The best hikes from bus stations in Nickerson State Park

Coast Guard Beach is located in Eastham, Massachusetts, and is one of Cape Cod National Seashore’s most popular destinations. Known for its stunning views and expansive sandy shores, it is a favorite among locals and visitors for swimming, sunbathing, and surfing. Visitors can enjoy birdwatching and explore the nearby Nauset Marsh Trail. During the summer, shuttle services provide access from the Salt Marsh Visitor Center due to limited parking.

What is now Nauset Marsh was once a freshwater system until the shoreline in the area eroded, connecting the landscape to the sea. When the area was mapped by French explorer Champlain in 1605, it was a navigable bay. Over the years, ocean currents deposited a narrow strip of sand along the outer shore, now known as Nauset Spit. The spit acts as a barrier to the Atlantic Ocean and allowed the extensive marsh landscape to develop. https://npshistory.com/publications/caco/guides-guide/salt-pond-nauset-marsh.pdf

The Salt Pond Visitor Center is the year-round visitor center of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The center on State Highway 6 has a theater, the National Parks Store, a museum, restrooms and a spacious parking lot. https://www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm

Coast Guard Beach is a popular swimming beach during the summer season. Further south along the coast is Nauset Spit, where the ocean water flows into the Nauset Marsh during the tides. This is where writer Henry Beston lived in a beach house when he wrote The Outermost House in 1928. The book describes life on the beach in detail during the four seasons. https://www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/coast-guard-beach-eastham.htm

The Salt Pond is a twelve-meter-deep tidal pool that flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The lake was formed about 18,000 years ago when glaciers retreated and left depressions. The Salt Pond was originally a freshwater lake and became a saltwater lake that is subject to the tides. A narrow channel connects the lake to the Nauset Marsh on the Atlantic Ocean. The Salt Pond continues to change; the connecting channel to the marsh is gradually filling with sand. https://npshistory.com/publications/caco/guides-guide/salt-pond-nauset-marsh.pdf

Access to Chatham Lighthouse Beach is across from the Coast Guard Station and the lighthouse. The beach was formed in recent years and was shaped by wind and waves. As in other areas of Cape Cod, Chatham's coastline is changing. In 1958, Nauset Beach ran uninterrupted for miles along the coast from Monomoy Island in southern Cape Cod to Orleans/Eastham north of Chatham. Fishermen and boaters used the Southway to get to the sea from Chatham Harbor. Several storms have since fundamentally changed the coastline in this section. In January 1987, a strong northeast storm broke through the offshore beach barrier east of Chatham Light. The beach was formed in the years following this breach, when the northern tip of South Beach curved inward and connected to the mainland in 1994. In the meantime, this connection has disappeared again or is only partially accessible during low tide (2024). The popular beach in front of the lighthouse has been preserved. Read more at: https://capecodlife.com/changing-shape-cape-islands-chathams-monomoy-islands-stage-harbor/

The new Mitchell River Drawbridge was completed in 2016. The previous historic drawbridge was one of the wooden bridges that have spanned Mill Pond and its access to Stage Harbor and the bay to the sea for more than 150 years. The bridge is considered the last remaining wooden drawbridge in the United States and has been listed for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

The town of Chatham is located on the southeastern tip of Cape Cod and was first settled by the English in 1664. The original name ‘Monomoit’ refers to the indigenous population in the region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatham,_Massachusetts