Salt Pond Visitor Center
Stop in first for the day's tide chart, ranger talks, and trail maps for the National Seashore.
Eastham Area Guide: The Gateway to the National Seashore
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Pick your water
Four Eastham shorelines, one small town
Eastham is the Outer Cape town where the National Seashore starts. You've got ocean dunes on one side, bay flats on the other, and freshwater kettle ponds in between, book the stay based on which water your group actually wants.
Ocean side
Coast Guard and Nauset Light Beach
The big-water side of Eastham, National Seashore dunes, real surf, and the red-and-white lighthouse you've seen on the potato chip bag.
Protected shoreline
Cape Cod National Seashore, no condos, no boardwalk, just dune grass and Atlantic.
Lifeguarded in summer
Both beaches staffed daily late June through Labor Day.
Seashore beach sticker
Pay the National Seashore entrance fee at the beach gate or buy a pass online before you go.
Bay side
First Encounter Beach
Cape Cod Bay, warm and shallow. Low tide pulls the water back a mile and leaves sand flats kids can walk forever on. Best sunset on this side of the Cape.
Easy for little kids
Calm bay water, gentle slope, no real surf to worry about.
West-facing sunsets
Bring a thermos and a blanket, locals drive over for this.
Mile-long tide flats
At low tide the bay walks out forever; pack water shoes.
Freshwater
Great Pond and Wiley Park
Kettle ponds left by the glaciers, warm, freshwater, no salt to rinse off. Wiley Park has a small beach and a playground, which is the combo you want with kids under ten.
Warm freshwater
Warm, calm freshwater that is easier on small kids than the ocean.
Playground at Wiley
Beach plus swings plus picnic tables, all in one town park.
Quiet swim and paddle
Bring an inflatable or a kayak for a quiet paddle.
Off the bike
Cape Cod Rail Trail terminus
The 25-mile rail trail ends right here in Eastham. Ride to Wellfleet for oysters, ride to Nickerson for the ponds, or just roll into town for ice cream.
Paved, flat, easy
Old railbed grade, every rider in the family can keep up.
25 miles end to end
A long, mostly flat paved ride south toward Orleans and Brewster or north to Wellfleet.
Ice cream stops built in
Hole in One, PB Boulangerie, the Friendly Fisherman, all trail-adjacent.
Eastham Homes
Our Outer Cape Houses
Quiet, family-scale homes within walking distance of the bay or a kettle pond, booked direct with Stay on the Cape.
Eastham Moments
How to Spend a Day in Eastham
Four things our guests come back talking about, the visitor center, the lighthouse, the sunset beach, and the bike trail north.
Nauset Light at Golden Hour
The red-and-white lighthouse a short drive from each of our homes, best light is the hour before sunset.
Sunset at First Encounter
Bay-side beach where low tide pulls the water out and the sun drops right into the bay, bring chairs.
Rail Trail North to Wellfleet
Hop on the trail in Eastham and ride a flat, shaded eight miles up to Wellfleet for lunch.
Eastham Logistics
Questions guests ask about Eastham
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