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Cape Cod National Seashore 2-Day Itinerary
Cape codLocated in Massachusetts, Cape Cod is the Chinese name for a peninsula shaped like the tail of a cod. The name comes from the fact that the peninsula, shaped like a cod's tail, is a long, narrow peninsula in eastern Massachusetts, with the longest sandy shore on the east coast. The entire Cape cod area extends from Sandwich Township eastward to Provincetown in the far north and Martha's island in the south.
Our trip was organized for two days:
- Day 1: Drive from Boston to Cape cod, mainly stay in the south from Salt pond visitor center to Wellfleet middle beach area, including from south to north Coast guard beach, Nauset light beach, Marconi beach three big beaches, evening drive to the northern end of the Provincetown. Starting from Salt pond visitor centor to the east of Cape Cod in Provincetown (as shown in the picture above), this section of road is the most popular scenic spot in Massachusetts. This long stretch of sandy shore is popular with Massachusetts families, as it offers almost every outdoor recreational activity imaginable, in addition to countless beach and beach trails and eight historic lighthouses.
- Day 2: Play the northern part of Cape Cod, including Race point beach, Herring cove beach, Provincetown and so on. After Provincetown, you can basically go around Cape Cod along Race point road on Highway 6. During off-season, there are fewer cars and fewer people, so you can finish the trip in just two hours even if you are walking on the beach.
Scenic Spot Records
Salt Pond Visitor Center
After driving all the way to the Salt pond visitor center, you are officially in the Cape cod national seashore, and there is an exhibition about the history of Cape cod in the Salt pond visitor center, so if you are interested, you may stop by for a few minutes to learn more about the history of Cape cod. This wooden boat is a reconstructed version of the workboat that Cape code residents used to rely on for their livelihood. The boat has a narrow hull to allow access to the narrow waterways. In the past, the boat was used to carry hay collected from the water's edge to feed the cows, and it is said that the milk milk still has the salty taste of seawater.
The entire peninsula of Cape Cod was built up from sediment brought down by past glaciers, and all the attractions in the southern part of the peninsula are beaches or lighthouses, and most of the tourists in this area come to play in the water. For those who prefer trails, there are several short trails under 1 mile in the Salt pond area and Fort hill area. Many families come here to ride their bikes, and there are two biking trails of about 2 miles, the Nauset trail and the head of the meadow trail. after leaving the visitor center, it's time to head to the beach.
Doane Rock
On the way to Coast guard beach, we passed by the Doane rock, although it may not look like much, it is one of the largest rocks washed down by the glacier in New England in ancient times.
Coast Guard Beach
Coast guard beach is a top 10 beach in the U.S. On the day we arrived, it was still cold and tourists seemed to pack up and leave early, but you can still imagine how popular this long sandy beach is in the summer.
On the south side of Coast guard beach, there was once a cabin called the Outermost House, built in 1927 by author and naturalist Henry Beston when he came here to do tide gauging, and it was once the easternmost coastal cabin in the United States. He lived here for a whole year and wrote The Outermost House, a masterpiece of Cape cod coastal landscape. The Outermost House was destroyed in the 1978 Storm and is no longer visible, but is still marked on the map.
Nauset Light Beach
Continuing along the Ocean view drive, you will come to Nauset light beach, since it is called Nauset light beach, there must be a lighthouse.
Three sisters lighthouse
More interesting, however, are the three small lighthouses to the west of Nauset light, called the Three sisters lighthouse, which used to be on the coast, served as the present Nauset light, and were later moved inland for preservation. This configuration of three lighthouses is now rare. Not far from the original location is the site of a former undersea telegraph line. The undersea telegraph line here was first used in 1879 and was 3,000 miles long, connecting the U.S. to the continent of Europe. As you can imagine, in the days before telephones and the Internet, these cables were of great military and commercial importance.
Marconi Beach
Marconi beach is close to the center of the peninsula. Although there is nothing special about the neighborhood, perhaps because of the proximity to the Cape cod administrative headquarters, the trails and beaches here feel better organized, large and spacious.
Marconi beach is actually named after Gugliemo Marconi, an Italian engineer and Nobel Prize winner in Physics, in honor of his success in receiving the first transatlantic telegram from London in 1903. The location of the Marconi wireless station is still marked here.
Province Land Visitor Center
Located in the north of Provincetown, this visitor center is seasonal, and it was not open until a few days before we came here. Although we can't enter the visitor center, we can still go up to the observation deck. There are not many tourists, so it's very relaxing to watch the scenery here. There is a well-maintained forest bike path along the visitor center, roughly parallel to Race point road, which is suitable for family outings, and there should be a lot of bikers in summer. During the off-season, there are no car rental stores open, but I still meet tourists with their own bikes from time to time.
Go all the way north to the northernmost beach, Race point beach, and look west to see the Race point lighthouse, which is the northernmost lighthouse landmark in Cape cod. It is the northernmost lighthouse landmark in Cape cod. Because of its location, it is a very suitable place to watch the sunset.
Beach Forest Trail
The Beach forest trail at Race point is a 10 miles long trail next to the beach, but it is possible to take a shorter walk. Anyway, we had enough time, so we went for a walk around the beach. The cool breeze from the sea and the shade of the trees made it a nice walk in the countryside.
Pilgram's First Landing Park
Pilgram's first landing park is located along 6A toward Provincetown, halfway through the breakwater walk, the entrance is a circle, next to the Provincetown inn. even in the off-season, there are still a lot of people parking, it should be difficult to miss. Even in low season, there are still a lot of people parking, so it should be hard to miss it. Along the breakwater walk, you can walk all the way to the south side of the sandbar, Long Point, which is the corner hooked up on the map, and the pedestrians on the breakwater walk look like they are walking on the sea from afar. If you don't want to walk far, you can see two lighthouses in the distance, the left one is the long point lighthouse.
Further reading
- Massachusetts Weekend Itinerary] Cape Cod 2-Day Tour: Cape Cod National Seashore Scenic Spot Full Record
- Massachusetts Attractions】Provincetown Travelogue
- [Cape Cod Cuisine] The Lobster Pot
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