The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), created on August 7, 1961, by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

, encompasses on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the

Atlantic coastal pine barrens The Atlantic coastal pine barrens is a now rare temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the Northeast United States distinguished by unique species and topographical features ( coastal plain ponds, frost pocket), generally nutrient-poor, often ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

. The CCNS includes nearly of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod, in the towns of

Provincetown Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. It is administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Places of interest

Notable sites encompassed by the CCNS include

Marconi Station A list of early wireless telegraphy radio stations of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. Guglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio transmitters and receivers between 1895 and 1901. His company, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph ...

(site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission), the Highlands Center for the Arts (formerly the

North Truro Air Force Station North Truro Air Force Station (AFS) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east of North Truro, Massachusetts. Most of the site was inactivated by 1994 and turned over to the National Park Servi ...

), the

Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District The Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District includes dune shacks that were home to American artists and writers from the 1920s to present day. The historic district, located in the Outer Cape towns of Provincetown and Truro, comprises ...

(a 1,950-acre historic district containing dune shacks and the dune environment), and the

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundred ...

known as

Doane Rock Doane Rock is a glacial erratic located in Eastham, Massachusetts on the grounds of the Cape Cod National Seashore. It is the largest exposed boulder on Cape Cod. It stands 18 feet (5.5 m) high and extends below the ground an estimated 12 feet ...

. A former

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

station on the ocean in Truro is now operated as a 42-bed

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

Hostelling International Hostelling International (HI), formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is a grouping of more than seventy National Youth Hostel Associations in over eighty countries, with over 4,000 affiliated hostels around the world ...

USA. There are several paved bike trails: * Nauset Bike Trail—Eastham * Head of the Meadow Trail—Truro * Province Lands Trails—Provincetown There are several excellent beaches along the coastline with public facilities available seasonally. These include Race Point Beach in Provincetown and Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. Both of these have made "top beaches in the US" lists over the years.

Restoration and conservation efforts

As part of the NPS Centennial Initiative, the Herring River estuary will be restored to its natural state through removal of dikes and drains that date back to 1909. In 2010, the North of Highland Campground was protected with a conservation easement.

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

, the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Truro Conservation Trust, and other groups led a grassroots campaign to support the funding for the purchase price of the conservation easement from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), secured by U.S. Senator John Kerry, U.S. Representative Bill Delahunt, and former Senator Ted Kennedy. The Biddle Property, home of the late

Francis Biddle Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well a ...

, who was the U.S. attorney general during WWII and served as the primary American judge during the post-war Nuremberg trials, was added to the Cape Cod National Seashore in 2011. Using funding from the

Land and Water Conservation Fund The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...

, the

Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

purchased the property and conveyed it to the National Park Service.

Gallery

Image:CCNS Sign.jpg, An entrance to the Cape Cod National Seashore in

Eastham, Massachusetts Eastham () is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 5,752 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information about the village of North Eastham ...

Image:Ccnatsea.jpg, Cape Cod National Seashore Image:Nauset-light-cape-cod.jpg, Nauset Light Image:Highland-light-cape-cod.jpg, View from Highland Light Image:Marconi-beach-cape-cod.jpg, Marconi Beach Image:Race point sunset.jpg, Late July Sunset at Race Point Beach Image:Salt Pond Visitor Center, Cape Cod National Seashore, Eastham MA.jpg, Salt Pond Visitor Center

References

External links

Cape Cod National Seashore
National Park Service website.
Coastal Landforms and Processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts: A Primer

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

Park map showing roads, beaches, and trails
National Park Service map pdf.

A National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan. * Portnoy, J. W. et al.,
Kettle Pond Data Atlas for Cape Cod National Seashore: Paleoecology and Modern Water Chemistry
' April 2001, 118 pp., Retrieved June 23, 2018. {{Authority control 1961 establishments in Massachusetts Chatham, Massachusetts Eastham, Massachusetts Landforms of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Beaches of Massachusetts Landmarks in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Massachusetts natural resources National Park Service areas in Massachusetts National Seashores of the United States Orleans, Massachusetts Protected areas of Barnstable County, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1961 Provincetown, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Truro, Massachusetts Wellfleet, Massachusetts

Places of interest

Restoration and conservation efforts

Gallery

See also

References

External links