We did it again—a Cape Cod beach has made Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches of 2017! Coast Guard Beach, located in Eastham, came in sixth in the widely known and respected list. For more than 20 years, Dr. Beach, “one of the world’s top coastal experts” has been travelling around the country rating beaches and for the ninth year in a row, Coast Guard beach has made the list! There’s quite a comprehensive list of key criteria that each beach must meet before scoring a spot on Dr. Beach’s list, among them: bathing area bottom conditions, fine sand being the most sought after, which Coast Guard has; views and vistas, the unobstructed views in all directions at Coast Guard is a winning one here; and intensity of beach use, ample open space is a key factor, something Coast Guard has miles of!
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Not only is Coast Guard a prime swimming beach, it has a rich history as well. It’s one of the nine original coast guard stations created by the US Government due to the many shipwrecks caused by the treacherous sands of the Cape (over 3,000 in the past 400 years!) Called “the great beach” by famed American naturalist and writer, Henry David Thoreau, it was where his beach cottage was when he wrote The Outermost House.
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Coast Guard is heaven not only to beach-goers, but to nature lovers as well. You can find a number of creatures here, from seals to plovers, gulls and terns to maybe even a whale or dolphin! The inlet to Nauset Marsh is next to the beach which the Cape Cod Rail Trail (bike trail) runs right through—it makes for a glorious walk or ride.
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Thank you, Dr. Beach, for letting the rest of the world know what we Cape Codders already know—Coast Guard Beach is one of the best!