How to Visit Race Point Lighthouse on Cape Cod

Race Point Lighthouse is on the tip of Cape Cod, in the Cape Cod National Seashore. In order to visit Race Point Lighthouse, you’ll either have to hike or have your own off-road vehicle (with a permit) to drive through the sand.

Race Point Lighthouse – Location

Race Point Lighthouse is located on outer Cape Cod, on the far tip, just outside of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Despite what you see on Google Maps, there is no public road leading to the lighthouse; you will need to hike here or have an ORV (and valid permit) to drive on the sand road to the lighthouse.

Hiking to Race Point Lighthouse

So, based on what I wrote above, for the far majority of us, we need to make the hike out to the lighthouse. There are two options for hikes (though, at the time when we were here, we only knew of the beach hike).

• Complete the 3.5 mile round trip hike along Race Point beach in the sand. There is no official ‘trail’ – you just walk in the sand. You could also hike along the Race Point Pole Line Road (we did this for a lot of our hike back) as it might be easier – the sand in some parts isn’t as loose as it is on the beach but it still isn’t easy hiking in the sand. Whether you hike on the beach or along the road, the hike is slow as you are trudging along in loose sand.
  
• Hike 3.5 mile round trip Hatches Harbor trail, which is off of Province Lands Road, however you will need to hike in and out during low tide, or you will be trudging through high water for a small part of the trail. Regardless, even during low tide, you will need to cross water to get to the lighthouse; it just won’t be as deep. Part of the hike is also in loose sand, but part of it is along a hard-packed dike, making the hike a little easier on the legs.

Whichever hike you choose, you will be hiking in deep beach sand, so keep that in mind if you want to visit Race Point Lighthouse

Race Point Beach hike location:

Hatches Harbor Trail location:

My experience:

Like I mentioned before, we hiked along Race Point Beach to the lighthouse. We hiked this in mid-April and arrived in the late afternoon. It was slightly windy and a bit chilly.

The hike is all on the beach. There is no trail – you just walk along the beach until you can see the lighthouse. For the most part, you’re hiking through soft beach sand, so every step you take, you feel like you take one step back. The 1.75 miles to the lighthouse seemed to take forever.

For footwear, I wore a pair of Skechers, my husband wore tennis shoes and my sister wore a pair of clogs (lol. definitely not the type of footwear for a hike in loose sand) and had a rough time with the hike as the sand kept getting in her shoes. Eventually, she gave up and hiked barefoot.

The scenery along the beach is very nice – it’s peaceful and quiet; we didn’t see anyone else on our hike to Race Point.

Even though the hike is only 1.75 miles to the lighthouse, it took us about an hour to get there – hiking in the sand is a bitch.

I kept looking at the map on my phone to see how close we were getting. As we kept going further and further, we weren’t seeing the lighthouse, so it was a little disheartening feeling like we weren’t making any progress.

But eventually Race Point Lighthouse came into view!

This is a pretty lighthouse in a remote, beach setting, with a few other outbuildings – the Whistler House and the Keeper House (both of which you can book an overnight stay!). If you visit during the summer season, tours of the lighthouse are available for free.

On our way back, we decided to hike along the sand road. It was a little easier than hiking along the beach, as the sand is a little more compacted, but the downside is that you can’t see the Atlantic Ocean as you hike. By this point, we were ready to get back to the car, so we were happy with the somewhat easier hike. All in all, this took us about 2 hours to complete.

Race Point Lighthouse – Final Thoughts

Pros:

• Beautiful lighthouse
• Interesting location on the very tip of Cape Cod
• No crowds
• Lighthouse does offer tours during the summer season from 10am-2pm
• You can stay overnight in the keeper’s house near the lighthouse

Cons

• Sluggish 3.5 mile hike in the sand no matter which way you go.

Have you ever visited Race Point Lighthouse? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!