The Complete Coast Guard Beach Vacation Guide

Enjoy this beautiful beach at Cape Cod. By Jules Romero

Coast Guard Beach at Cape Cod is one of the best swimming beaches during the summer season. With its dazzling clam shacks, shingle-style cottages, and exquisite beaches, it’s not difficult to determine why Coast Guard Beach is always being flocked to by New England mainlanders.

Live moves at a slower pace here as compared to the city. This, however, does not mean life is any more boring. There are countless activities you can take part in at Coast Guard Beach, such as swimming, biking, kayaking, and more.

The charm of Cape Cod is in its laid-back personality. Although it is a vacation hotspot for celebrities, Coast Guard Beach at Cape Cod is a quiet place.

To learn more about this beautiful Massachusetts beach, read on below for our complete guide.

How to Get to Coast Guard Beach

There are many ways for you to get to Coast Guard Beach and its surrounding areas. For detailed information, please refer to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce for car-free transportation options. For a quick overview, see the list below.

Bus. The FLEX route bus line serves town on the outer edges of Cape Cod. Brockton Street Railway and Plymouth Railway both provide daily runs from Boston to Hyannis and the outer edge of Cape.

Ferry. Boston Harbor Cruises and Bay State Cruise Company both offer seasonal, high-speed ferry services between Boston and Provincetown.

Plane. There are regularly scheduled daily flights connecting from Boston to Hyannis and Boston to Provincetown. Check out the best domestic flight deals.

Trails and Bike Paths. Cape Cod National Seashore and the surrounding areas are abundant with several miles of paved and unpaved hiking trails and bike paths.

Wheather

Its proximity to the sea usually moderates the weather at Coast Guard Beach. Winter is typically cold with a moderate amount of snowfall. The rainy season starts in Spring. Summer here is generally warm and humid. Fall is often dry and bright.

Best Times to Visit Coast Guard Beach

Without a doubt, the best times to visit Coast Guard Beach are during May, June, September, and October. These months usher in favorable temperatures for outdoor pursuits, fewer crowds than the overbooked summer season, and reasonable lodging rates.

Visiting between July and August is best if hitting the beach is your top priority, but you’ll be paying a lot more for a seaside cottage during this peak tourist season.

On the other hand, Coast Guard Beach is nearly abandoned from December to March. Thus, hotel prices are much less expensive. However, many shops and restaurants may close down during this off-season. If you’re looking for some winter solitude, perhaps these winter months are right for you.

Eating & Sleeping

1. Lodging

There is only one official lodging concession available within the boundaries of Cape Cod National Seashore. It is the Nauset Knoll Motor Lodge. If you’d like to book more modest cottages, the Cape Cod National Seashore offers five cabins available for lease as vacation rentals.

There are a variety of lodging options in and around the town, but they are a bit further from the beach.

There are no campgrounds that are nearby the seashore. If you’d like to go camping, Nickerson State Park is a viable choice. However, you’ll spend some time traveling to and from the beach.

2. Food

The Herring Cove Snack Bar is the only designated food concession offered within the boundaries of Cape Cod National Seashore. If you’d like more food options, you’ll need to travel a bit further away from the beach and into the nearby towns.

Internet & Cellular Access

Unfortunately, there is no public wifi access at Coast Guard Beach. Also, cellphone coverage throughout the seashore is extremely choppy. You may be able to get a strong signal in the more developed areas of the island. In most remote areas, there may be no reception at all.

There is no cellular coverage on most beaches due to the high bluffs.

Prominent Coast Guard Beach Features

The Great Beach. The Great Beach starts at Coast Guard Beach. It is a sandy strand that offers many opportunities for tourists to appreciate coastal beach processes, including coastal erosion and longshore transportation of sand.

Nauset Marsh. You’ll find Nauset Marsh behind the former Coast Guard Station. You can get to it via a pathway that leads to the bicycle trail bridge. At Nauset Marsh, you’ll find shorebirds working the tidal flats in warmer months and will get to observe salt marsh grass systems up close and personal.

Nauset Spit. Nauset Spit allows visitors to walk directly onto a barrier beach system and observe the shorebirds and seals during the winter months. You’ll find the inlet leading to Nauset Marsh at the southern tip of Nauset Spit.

Plovers & Terns. You can often see nesting plovers and terns at Coast Guard Beach in the early Spring to early Summer. Plovers are classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, so the sight is quite rare.

Seals. As mentioned earlier, Seals can often be seen at the end of Nauset Spit during the colder months. Generally, these are harbor seals. You can sometimes see these seals hauling out onto the marsh at low tide.

Cape Cod Rail Trail

Aside from visiting the beach itself, one of the most popular things to do in the area is to visit the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

The Cape Cod Rail Trail is a 22-mile paved trail that serves as a breezy ride throughout the Lower Cape’s diverse ecosystems. Popular with bikers, rollerbladers, and horseback riders, the path is considered one of the best bike trails in all of New England.