The BEACHES

The Travel Channel has rated Provincetown’s beaches the sixth best in the country! Provincetown offers a wide variety of beaches, from Race Point’s dramatic sweep of tall dunes on the Atlantic Ocean to narrow Herring Cove, where ocean meets the bay. Don’t miss the beaches on Long Point—if you want a bit more seclusion from the summer hordes, trek across the breakwater and find a spot far removed from the crowds. It’s one of the most dramatic and beautiful walks you will ever take, crossing Provincetown Harbor on the gigantic rocks that prevent the fragile marshlands from being swallowed by the ocean.



If you’re looking for a more spirited, community experience, Herring Cove is one of the most famous gay beaches in the world. Here there’s a place for everybody. Just turn left when you enter the Herring Cove parking lot and head up to the beach. The women tend to gather first, then the guys, then the—ahem, naturalists. (Just make sure you watch out for the rangers, as bathing suits are officially required.) Stay at least once until dusk: this is the only place on the East where the sun sets over the ocean. Despite what you’ve heard, the water is warm enough to swim in all summer. Sure, it’s a bit bracing in June or early July when you first take the plunge, but once you’re in, it’s magnificent!



Nearly two-thirds of the town's land is covered by the Cape Cod National Seashore. To the north lie the "Province Lands", the area of dunes and small ponds extending from Mount Ararat in the east to Race Point in the west, along the Massachusetts Bay shore. The Cape Cod Bay shoreline extends from Race Point to the far west to the Wood End in the south, eastward to Long Point, which points inward towards the Cape and provides a natural barrier for Provincetown Harbor. All three points are marked by lighthouses.