Campground Beach

A family-friendly bay beach with calm, warm water and beautiful sunsets. Less heralded than First Encounter, which works in its favor — easier to find a spot on busy days.

Campground Beach takes its name from the Methodist camp-meeting grounds that once stood nearby, and it retains some of that old, quiet, slightly off-the-beaten-path Eastham character. It sits on Cape Cod Bay just north of First Encounter — the same gentle slope into the bay, the same dramatic tidal swing, the same spectacular sunsets — but with a fraction of the crowd. The parking lot is modest, and Eastham stickers (or a $25 daily fee in season) are strictly enforced. There are no lifeguards most days and only a portable restroom. Locals send first-time visitors to First Encounter for the name recognition, and quietly use Campground themselves. At low tide you can walk nearly a quarter-mile out across firm flats; at sunset the bay turns pink and gold and is among the most peaceful views on the Outer Cape.