BEACHES

Nauset Beach is only 2.5 miles from the Cove Motel. It offers miles of white sand on the Atlantic Ocean with great surf, rest rooms and a snack bar.

Skaket Beach on Cape Cod Bay, about 1.5 miles from the Cove Motel, has warmer, calmer waters and large tidal flats, rest rooms and a snack shop. It is ideal for children and people who would rather avoid ocean waves. Sunsets are spectacular from this vantage point.

Be sure to arrive early to the beaches on very hot days as the parking lots fill up quickly.

Pilgrim Lake, Herring Brook Rd., a freshwater pond is handicapped accessible and offers lifeguards, restrooms, picnic tables and a launching area for small boats.

Rock Harbor is one of Orlean’s main attractions. Visit the harbor when the fleet comes in with the day’s catch or at dusk to watch the sunset over the bay.

Cape Cod National Seashore
In 1961, after years of work by Cape Codders, President John F. Kennedy signed the bill that created the Cape’s National Seashore. This tract of land, spreading from Chatham to the tip of Provincetown comprises 43,604 acres of shoreline and upland including a forty-mile long stretch of pristine sandy beach and dozens of clear, deep, freshwater kettle ponds.

A variety of historic structures are within the boundaries of the Seashore, including lighthouses, a lifesaving station and numerous Cape Cod style houses. The Seashore offers six swimming beaches, eleven self-guided nature trails, a variety of picnic areas and scenic overlooks. Beach entrance fees are collected from late June through early September when lifeguards are on duty and on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to late June, and from Labor Day through Columbus Day.