Hike to Race Point Light in Search of Whales

Following our tour of Chatham Light on Cape Cod, we drive up to Provincetown in search of whales. We’re here because last weekend my parents came to this exact spot with my aunt and uncle, and they encountered dozens of these creatures swimming just off the coastline. Fingers crossed the whales are still hanging around…

Here’s an exact map of our walk. FYI, there are only a handful of parking spaces in this lot — I suspect in warmer weather it fills up quickly.

As shown above, the walk is neatly divided into three sections — first we encounter a wooded area, then a long causeway that cuts through salt marshes, and finally sand dunes leading to the ocean. The whole walk takes about 90 minutes out and back. (It takes us a good two hours round-trip since we spend time looking for whales and walking the beach.)

Here we are entering the tree-lined path:

View as we emerge from the woods:

Here’s the natural causeway of packed dirt, cutting right across the salt marsh:

At the end of the causeway we climb over several sand dunes… the ocean isn’t far now.

View of Race Point Lighthouse:

See those ripples in the sand below? Right in front of that spot is where the ocean and bay meet. When standing up close, you can literally see the waves mingle in that area. I’ve seen this before in two other spots around the globe where bodies of water intersect — at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and at Cape Reigna, the northernmost point of New Zealand.

My sister’s dog Oscar loves the beach.

Last week my parents spotted dozens of whales almost immediately upon reaching the beach, but today we aren’t seeing any activity. We walk along the water for about 20+ minutes and see exactly one whale. I’ll take it!

This GIF shows it off a little better…

Family shot:

See that plane in the photo below? The Provincetown airport is just north of where we’ve walked.

My sister is holding Oscar in a doggie carrier, like a baby bjorn. He loves hiding inside her warm coat.

Right next to Race Point Light is a guesthouse. Want to stay here overnight? It’s actually quite reasonable; check out the info at that link.

We spot something extra special on the walk back — does anything stand out to you on the ridge of that dune below?

Look closer — it’s a snowy owl. These guys are not easy to spot; my parents are really into birding and this is the first one they’ve seen. It’s the size of a small dog.