Parking
Use the High Head Road dirt lot near Bradford Street; the lot has a two-hour limit. The paved Head of the Meadow Bike Trail starts nearby but heads to a different beach.
Overview
About High Head Road Trail
Why go
- A quick sandy approach to a dune-backed Cape Cod Bay beach.
Heads up
- Deep, shifting sand and little shade make the short walk feel slower.
Map & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Cape Cod alert
- CautionSharks active in park waters through OctoberSharks are active in park waters through October; heed beach guidelines and signage before entering the water.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cape Cod Tour Guide
Your drive to High Head Road Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cape Cod National Seashore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
High Head Road and the Beach Bike Trail0:00 / 0:22
“You're coming up on the High Head Road trail access, where the paved Head of the Meadow Bike Trail leads through coastal woods to the Atlantic beach.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cape Cod Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Pilgrim Heights and Pilgrim Spring
- A Fishing Net Made of Bubbles
- Glass That Sent a Signal
- Head of the Meadow Beach
- 56 audio storiesacross Cape Cod’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Gray Seal, Coyote, Red Fox, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 32 trails, 55 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking High Head Road Trail
A short, sandy beach approachHigh Head Road Trail is a sandy out-and-back from the High Head Road dirt lot toward Cape Cod…
High Head Road Trail is a sandy out-and-back from the High Head Road dirt lot toward Cape Cod Bay, through low coastal brush and loose dune sand. The mapped track is about 0.43 mile one way, or roughly 0.9 mile there and back on the same corridor. A final walk across open sand may add distance if you continue to the water. Allow about 20 to 30 minutes; the soft footing matters more than the modest climb.
What the route is likeThe track is unpaved and sandy, with little shade.
The track is unpaved and sandy, with little shade. Deep, shifting sand makes this feel slower than a paved stroll, and the mapped line ends in the dunes before the open shore. The last approach to the water is not consistently marked, so don't follow a faint or closed path. A separate paved bike trail starts nearby and goes to Head of the Meadow Beach; it is a different route.
At the shoreThe payoff is a dune-backed Cape Cod Bay beach.
The payoff is a dune-backed Cape Cod Bay beach. Visitors often mention shorebirds and harbor seals, though sightings vary. Treat 0.9 mile as the supported mapped-track round trip: other published estimates range from 1.0 mile round trip to 1.2 miles with the direction convention unclear. Follow posted shorebird closures. The park does not list this route among its pet-permitted trails.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cape Cod
459 sightingsGray SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
84 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
297 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
49 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
263 sightingsHorseshoe CrabMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
73 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cape Cod. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
