Cape Cod is the most popular vacation destination in New England. It’s known for beautiful sandy beaches, fresh seafood, and charming seaside towns. The vibe is all about wholesome family fun with a strong side of nostalgia.
The Cape Cod National Seashore stretches nearly 40 miles along the Atlantic Ocean from Orleans to Provincetown. It’s an easy place for a child on the spectrum to relax and just be a kid!
The beaches are stunning, with white sand, tall dunes, and plenty of open space with no overcrowding. The continual rhythm of the waves is predictable and soothing. The shallow tidal pools are safe spaces to hunt for shells or small sea creatures. Sometimes, if you’re really lucky, you can see whales swimming out in the ocean. There are lighthouses to investigate, and nature trails to explore.
This newsletter is the first in a short series detailing sensory-friendly things to do on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
What to Expect at Cape Cod National Seashore
The Visitor Center
One of many great views on the Nauset Marsh trail loop at the Visitor Center
One of our favorite places at the National Seashore is the Visitor Center in Eastham. Inside, there are cool exhibits about things like lighthouses and lifeboats, the Wampanoag Native Americans, and how the glaciers formed Cape Cod. The two walking trails are both worth exploring. One is an easy 15 minute accessible path, with signs highlighting local flora and fauna. The longer path runs about 1.5 miles, with phenomenal views of the Nauset marsh.
The Lighthouses
Nauset Light
There are six lighthouses on the National Seashore. The Highland Lighthouse in Truro is open daily from 9 to 5. If you’re there on a Sunday or Wednesday, you can also climb the Nauset Light, now famous as the logo for the Cape Cod Potato Chip Company.
Inside Nauset Light
Sensory considerations:
Walking up to the lighthouse and taking a look inside is both easy and very interesting.
Climbing the stairs presents a huge challenge to anyone who is afraid of heights, claustrophobic, or doesn’t have the stamina to climb the equivalent of 5-6 flights of stairs.
At Nauset, the spiral staircase takes you to the top.
At Highland, you climb the stairs most of the way to the top, but need to use a ladder to reach the viewing platform.
The Beaches
Marconi Beach
The National Park Services manages 6 lifeguarded beaches. All of them have designated parking lots and bathrooms with showers. Herring Cove Beach has concessions selling food, but at the other beaches, you need to bring a cooler.
There are no gift shops selling suntan lotion, chairs, towels, umbrellas, beach toys or other souvenirs. All of these items are sold by numerous vendors on Route 6 just outside the beaches, or back at the visitor center.
Here’s an overview of what to expect when moving your family and your stuff from your car to the beach —
Coast Guard Beach (Eastham): Fully flat access but very limited parking. There’s a nearby satellite lot with a short shuttle bus to the beach.
Nauset Light Beach (Eastham): A short downhill path from the parking lot
Marconi Beach (Wellfleet): Three flights of wooden stairs to get from the high bluff down to the sand.
Head of the Meadow Beach (Truro): Does not have stairs, requires walking over a tall dune and through soft sand.
Race Point Beach (Provincetown): A sloped walk over the dunes to the shoreline.
Herring Cove Beach (Provincetown): Has no stairs and offers level, flat access from the parking lot. This is a bay side beach, with less risk of rip current than the Atlantic facing beaches.
Safety
The Atlantic Ocean is beautiful but also dangerous to people who don’t respect its power. If you go to a lifeguarded area, and pay attention to common sense safety advice, you will have a fabulous time at one of the most beautiful beaches in America.
The water at the Cape Cod National Seashore is very cold with a strong rip current. Never swim alone! That means two or more people actually in the water, not one in the water and one watching from the beach. If you’re caught in a current, swim with it, parallel to the beach, and exit the water once the current has subsided.
Never swim if you can see any seals. Great white sharks live in the area, and a nice fat seal is the shark’s favorite food. Stay away from murky water. If you see a seal, get out of the water and report to the lifeguard immediately. The lifeguards will close the beach to swimming any time a shark is spotted or even suspected to be nearby.
By the way, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries tags great white sharks to help keep swimmers and fishermen safe. If you’re fascinated by sharks, download the very cool Sharktivity app to find out where the great whites have been seen recently and what they were up to!
Don’t climb the dunes, and don’t dig in the sand next to the dunes. The beach has a fragile ecosystem. The dunes can collapse if they’re disturbed.
Don’t forget your hats and sunscreen. Have Fun!
How Get Your Free National Parks Access Pass
The America the Beautiful Access Pass is a free, lifetime pass given to US citizens and permanent residents with permanent disabilities. It provides free entry to more than 2000 federal recreation sites across the US, including all national parks, wildlife refuges, and national forests.
The Access Pass gives you free parking at all of the National Seashore beaches.
To qualify for your pass, you need a letter from a licensed physician stating that your child has (1) a permanent disability that (2) severely limits one of more aspect of their daily life and (3) describes the nature of those limitations.
The Access Pass is available in both digital and physical format. You can order one online here. If you don’t have time to order one, physical access cards are available at any of the parking booths at the National Seashore beaches. They’ll ask for the doctor’s letter and a picture ID. (I was able to use a copy of our original autism diagnosis letter from over ten years ago.)
Where to Stay (and Do More Swimming) near Cape Cod National Seashore
There is no National Park Lodging directly inside of the Cape Cod National Seashore.
There are a few large hotels, and plenty of smaller, family run motels nearby with easy access to both the National Park Beaches and the town beaches on Cape Cod Bay.
Most Cape Cod hotels have a two or three night minimum for bookings that include a Friday or Saturday night.
Steer clear of any hotel or motel that will sell you a room for a single weekend night - it’s a sure sign of zero repeat visitors.
Most kids judge the quality of a vacation by how much time they spend in the water! This is especially true for children with autism, who get a natural sensory reset from the overall gentle water pressure.
If you want to guarantee maximum swimming time, the Four Points Sheraton in Eastham has an indoor pool for both night swimming and rainy days.
If you can do without night swims, and want to walk out your front door straight onto the sand, a beachfront motel on the bay side of the Cape, like Truro Beach Cottages is perfect for you.
For an in-town experience, try the Provincetown Inn, which has an outdoor pool, a small private beach, and a few family rooms with bunk beds.
Getting to Cape Cod National Seashore
The Visitor Center is a little over 2 hours drive from Boston, MA without traffic. The Cape gets very heavy weekend traffic on Friday afternoons and Saturday from about 9 AM until 3 PM. Leaving on a Sunday is tough from about noon until 7 PM.
If you’re flying in from outside the New England/New York area, the closest regional airport is Hyannis (HYA), a compact, no hassle airport smaller than a typical Walmart. The closest major airport is Boston (BOS), about 90 minutes away.
If you don’t want to drive, you can take the high speed ferry from Boston to Provincetown, and use the shuttle bus service to bring you to Herring Cove and Race Point beaches.
