Provincetown & North Truro Travel Guide – Beaches, Biking, and Food
This is where the idea for Summer of 100 Beaches was born. I camp in North Truro, park my car, and don’t use it again until I leave. To get around I ride my bike as much as possible or take public transportation. The latter is excellent.
Here in one compact area you have it all. Great beaches, outstanding restaurants, bike trails that are other worldly, cultural offerings, great art, and rather wild street scenes that are best described as “only in America.”
It’s one of the rare places on the east coast where you can see the sun rise from the ocean in the morning and set into the ocean at the end of a day well lived.
🏖️ Beaches – Herring Cove & The National Seashore
Pictured below: Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, MA – one of the few places on the east coast where you can watch the sun set into the ocean.
Herring Cove Beach is a favorite. It’s on the bay side so the waves are not that big, if there are any at all. Whales can sometimes be seen spouting off this shore. It’s one of the few places where you can see the sun set into the ocean and you can build yourself a fire. It’s part of the National Seashore system, well maintained with great facilities. Sharks are rarely sighted here, probably because there are no seals – though seals are common on the ocean side just a short distance away.
Cape Cod is largely a sandbar – one big beach. This is a typical roadside view:
A replica of Columbus’ ship Santa Maria visits Provincetown harbor offering tours:
🚴 Biking the Province Lands Dunes
The Provincetown Dunes bike trail is awesome but can be challenging due to exposure to the sun. Here is a map of the trails:
Here are two longer videos of the trail:
🍽️ Where to Eat – North Truro Favorites
This area is less than 1/2 mile from the campground and an easy bike ride.
The Salty Market – Breakfast
Start your day with coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Pictured below is “The Judge” – fried egg, cheddar cheese, ham, avocado, arugula, and spicy mayo on a jalapeño cheddar biscuit. Delicious!
Captain’s Choice – Dinner
An excellent dinner restaurant. Seared scallops – fished from the ocean just a mile or so away:
And a unique local dish – baked stuffed clam served without the shell. The story goes that the restaurant was being charged $5 for each empty shell, so they said “the hell with it” and serve it like this. It was excellent.
Chequesset Chocolate
After dinner, walk next door to Chequesset Chocolate where you can watch them making chocolate from raw cacao beans. Awesome chocolate!
🎥 Short Video – North Truro Restaurant Corner
Here’s a brief video of this little corner of North Truro with these restaurants:
📌 Practical Tips
- Park the car once – camp in North Truro and don’t use it again until you leave.
- Get around by bike or public transit – the latter is excellent.
- Sunrise & sunset – rare on the east coast to see the sun rise from the ocean and later set into the ocean.
- Culture & street scenes – Provincetown offers great art, live performances, and “only in America” people-watching.
Originally published July 2021. Updated and merged June 2022.