the beach today
Cape Cod National Seashore

Herring
Cove

West-Facing Wonder

The legendary Provincetown sunset beach -- Herring Cove faces due west into Cape Cod Bay, calmer and warmer than Race Point, and famous the world over for its evening light. The whole town turns out.

Today on the Sand

loading live data…

Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Herring Cove Beach

Provincetown, Cape Cod Bay, west-facing

Legendary sunset, calm water

Race Point Beach

2 mi north, Atlantic-facing

Wild, remote, lighthouse

Long Point Beach

Provincetown harbor, by boat or walk

Isolated, spectacular

Wood End Beach

Walking distance from Herring Cove

Remote, tide pools

Head of the Meadow

Truro, 15 mi south, ocean-facing

Wild, few crowds

Hatches Harbor

Tidal flat north of Herring Cove

Birding, seal watching

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Provincetown

5 min east

The art colony, restaurants, galleries and the most vibrant small town in New England

Truro

10 mi south

The quietest town on the Cape -- Highland Light, the Pamet Harbor and the National Seashore

Wellfleet

25 min south

Wellfleet oysters, the drive-in and the best gallery hopping on the outer Cape

Sandwich

50 min south

The Cape gateway town -- Heritage Museums, the Sandwich glass museum and the Bass River

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Herring Cove Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Herring Cove, the water is 66°F, surf is running 1–2 ft and the air is 73°F but feels like 76°F. Wind is 10 mph from the S and the UV index peaks at 6 (high) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 42 minutes right now, and the strongest stretch runs 12 PM to 2 PM. Today’s tides: High 12:55 AM, Low 5:46 AM, High 1:21 PM, Low 6:31 PM. Whether dogs are allowed here depends on which part of the beach you are on.