Herring Cove
Cape Cod National Seashore, Provincetown · United States
Provincetown's beach: the sunset side of the Cape, a long walk to the gay end and a tolerated nude stretch when the rangers are elsewhere.
- Status
- Tolerated
- Crowd
- Gay-popular
- Country
- United States
- City
- Provincetown
- Water
- Sea
- Rank
- #19 where the boys go
- Best time
- June to September
- Confidence
- Medium
Find it
42.0450° N, 70.2130° WGood to know
National Seashore rules do not allow nudity; rangers tolerate it at the far end but can and do issue warnings.
The gay end
Turn left from the car park and keep walking: the further end is the gay end, and nudity is quietly tolerated there.
Crowd A nude beach for everyone with a gay end everyone knows about. Walk in the direction the guide says and you will find the boys.
Getting there
Bike the Province Lands trail or the Herring Cove shuttle from town. Paid parking at the National Seashore lot.
The rules
Tolerated. Not designated, but nude bathing has been the custom for years and is left alone. Rules and patrols can change, so read the signs when you arrive.
No photos of anyone, sunscreen everywhere, cover up the moment you leave the nude stretch, and go home with the light. It is a beach: sunbathe, swim, talk, flirt. Anything more belongs somewhere private.
Questions people ask
Is Herring Cove a gay beach?
It has a gay end. Turn left from the car park and keep walking: the further end is the gay end, and nudity is quietly tolerated there. Provincetown's beach: the sunset side of the Cape, a long walk to the gay end and a tolerated nude stretch when the rangers are elsewhere.
Is it legal to be nude at Herring Cove?
Tolerated rather than designated. Not designated, but nude bathing has been the custom for years and is left alone. Rules and patrols can change, so read the signs when you arrive. National Seashore rules do not allow nudity; rangers tolerate it at the far end but can and do issue warnings.
How do I get to Herring Cove?
Bike the Province Lands trail or the Herring Cove shuttle from town. Paid parking at the National Seashore lot. Best time: June to September.
More in United States
Method
Status says what the law and the locals allow; crowd says who is on the sand. Both come from gay-travel guides, the national naturist federations and members who were just there, scored on sources, recency, crowd, legal footing and safety. How we rank. Pins mark the beach; the gay end is described above. Last reviewed September 2026.