The end of…read more the world Race Point Lighthouse is a wild, wild place. It's located on the very end of Cape Cod and is exposed to howling winds, blowing sand and unpredictable, sinister and malefic currents. The name race means a very strong and dangerous flow of water in old nautical terminology and whoever named it Race Point certainly knew what he was talking about. Before the Cape Cod Canal was built all ships had to pass around the tip of Cape Cod and ship wrecks here were very common. The first lighthouse was established way back in 1816 but since it was only 20 feet tall and took a pounding from the hostile environment, it soon became apparently that something a bit stronger was needed. So in 1876 the present 40 foot tall cast iron tower was built. It had a fourth order Fresnel lens and is credited with saving hundreds of ships and lives. The whole area around the lighthouse is now just sand dunes but at one time it was a busy fishing village called Helltown. Of course the name came from the harsh and unforgiving environment. The village started to disappear about a hundred years ago as people got tired of the hammering winds and waves and moved to more protected places in the area. Winds over 50 knots are common at the point and very little of Helltown is now visible. It's not particularly easy to get to Race Point Lighthouse. it's about a two mile hike over some soft sand and wind is frequently blowing in your face. It's an invigorating place to visit in the winter but you better be prepared for some serious wind chills. I've been out here in a Nor Eastern and the visibility is literally zero. The wind was blowing horizontally and one side of my body was covered in ice but the other side clean. Extremely cool weather. I have heard that humpback whales are occasionally visible and just looking a the wild and uncivilized ocean is aways thrilling. Certainly not the easiest lighthouse to visit but always one of the wildest.

We tried to make our way down to the lighthouse from the beach and a major thunderstorm came out of…read morenowhere, so we never got to make it all the way. Beautiful view.

If you're looking to escape the world and find boundless beauty...this is your place. I typically…read morerent a kayak on the bayside of town and take the journey across the famous Provincetown Harbor. It's the same harbor where the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact BEFORE landing in Plymouth. Yes, they landed in Provincetown first! Once on long point head toward the tip and you can't miss the lighthouse. Stunning. Be sure to look along the inlets and you can still find some remnants of the 19th century colony (bricks, shards of porcelain etc). Don't forget to find a spot on the beach...you could be the only one on it! Plan around the tide or you'll be dragging your kayak. You can also walk there via the jetty or have the local service (Flyers) drop you off for a fee. I'd avoid the Flyers service. If taking a kayak...DO NOT go directly across the deep part of the harbor! Especially in August or if there are seals in the water. Yes, we have a great white shark population that seems to get bigger every year. Stay along the sand bar (hint, you should almost always see the bay floor). This place is pure heaven.

A very lonely…read morespot The end of the world. It sure feels like it. The absolutely tip of the tip. The end of Provincetown and Cape Cod. You can't go any further or you'll be in the sea. What a great place. The problem is how the hell to get to the end of the world. No roads here, you either go by small boat or walk. It's a pretty good hike through heavy sand but there is a short cut. Go over the breakwater that starts at the Pilgrim Plaque. Just don't try it in rough weather or you will probably die. Assuming you actually get out there you will find one of the absolutely coolest places anywhere. Nothing but wild wind and sea. The light is never open but you can walk right up to it. No one cares because no one is around. Probably for miles. The light was built in 1875 but an earlier one was built in 1826. It's only 38 feet tall and had a fifth order Fresnel lens. I'm not sure whatt happen to the lens. The real cool part is that this area once had lots of houses, buildings and windmills for power. Several hundred people actually lived way out here.. Even two old forts, sarcastically called Fort Useless and Fort Harmless. Apparently they were not too successful. The remains of the forts can still be seen but just lumps in the sand. Everything else is long gone. The wind is always howling out here and you can almost hear the old voices. On one of the mounds there is a large cross with flowers frequently place around it. I'm not sure what it signifies but gives a surrealistic feel to a wild and spooky place.

