The new Province Lands Road has opened in Provincetown. The new Herring Cove Beach North Parking lot is now open as well. Photo courtesy of the Cape Cod National Seashore Facebook page.
PROVINCETOWN – After $3.3 million in renovations, the long awaited Herring Cove Beach parking lot officially opened earlier this week.
The renovation was part of a $10 million list of capital projects Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent Brian Carlstrom announced last year, but planning had been underway for years.
A larger parking lot at the southern end of the beach is protected by dunes from winter storm surges, while the northern lot has been battered in the last decade to the point where only a select few of the 208 spaces remain.
The parking lot and a section of Province Lands Road were moved more than 200 feet inland and raised about 5 feet.
“Major features are, we now have all 208 spaces available again, there’s five access point to the beach, a clearly defined pedestrian and bike path,” Carlstrom said.
“Province Lands Road has been relocated, as the parking lot has, about another 200 to 250 feet inland.”
A long dune that once separated the road and the parking lot has been flattened, giving anyone driving along the new section of road, biking along the parallel bike trail, or parking in the lot, an unobstructed view of the water.
“It looks beautiful,” Select Board member John Golden said.
“It’s a lovely new way to see the beach.”
The renovation is expected to last at least 20 years, “Based on the science and monitoring we have done we anticipate this to have a useful life of at least 20 years, it could be as many as 50 or more,” Carlstrom continued.
The new lot brings with it a few new changes, on a temporary basis no pets are allowed because of the activities of protected shorebirds, and on a permanent basis, RV’s will no longer be allowed to park at the northern lot due to size constraints.
The waist high slatted fencing will also remain in place until the beach grass can take hold.
Herring Cove is typically the most popular of the six beaches on the National Seashore with lifeguards, however visitation numbers have been down in the last few years which can affect the economy in town.
Last year Nauset Light Beach in Eastham had the most visitors, at 652,000, while Herring Cove had 429,000.
Ten years earlier Herring Cove was the top attraction with 815,000 visitors compared to Nauset Lights 690,000.
The hope is that the new and improved parking facility will be tourists back to Herring Cove Beach.
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