Mayo Beach, Cape Cod, MA - Wellfleet, Massachusetts - Free Parking at Quiet Family Beach in Central Section of the Cape


Mayo Beach, Cape Cod, MA, is located off of Route 6 in the town of Wellfleet in Barnstable County on the midsection of the Cape. The beach is on the western shore facing the waters of Wellfleet Harbor.

This is the only beach in this town that has free parking rather than requiring a daily fee or permit. The parking lot is on Commercial Street. Admission to the beach is free. It is a short walk over the low dunes covered in grass to arrive to the open beach.

Windsurfing and hang gliding are not permitted at this beach but at other designated locations.

During the tourist season there is a lifeguard stationed at this beach. The water at Mayo Beach, Cape Cod, MA, is warmer and calmer than the water on the eastern side of the Cape at the National Seashore, some 3 miles from here. The sand is soft with no rocks at this harbor beach. However once the high tide recedes from the beach the harbor bottom is muddy and covered with shells.

There is a boardwalk onto the harbor here for shell fishing although shell fishing requires a commercial license. The area around this beach is known for its production of oysters.

There is a bookstore with a restaurant directly across the street from this beach. There is also a playground across the street where the public restrooms are located.

The beach offers a jetty at its end and there is a view of the Wellfleet Harbor.

This beach is just over a half mile from Wellfleet Center, the downtown area of this village. From almost anywhere around downtown one can easily arrive at this beach on foot or by bicycle.

Mayo Beach, Cape Cod, MA, is one of several beaches operated by this town on the harbor, the ocean and on 3 different ponds.

The lighthouse keeper's cottage still stands here (though it is privately owned) as a monument to the 30 foot light that was placed here in 1881. Only recently have historians discovered that this light, which was dismantled at Mayo Beach in the 1920s was reused by the Coast Guard in erecting the Tower of Point Montara Lighthouse in 1928, some 3,000 miles away from here on the island of Yerba Buena, California.

The nearest campground is found only 3 miles from this beach and there is also nearby hiking. In the warm months the temperature at Mayo Beach rarely rises higher than the 70s and is in the 60s at night.

There are no concessions for the rental of kayaks, canoes, umbrellas or other such items on this beach, however such goods can be obtained only a short distance away.

Directly bordering the beach is the Wellfleet Pier where the town boat ramps are located.

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