The beech forest trail is a trail around a pond. For walking. The bike trail passes by here. But…read moreyou can't ride bikes on this trail. Large parking area (great place to start your bike ride) plus facilities. When you first start the trail, you start on a board walk next to the pond. If you bring sunflower seeds (the bird food kind) - put some in your hand, palm open, then stand really still, palm extended. Within minutes you will have chickadees and nuthatches landing on your hand to eat!

This a wonderful walking park in Provincetown. Full walk is about an hour and half. But there are…read moredifferent routes you can take to make the walk shorter. You really get all of the great pieces of cape cod nature.. sand, trees, ponds, and beach is nearby

This walk in Cape Cod National Seashore takes you from an off road parking area through dunes and…read morescrub pine to a man made dike atop of Hatches Harbor which is a beautiful salt marsh. Start a few hours before the time of low tide for Race Point to find firm footing on the outer beach and to avoid flooded areas as when the tide comes in the marsh will quickly flood. Some beautiful views of Harbor light and Herring Cove. Quite remote and private. Great place for dog walking. Signs indicate that they must be leashed. It can be windy. Dress for extreme hot. cold wind depending on the season.

As I mentioned in my review of Herring Cove, I love Hatches Harbor. I would honestly go so far as…read moreto say this is one of my favorite spots in the natural world. Hatches Harbor is a remote marshy area of small, shallow pools at low tide, but fills up to huge ponds and barely a sandbar left to walk on during high tide. There are lots of pretty shells and rocks for you fans of beachcombing. Little minnows, crabs, and snails in the water and seagulls nesting in the dunes for wildlife enthusiasts. I've also found beach plums here-tasty! Very rarely are other human beings around You can walk here from Herring Cove, or following the National Seashore trails. A beautiful piece of land.

I like making this hike the Causeway is over a mile long. There are easy spots to walk and…read morechallenging areas. Some parts can be under water at high tide so after summer is over the water is to cold and you could get stuck out there. If you walk to the light house I would say it's about a 4 mile round trip walk. There is parking paid on an app $2 for 2 hours but you can add to it if you are getting low on time I walked about 8 miles before lunchtime here in Ptown

Crossing the causeway was a super fun way to spend a few hours today. As others said, check the…read moremarine forecast so you are aware of the tides and know your likely speed. My husband and I crossed the causeway, then walked along the harbor side of the shore to the tip of the peninsula- roughly 2 .5 miles. It took us just under 1.25 hours one way. We are pretty quick and agile on the boulders and we typically walk/hike at above-average pace. Still, you can only move so fast on the causeway and walking in sand will be slower than on pavement. Wear proper shoes with good grip. My Chacos were perfect for grilling the boulders and walking along sand. As for the difficulty, I'd say most people will be just fine. There are a handful of spots that might make a person uncomfortable if they aren't good with gaps between boulders or boulders that are slanted. The vast majority of the walk is along flat boulders - pretty impressive actually. Along the way & back, you'll glimpse a changing landscape of marsh and sea as the tide changes, plus you'll see a variety of birds catching tasty snacks on the marsh and sea water. You might even stumble upon an unexpected "find". We came across the carcass of a seal on the peninsula side of the causeway :-( To maximize our low tide hiking time, we set out about 3 hours before low tide. Water had already receded adequately from high tide. We spent some time on the beach near Long Point Lighthouse watching a few seals and boats before heading back. The entire excursion took about 3 hours. The beach is quiet - a great spot to relax away from crowds.

It was a great hike, but believe the reviews about the trail markers! We downloaded All trails map…read moreand still got turned around a few times. No cell service , so download map.

This trail is fantastic. While the terrain is a little challenging because of sand, it is mostly…read moreflat. The variety of sand, dunes, water and panoramic views are beautiful. Lots of little crabs along the way, and birds flying overhead. The parking lot is very convenient. We arrived at 10 am and only 3 cars were in the lot. Y the time we got back at 2 pm the lot was full so plan accordingly. Bring water and snacks and a camera!

