Cape Cod National Seashore

Cape Cod National Seashore

Massachusetts, United States
The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), created on August 7, 1961 by President John F. Kennedy on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion. The CCNS includes nearly 40 miles (64 km) of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod, in the towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham. Notable sites encompassed by the CCNS include Marconi Station (site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission), the Highlands Center for the Arts (formerly the North Truro Air Force Station), the Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District (a 1,950-acre historic district containing dune shacks and the dune environment), and the glacial erratic known as Doane Rock. A former United States Coast Guard station on the ocean in Truro is now operated as a 42-bed youth hostel by Hostelling International USA. There are several paved bike trails: * Nauset Bike Trail - Eastham * Head of the Meadow Trail - Truro * Province Lands Trails - Provincetown There are several excellent beaches along the coastline with public facilities available seasonally. These include Race Point Beach in Provincetown and Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. Both of these have made "top beaches in the US" lists over the years.