What the National Seashore Gates Charge, and When They Are Staffed

Cape Cod National Seashore runs a single published fee schedule across its six ocean beaches, which is a relief after the fifteen separate town systems everywhere else on the peninsula.

The rates are $25 for a private vehicle for the day, $20 for a motorcycle, and $15 per person aged 16 or over arriving on foot or by bicycle. Children under 16 enter free. A Cape Cod National Seashore annual pass costs $60 and covers all six gates for the calendar year.

The six are Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach in Eastham, Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro, and Race Point Beach and Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown.

Three practical points catch people out every season.

The gates are cashless. Credit or debit only, at every beach entrance station. There is no cash lane and no machine that takes notes.

Passes are sold at the beach entrances and nowhere else. You cannot buy one at Salt Pond Visitor Center or at Province Lands Visitor Center, which is counterintuitive given that both sit a few minutes from a fee beach. Passes can also be bought in advance through the federal recreational passes store online.

The collection season is not the whole summer. Fee collection runs from roughly late May to mid-September, and at the shoulders of that window the booths are typically staffed Friday through Sunday rather than daily. An early June Tuesday or a late September weekday may find the gate unstaffed, which does not mean the beach is closed.

If you plan more than two beach days in the park, the $60 annual pass pays for itself on the third visit. If you are staying in a rental cottage, check first whether the property carries a town beach sticker, because that is a separate system that the Seashore pass does not replace and that will not admit you here either.

Rates and season dates are published by the park and are subject to change. Confirm the current schedule with the National Park Service before you travel.