News Release

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Herring Cove North Lot Construction Project

Date: October 10, 2018
Contact: Brian Carlstrom, Superintendent, 508-957-0701

WELLFLEET, Mass. – Superintendent Brian Carlstrom announces a public groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the construction of the Herring Cove North Parking Lot in Provincetown. The event will be held at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, October 17 at the south end of the north parking lot at Herring Cove Beach. 

The Herring Cove North Parking Lot was extensively damaged during the 2011-2012 winter season. Storms and erosion every year have continued to wash away most of the north lot and revetment. The north lot needs to be relocated and replaced in a sustainable and well-engineered manner that will reestablish a natural shoreline. 

Herring Cove Beach is of special concern to the citizens of Provincetown, park visitors, and National Park Service (NPS) staff. It is the most popular of the national seashore’s six beaches. Approximately 347,228 visits to this beach in 2018 are testimant to its attraction for swimmers, walkers, cyclists, and for fishing, watching sunsets, and viewing whales. 

The NPS and the Center for Coastal Studies have held several public meetings and presentations over the past few years to discuss the unstable nature of the beach and the need to undertake major action to help preserve these visitor experiences within a fluid natural environment.  An environmental assessment was completed in 2014.

The project will consist of moving the parking lot back 200 feet inland to balance three objectives: relocate all structures to account for projected future erosion, sea level rise, coastal flooding during storm events, and long-term sustainability; restore natural systems to the greatest extent possible; and retain the recreational experience Herring Cove visitors are accustomed to.  

Major components of the project include the removal and replacement of 2400 linear feet of parking lot, relocation of half-mile of Province Lands Road, a reconfigured entrance and new upgraded fee booth, new vault toilet at the north end, a full width bicycle lane connecting the Province Lands Bicycle Path with the Moors Road bicycle lanes, and improved signage and pavement markings.

The parking lot will retain the same 208 parking spaces as existing, including 12 accessible parking spaces. The lot will be raised up five feet to an elevation of 15 feet with four paths to the beach on access mats. The remains of the asphalt parking lot and revetment will be removed, including broken chunks from the beach.  All disturbed areas will be revegetated with native plants or with plants saved from the project.  

Funding for this project came from the National Park Service Line Item Construction program.

Look for official announcements about projects on the national seashore’s website, on the park’s Facebook page, and on Twitter at @CapeCodNPS.