Race Point Beach is at the tip of Cape Cod, surrounded by grassy rolling sand dunes and grasslands…read more Since I visited in mid October, I didn't have to pay $25 to park and the place was pretty deserted. I walked down to the beach over a blue mat laid down on the sand which made for easy walking. I little shocked to see warnings posted about sharks! As I neared the beach and the waves rolling in, I could see some people watching something out in the surf and was excited to see a seal swimming along in the waves, its head popping up occasionally. Spending time at Race Point Beach was one of the highlights of my trip to Provincetown and Cape Cod.

I have many fond memories at Race Point, from fishing, to swimming, to driving on the sand. It's an…read moreincredible, large ocean beach. Beautiful sand, waves, tidal pools and sand bars that are constantly changing. You can ride to the race point parking lot on bikes from the Provincelands bike trail and relax at the beach to enjoy the views. It's part of the national park system so there is a fee in season. You can use this pass to enter other national seashore beaches as well. There are a number of paths to the beach from the parking lot. One path has a mobimat available, in season at least. It is a pretty long walk down this path, and it is fairly steep, so if you struggle with that, you might prefer Herring Cove which is just on the bay side nearby. It's a bit more gradual of a hill.

I was looking for a new place to run that was off the road and saw this on a map so decided to try…read moreit out. I picked it up at the intersection of Harry Kemp Way and Howland and ran on it to Snail Road. A lot of the path was nice and wide, with hard dirt that made it easy to run. However, in several places, it got very narrow and sandy so that it was difficult to run and would be impossible to ride a bike. In addition, the bug population there was off the chart! Probably would not consider running through here again due to those challenges but if you're coated in Off bug-spray and are just walking, this isn't a bad situation.

This nature trail is actually in nature. Very woodsy and serene. It is a legit hiking trail, not…read moremanicured or paved/graded. It's maintained enough to where you can walk, run, and bike. Trails are literally made by the people who come through here, so they can narrow and grown at some spots. A couple of the entrance points have decayed and have been overgrown, but for the most part, this is a great trail. Tennis shoes, hiking boots/shoes are essential for this trail, as well as bruh spray. It was nice to see some other people biking through the trail as well!

A family tradition that always carries on is always stopping here. There's a lot of history to…read moreUncle Tim's Bridge dating back to the 20th century. The bridge crosses a creek that connects with the Cape Cod Bay, which corresponds with the tide. Speaking of tides, if it is low, you will smell the dirt. It's not that bad when you get use to it, but be aware. If you're better off coming if the tide is high, that is your choice. The view from there is great, overseeing Wellfleet and the Island. Parking can be found from 300 ft. down from the bridge. There is no sidewalk that connects to the lot, so please be careful. Once that's done, enjoy the stay!

This is a cute spot for a quick walk like if you just want to stretch your legs. We visited here…read moretoday (1/3) and found it to be surprisingly busy with a number of folks out walking or walking dogs. Lots of incredibly huge seagulls. You can cross the bridge into the park (Hamblen) and walk more although today we couldn't get very far as there were massive puddles due to recent rainfall. Very quick spot to visit just for the bridge but well worth a look see if you're in town.

Best beach on the Cape national seashore, hands-down!!!…read more Calm water, semi lazy river in front of the ocean, beautiful and pristine crystal clear water!!

Out of all the beaches in the outer Cape area, this has quickly become our favorite. They have…read morerestrooms, changing rooms, and showers very close to the beach. The beach area is so clean and never too crowded the times we have gone. Like previous reviews have mentioned, it really does matter when you go here--if it's during low or high tide. As I love to scour the beach for sea glass, low tide is best. During high tide, the sandy beach area does become a little smaller, but don't worry plenty of room to still put down your beach towel and/or umbrella. Starting Memorial Day weekend, they do start charging $25 per car. Or if you're on a bicycle/and or walking to the beach, then it's $15. Luckily, we went prior to Memorial Day, so entry was still free.