On August 7, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation establishing Cape Cod National Seashore, he declared: “I ... hope that this will be one of a whole series of great seashore parks which will be for the inspiration and enjoyment of people all over the United States.” Since then, others indeed have been created and Cape Cod National Seashore has become one of the most popular of the Nation’s public parks, with more than five million visits each year. The diligent and dedicated participation of the Seashore’s Advisory Commission, composed of 10 state, county, and town representatives, helped park officials devise the first comprehensive master plan for the National Seashore. Nonetheless, the “balancing act” of preservation, recreation, and local rights has not always been an easy or a smooth one. Debates continue over recreational demands versus conservation, controversial uses such as beach buggy access, and development within the park. But there are relatively few who do not recognize not only the economic importance of the Seashore but the critical role it has played in realizing former Senator Leverett Saltonstall’s dream of maintaining Cape Cod “so that other Americans, in dire need of the natural grandeur of the clean, open spaces, will find an outlet from their crowded, grimy, urban lives.”
What you will find here is a different experience from what is offered in our national parks and most of the other national seashores. There is stunning scenic beauty and wildlife in abundance, to be sure, and the chance to explore and enjoy them on foot, horseback, or bicycle, in a canoe or a sailboat, on a guided walk, at an interpretive talk, or, if you like, simply lying on a beach before the rolling waves.
But there is also, by design and intent, the ongoing presence of man, in the hundreds of historic houses, lighthouses, Coast Guard stations, and summer cottages that remain within the Seashore, and in the continuing traditional uses of its lands and waters, such as commercial fishing, lobstering and shellfishing, hunting and berry picking.
On a cloudy day, the Cape’s most obvious icon, the codfish, keeps track of the wind. With a change in the weather, Nauset Marsh glows in autumn light.
The boundaries between Seashore lands, private property, and community facilities are not always obvious. The Provincetown airport and the Nauset Regional High School in Eastham, for instance, both lie within Seashore boundaries. Visitors are asked to observe the “Private Property—Please Respect Owner’s Rights” signs they encounter along many of the Seashore roads and trails. A number of the more popular beaches require local town parking stickers. Cape Cod National Seashore, in other words, is not so much a protected pristine preserve as an ongoing experiment in cooperation between the Federal Government and local communities and their residents who continue to live, work, and play alongside, and often within, the park itself.
Whether you choose to join the summer crowds, or seek a solitary walk along the winter beach, we hope this handbook will acquaint you with enough knowledge of Cape Cod’s rich historic and natural heritage so that your visit here, whether brief or extended, will be more rewarding.
Part 2
A Great Arm in the Sea
