Beaches in Truro

Beaches

Parking at all of Truro's exquisite Atlantic beaches, except for one Cape Cod National Seashore access point, is reserved for residents and renters. To obtain a sticker ($40 per week), inquire at the beach-sticker booth, next to the North Truro Post Office (tel. 508/487-6983). Walkers and bikers are welcome to visit such natural wonders as Ballston Beach, where all you'll see is silky sand and grass-etched dunes. Parking is free at all beaches after 4pm.

• Corn Hill Beach, off Corn Hill Road: Offering restrooms, this bay beach -- near the hill where the Pilgrims found the seed corn that ensured their survival -- is open to nonresidents for a parking fee of $10 per day. The enormous parking lot ensures most visitors will get a spot. Be aware of the tide schedule; at low tide, the water is too shallow for swimming unless you venture far from shore.

Head of the Meadow Beach, off Head of the Meadow Road: Among the more remote National Seashore beaches, this spot (equipped with restrooms) is known for its excellent surf. Sand dunes bordering the beach are about 100 feet tall. Half of the beach is considered a town beach, and the other half is National Seashore; the latter section has the lifeguard. A colony of seals has taken to hanging out on an off-shore sand bar on the south end of the beach. A parking lot connected by a short boardwalk to the beach makes this beach more easily accessible than other National Seashore beaches. It is also connected by a short bike path to Pilgrim Heights. Parking costs $10 per day or $30 per season in the town section of the lot, $15 per day or $45 per season in the National Seashore section of the lot.