West Dennis Beach

One of the longest beaches on the south shore — over a mile of sand along Nantucket Sound. Big enough that it never feels packed. Great windsurfing on the west end.

West Dennis Beach is the largest beach on Cape Cod's south shore — more than a mile of soft sand along Nantucket Sound, with a paved access road that lets you drive most of its length and a series of small parking lots that distribute the crowd. Even on the busiest summer day the beach absorbs everyone comfortably. The water is the same warm, gentle Sound that Dennis Port beaches enjoy, but the scale here changes the character — there's room for kite-flying, beach soccer, long walks, and the kind of late-afternoon windsurfing for which the western end is justly famous. Facilities are excellent: lifeguards in season, modern bathhouse with restrooms and showers, snack bar, accessibility ramps. The Bass River cuts in at the western end, providing protected calm-water cove that's a kayak and paddleboard favorite. Sunsets at the Bass River end are spectacular.