Cooks Brook Beach

A North Eastham bay beach with calm water and a quiet atmosphere. Less well-known than the big Eastham beaches, which means easier parking and fewer crowds.

Cooks Brook Beach is North Eastham's quietest bay beach, named for the brook that drains the marsh just behind the dune. The parking lot is small, the dune crossover is short, and the views west across Cape Cod Bay are uninterrupted. Like all Eastham bay beaches it has a substantial tidal range — at low tide a half-mile of firm flats appears, perfect for walks and shellfishing — and the water is warm and shallow on the incoming tide. There's a portable restroom but no concession, no lifeguards most days. Cooks Brook is the kind of beach renters book a North Eastham cottage to be near: walk-able, family-perfect, with sunsets that compete with First Encounter's at a tenth of the noise.