Cahoon Hollow Beach

Cahoon Hollow is a broad Atlantic-facing beach in Wellfleet, below a steep dune and bluff edge. Getting there means a loose-sand descent from the bluff; coming back is a strenuous climb. Go for the open shoreline and surf if you’re comfortable with that effort. There isn’t a level route to the water.

The beach is reached from Cahoon Hollow Road, with parking above the shore. On warm summer days, spaces fill early, so aim for the morning. Wellfleet’s town-beach permits or daily fees are seasonal; The Beachcomber also publishes parking terms for Cahoon Hollow, so check the lot sign before you head down.

From the bluff, the sand and surf spread out below you. For a photo, let the dune edge fill one side of the frame and follow the surf line down the beach; that keeps both the drop and the long shoreline in view. Cahoon Hollow is one of four adjoining Wellfleet ocean beaches along roughly six miles of Atlantic shore, between White Crest and Newcomb Hollow.

The seasonal Beachcomber restaurant and bar sits on the bluff, with seafood, a raw bar, burgers, fries, tacos and wings. Its menu names the Goombay Smash as a signature cocktail, and the venue has live music. The building began as a U.S. Life-Saving Service station in 1897, one of nine on the Outer Cape. Russell Gallagher bought it in 1953 and turned it into a small inn. The business passed to its current owners in 1978; it remained a private commercial property when Cape Cod National Seashore was established in 1961.