hours from Providence by car.
Fees & passes
| Type | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Private VehiclePass is for one private, non-commercial vehicle — passenger cars, pickup trucks, RVs and vans. | $25 | |
| MotorcycleAdmits up to 2 private, non-commercial motorcycles with up to 4 total passengers. | $20 | |
| Per PersonPass is for one person 16 years of age or older — entering on foot or by bicycle. | $15 | |
| Passes | ||
| Annual Entrance - ParkPasses are available at beach entrances during times when fees are normally collected. Entrance into the park with a pass may also require a driver's license or other form of picture identification. Valid for the current season. Permits access to any of the six Cape Cod National Seashore beaches. | $60 | |
Entrance fees are only required seasonally at park beaches and are not required in most other parts of the park. Cape Cod National Seashore beach entrance fees are collected in spring, summer, and fall. All passes (including the America the Beautiful series) are only sold during the months that the fees are collected. Passes can ONLY be purchased at beach entrances and are NOT sold at park visitor centers.
Hours
| Cape Cod National Seashore | Daily · Opens at 6:00AM |
When to go
August draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Salt Pond Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Open year-round. Let us help you plan the perfect seashore day! Visit the park museum to learn about the many layers of human history here, watch our award-winning orientation film, Standing Bold, and take in the expansive view of Salt Pond, Nauset Marsh, and the Atlantic.
- Province Lands Visitor Center ↗
Open seasonally mid-May to mid-October. Let us help you plan a fabulous seashore visit! Exhibits, our award-winning orientation film, Standing Bold, and dramatic views of dunes and ocean await. Walking and biking trails are nearby, and whales may be observed swimming offshore.
Explore
Things to do
- Hike the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail30-60 Minutes
Find your trail to explore at Cape Cod National Seashore! One of eleven trails in the park is the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp, a 1.2-mile loop trail in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
Opens on the Park Service site - Head of the Meadow Bike Trail30-60 Minutes
Get ready to explore! Enjoy a calm bike ride along berry bushes and trees.
Opens on the Park Service site - Take a Break on Cape Cod's Beaches
What better way to enjoy a day on Cape Cod than to relax on the beach? Cape Cod National Seashore features 6 beaches for visitors to enjoy. So grab you beach umbrella, your sunscreen, and get ready for a day of fun in the sun!
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Pilgrim Spring Trail30-60 Minutes
Find your trail to explore at Cape Cod National Seashore! One of eleven trails in the park is the Pilgrim Spring Trail, a 1-mile loop trail in Truro, Massachusetts.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Doane Trail30-60 Minutes
Find your trail to explore at Cape Cod National Seashore! One of eleven trails in the park is the Doane Trail, a 0.6-mile loop trail that begins at Doane Rock in Eastham.
Opens on the Park Service site - Bike the Nauset Bike Trail30-60 Minutes
Get ready to explore! The Nauset Bike Trail offers a variety of environments to explore along nearly 2 miles of paved trail. Explore wooded ponds and sandy beaches!
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 12Hide
- Bike the Province Lands Bike Trail1-2 Hours
Get ready to explore! The Province Lands Bike Trail offers a variety of environments to explore along over 7 miles of paved trail. Explore rolling dunes, wooded ponds, and sandy beaches!
Opens on the Park Service site - Visit the Eastern National Park Store
Looking for a gift or souvenir to remember your visit to Cape Cod National Seashore? Look no further than the park's Eastern National Bookstore, located in the Salt Pond Visitor Center.
Opens on the Park Service site - Grab a Bite at the Herring Cove Snack Bar
Herring Cove Snack Bar is a food and beverage service located at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown. This is a vintage beach food concession facility that offers lunch and other beach snacks, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Opens on the Park Service site - Become a Cape Cod Junior Ranger
Visit Cape Cod National Seashore and become a Junior Ranger!
Opens on the Park Service site - Hit the Links at Highland Links3-4 Hours
One of Cape Cod’s oldest golf courses, perhaps its most scenic, Highland Links in North Truro is one of America’s golf treasures, perched high along windswept bluffs overlooking the Atlantic next to the vintage Highland Light.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Beech Forest Trail30-60 Minutes
Find your trail to explore at Cape Cod National Seashore! One of eleven trails in the park is the Beech Forest Trail, a 1-mile loop trail in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- Highland Light10/1409:00 AM · runs through Oct 1527 Highland Light Road, Truro, MA.
