Marconi Beach Sunset - Cape Cod National Seashore

With over 500 paved parking spots, Marconi Beach obviously draws huge summer crowds. However, when we visited near sunset in October 2021, we had the parking lot and the beach almost to ourselves. A boardwalk leads from the parking lot to a massive set of stairs that descend from the bluff over 30 feet down to the beach. This is still part of what Henry David Thoreau called "The Great Beach."

Marconi Beach is located in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. To drive to the beach from the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham, turn left (west) onto Nauset Road for 0.2 miles. Turn right onto US 6 and continue for 4.9 miles to a traffic light with a right turn lane in Wellfleet. Turn right onto Marconi Beach Road and drive 1.5 miles to the fee station and parking lot. Seasonally open restrooms are located at the eastern end of the parking lot. 

A portion of the boardwalk

An accessible path leads to an ocean view and stairs down to the beach

Clouds reflecting the sunset light

View from the top of the stairs

Full moon over the Atlantic Ocean

Cape Cod National Seashore beach entrance fees are collected daily from late June through Labor Day, and on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day to the middle of September at select beaches. The six national seashore beaches where fees are collected are Coast Guard and Nauset Light in Eastham, Marconi in Wellfleet, Head of the Meadow in Truro, and Race Point and Herring Cove in Provincetown.

When an entry fee is collected, a fee of $25 per vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per person is valid for the same day at Cape Cod National Seashore. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($80 for a lifetime), Access Pass (free with a documented disability), and Military Annual Pass (free for active-duty personnel). Also available is a Cape Cod National Seashore Annual Pass for $60.

The Cape Cod National Seashore website is https://www.nps.gov/caco/index.htm.