First Timer!

[ijumpoveru]

Hello all. In a couple of months I will be making my first trip to Cape Cod. My family has always gone to the Outer Banks, but my sister-in-law and her family relocated to Boston (actually Northboro) a couple years ago, so we will be heading to Provincetown for a week in late June. I have been looking into doing some beach driving so that we can venture a little further from the main areas and crowds, plus I plan on doing a lot of surf fishing. Also we were thinking of trying to camp one night, my little niece would love that (although she has also said "Uncle Adam is going to catch a whale for me" so her expectations might be a little inflated!). Sadly most of the information I find is from the NPS. I am a member of the OBPA and follow closely the goings on at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, so I don't fully believe anything the NPS says. Just browsing this site a little, I now know (as I would have guessed) the problem of access is everywhere.

So I have a couple questions that I need some help with. We will likely stay primarily in the Race Point area so, since we will be there the week of June 18th is it worth it (in terms of open access) to get a permit? I know it changes daily based on birds but a best guess? Second do they still really allow camping and do they ever actually issue camp fire permits as is claimed on the NPS website?

I have only driven on the beach personally one time, but have been a passenger several times, so we will not be cruising all over the place, just mainly finding a nice area and hanging out for a while. That said it sounds like this trip might become a more regular thing so I'll probably also be looking to become a member of the MBBA and hopefully be doing more of this driving.

Thanks for any and all help and what the group does for our access rights.

Adam

[Jim1722]

Adam,
NPS site for Race Point is accurate as far as regulations and fees. Yes, you do need a campfire permit and oh boy do they check.

Camping on the beach is only in self-contained vehicles. As far as that June date I would suggest that you monitor their web site to see what is open. The link is:

www.nps.gov/caco/cape-cod-national-seashore-oversand-beach-driving.htm

You can also call the pre-recorder message at the Ranger’s station: 508-487-3698

[Peter 274]

Adam, Welcome, the vacation plans sound nice, however due to nesting plovers we do not get on the beach much in June, there may be some areas open to ORV's, but the birds seem to prefer the areas around our access points. There are of course many walk in areas where you can do some fishing and enjoy the beach. Watch the beach reports here or on Facebook, we try to keep them up to date with reports on what is happening.
Closer to home is Sandy Neck in Barnstable which is also a nice beach experience with fishing and miles of sand, luckily it has remained open all summer the past few years.
Peter

[mbba1785]

From my experience (Close to 20 years) late June well into July the beach has been closed or very limited access for ORV. I stopped taking July Vacations and moved to August as more beach was open. The South Beach at Race Point seemed to open the day I left to go home!! Not all of us can arrange Vacation around the Piping Plovers. I'm now retired and last year in June I was wondering where I'd find a place to park where I could get sand between my toes. As I recall we got the beach back in late July. It's a great place and I'll take what I can get but I think if you plane for a week in late June you may be disappointed.

Last year I saw a vehicle with a weekly permit in July, I asked him if the beach had opened? His response was "NO! But they did not tell me that when I bought the permit online".

[ijumpoveru]

Thanks for the information! Looks like I'll ditch the idea of beach driving this year. This time the trip was kind of planned for me, so I had no input into when we were going (which of course I would plan around the fishing). Plus it will help to get a year under my belt to be more familiar with the area in general. I sure don't mind doing lots of walking when fishing (I have a beach cart and all the fixings), this was more for the kids and to get away from crowds. Might have to look into getting a cart for the kayak then too so I can haul that to a reasonable place to launch. Thanks again.