- Three Sisters Open House10/1410:00 AM · runs through Oct 28 · free
- Archeology Walk of the Nauset Marsh Trail10/1610:00 AM · free
- Old Harbor Lantern Tour10/1607:00 PM · freeOld Harbor Lifesaving Station, located at Race Point Beach in Provincetown.
- Nauset Light Tour10/1801:00 PM · runs through Oct 25 · free120 Nauset Light Beach Road, Eastham, MA 02642
- Nauset Lighthouse - Full Moon Tour10/2505:30 PM · free
News
- National Park Service Seeks Proposals to Lease and Rehabilitate Three Historic Cape Cod Properties ↗2026-08-03
The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a Request for Proposals to lease and rehabilitate three historic properties within Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS).
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Saunders–Paine HouseBuilding · Wellfleet · 1.9 mi
- Townsend HouseBuilding · Wellfleet · 1.9 mi
- Pond Hill SchoolBuilding · Wellfleet · 2.3 mi
- Ahearn House and Summer HouseBuilding · Wellfleet · 2.5 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for Cape Cod National Seashore and New England
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Local history books for Cape Cod National Seashore
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthGrey Seal 15× · Belted Kingfisher 9× · Red Fox 6× · Greater Yellowlegs 4× · Eastern Screech-Owl 2× · Mute Swan 1× · Common Bottlenose Dolphin 1× · Common Minke Whale 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 372 birds, 52 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican kestrel · Bald Eagle · Black Vulture · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's hawk · Eastern Screech-Owl · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Mississippi kite · Northern Harrier · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Snowy Owl · Swainson's hawk · Turkey Vulture · barn owl · swallow-tailed kite
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican bittern · American black duck · American coot · American white pelican · American wigeon · Barrow's goldeneye · Black-crowned Night-Heron · Blue-winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada goose · Cattle Egret · Clapper Rail · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Double-crested Cormorant · Eared Grebe · Eurasian wigeon · Fulvous Whistling-Duck · Glossy Ibis · Great Blue Heron · Great Cormorant · Greater Scaup · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green heron · Green-winged Teal · Harlequin Duck · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · King Rail · Least Bittern · Lesser Scaup · Little Blue Heron · Mute Swan · Northern Pintail · Pacific loon · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-necked Grebe · Red-throated Loon · Reddish Egret · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Snow Goose · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Tundra Swan · Virginia Rail · Western Grebe · White Ibis · Wood Duck · Yellow Rail · great egret · long-tailed duck · yellow-crowned night-heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican avocet · American golden-plover · American oystercatcher · American woodcock · Arctic Tern · Atlantic puffin · Baird's sandpiper · Bar-tailed Godwit · Black Skimmer · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Bonaparte's gull · Bridled Tern · Buff-breasted Sandpiper · Caspian tern · Common Murre · Common Tern · Cory's shearwater · Curlew Sandpiper · Dunlin · Elegant Tern · Forster's tern · Franklin's gull · Glaucous Gull · Great Black-backed Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Gull-billed Tern · Herring Gull · Hudsonian Godwit · Iceland gull · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Leach's storm-petrel · Least Sandpiper · Least Tern · Lesser Black-backed Gull · Lesser Yellowlegs · Little Gull · Long-billed Curlew · Long-billed Dowitcher · Long-tailed Jaeger · Magnificent Frigatebird · Manx shearwater · Marbled Godwit · Mew Gull · Parasitic Jaeger · Pectoral Sandpiper · Piping Plover · Pomarine Jaeger · Purple Sandpiper · Red-necked Phalarope · Ring-billed Gull · Roseate Tern · Royal Tern · Ruddy Turnstone · Sabine's gull · Sanderling · Sandwich tern · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Solitary Sandpiper · Sooty Tern · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Thick-billed Murre · Upland Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · White-rumped Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's phalarope · Wilson's plover · Wilson's snipe · Wilson's storm-petrel · black-headed gull · greater shearwater · red phalarope · sooty shearwater
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Ring-necked Pheasant · Rock Dove · Ruffed Grouse · White-winged Dove · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersBlack-backed Woodpecker · Downy Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · Alder Flycatcher · American crow · American goldfinch · American pipit · American redstart · American robin · American tree sparrow · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Baltimore oriole · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Belted Kingfisher · Bicknell's Thrush · Black Guillemot · Black Scoter · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Black-capped Chickadee · Black-legged Kittiwake · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-winged Warbler · Bobolink · Bohemian Waxwing · Boreal Chickadee · Brant · Brewer's blackbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Canada warbler · Canvasback · Cape May warbler · Carolina Wren · Cassin's kingbird · Cedar Waxwing · Cerulean Warbler · Chestnut-collared Longspur · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping Sparrow · Chuck-will's-widow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Cliff Swallow · Common Eider · Common Grackle · Common Moorhen · Common Nighthawk · Common Redpoll · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut warbler · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Dovekie · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Wood-Pewee · European Starling · Evening Grosbeak · Field Sparrow · Fish Crow · Fork-tailed Flycatcher · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Great Skua · Gyrfalcon · Henslow's sparrow · Hermit Thrush · Hoary Redpoll · Hooded Warbler · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Kentucky warbler · King Eider · Lapland Longspur · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · LeConte's sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lincoln's sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Louisiana waterthrush · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Marsh Wren · Mountain Bluebird · Mourning Warbler · Nashville warbler · Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow · Northern Cardinal · Northern Goshawk · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Raven · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Northern Shrike · Northern Waterthrush · Northern Wheatear · Orange-crowned Warbler · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Painted Bunting · Palm Warbler · Philadelphia vireo · Pine Grosbeak · Pine Siskin · Pine Warbler · Prairie Warbler · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Razorbill · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-necked Stint · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Ruff · Rusty Blackbird · Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow · Savannah Sparrow · Say's phoebe · Scarlet Tanager · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Seaside Sparrow · Sedge Wren · Snow Bunting · Solitary vireo · Song Sparrow · Sora · South Polar Skua · Sprague's pipit · Summer Tanager · Surf Scoter · Swainson's thrush · Swainson's warbler · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee warbler · Townsend's warbler · Tree Swallow · Tufted Titmouse · Varied Thrush · Veery · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green Swallow · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Whimbrel · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · White-throated Sparrow · White-winged Crossbill · White-winged Scoter · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's warbler · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Worm-eating Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo · Yellow-throated Warbler · blue grosbeak · eastern towhee · northern fulmar · northern gannet · olive-sided flycatcher
Small mammalsEastern Gray Squirrel · Eastern chipmunk · Eastern cottontail · Eastern mole · House mouse · Masked shrew · Meadow jumping mouse · Meadow vole · Muskrat · Norway rat · Red squirrel · Short-tailed shrew · Snowshoe hare · Southern Red-backed Vole · Southern flying squirrel · Star-nosed mole · White-footed mouse
Marine mammalsAtlantic Bottlenose Dolphin · Atlantic white-sided dolphin · Blue Whale · Finback whale · Gray seal · Harbor porpoise · Harbor seal · Harp seal · Hooded seal · Humpback whale · Minke whale · Pilot whale · Sei whale · Striped Dolphin · White-beaked Dolphin · common dolphin · northern right whale · sperm whale
PredatorsCoyote · Long-tailed weasel · Mink · Raccoon · Red fox · River otter · Striped skunk
Hoofed mammalsWhitetail deer
BatsBig brown bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Red bat · Silver-haired bat
Also on the checklistOrca · Virginia Opossum · Woodchuck · gray grampus
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Golf in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Skiing in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Cape Cod's weather is generally moderated by its proximity to the ocean. Winter is typically cold with some snow. Spring is often rainy. Summer is usually warm and humid. Fall is generally dry and clear.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to enter Cape Cod?
Entrance is $25 per private vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, and $15 per person on foot or bike. Pass is for one private, non-commercial vehicle — passenger cars, pickup trucks, RVs and vans.
Source: National Park Service
Which passes work at Cape Cod?
The $80 America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee here, and a Cape Cod-only annual pass is $60.
Source: Is the pass worth it
Can I pay the entrance fee in cash?
No. Cape Cod takes cards only at the entrance.
Source: National Park Service
When is entrance to Cape Cod free?
Next on October 27, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday. 2 fee-free days are left this year, for US residents only.
Source: Free entrance days
Do I need a reservation to enter Cape Cod?
No. There is no timed-entry or entrance reservation at Cape Cod. Camping and some tours have their own reservations.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Cape Cod?
Standard hours are Opens at 6:00AM, every day.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is Cape Cod?
3,682,771 recreation visits in 2025, number 24 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Cape Cod?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 4G LTE. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Cape Cod established?
1961.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Cape Cod?
Cape Cod's weather is generally moderated by its proximity to the ocean. Winter is typically cold with some snow.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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