Cape Cod National Seashore | SALT POND VISITOR CENTER

Lobby and information desk at the Cape Cod National Seashore's Salt Pond Visitor Center

Lobby and information desk at the Cape Cod National Seashore’s Salt Pond Visitor Center

LOCATION

Salt Pond Visitor Center
50 Nauset Road
Eastham, MA 02642

Telephone: (508) 255-3421

OPERATING HOURS

The Salt Pond Visitor Center is the main visitor center at Cape Cod National Seashore. Except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, it is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM from May 1st through the end of October, and until 4:30 PM the rest of the year.

Times can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to get the current schedule on the National Park Service’s Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Cape Cod National Seashore.

AMENITIES

  • Ranger-staffed information desk where you can pick up a park brochure with a map, the Cape Cod National Seashore newspaper, trail maps, and many other publications
  • Lobby exhibits on the attractions at Cape Cod
  • Schedule of daily Ranger-led activities
  • Sign up for Ranger-led tours in the Eastham and Wellfleet areas of the park
  • Theater that shows a variety of films
  • Cape Cod History Museum
  • Restrooms

PARK FILMS

There are six films that show on a rotating schedule starting at 9 AM.

The Sands of Time is a 12-minute documentary that focuses on the geology of Cape Cod. It is suitable for all ages.

Thoreau’s Cape Cod is an 8-minute dramatization of scenes from a book that Henry David Thoreau wrote about his visit to the cape in the mid-1800s. I found this film quite interesting, particularly a scene that demonstrates the difference between yesteryear and modern times. While hiking through the cape, Thoreau walked up to a stranger’s house to ask if he could spend the night. It was almost a given that the owner would agree. Today, if you weren’t shot on sight, the police would certainly be called.

Wooden Ships and Men of Iron is a 12-minute film about the fishing and whaling industries at Cape Cod. It does have footage of whales being hunted and processed for oil, which may be disturbing to young children and animal lovers. The film also covers the U. S. Life Saving Service’s role on the cape. Lifesaving stations were similar to fire stations, only the men rescued people from sinking or grounded ships. The U. S. Life Saving Service was the precursor to the Coast Guard.

Voice of Cape Cod is about Guglielmo Marconi and the first transatlantic wireless station that he built on Cape Cod in 1901. Cape Cod was chosen because it is the easternmost landmass in the United States.

I did not watch the other films, Standing Bold, ORARC Dune Shacks, and Shark Smart.

LOBBY EXHIBITS

When you first walk into the Salt Pond Visitor Center you will find yourself in a lobby with an information desk, a large map of Cape Cod, and information panels on the various attractions in the park, such as beaches and hiking trails. There is also a panel on which a schedule and description of the daily Ranger programs for the Eastham and Wellfleet areas of the park are posted, as well as a short synopsis of the following day’s activities.

Information panels at the Salt Pond Visitor Center detail attractions and Ranger-led programs at Cape Cod National Seashore

Information panels at the Salt Pond Visitor Center detail attractions and Ranger-led programs at Cape Cod National Seashore

MUSEUM

Exhibits at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Exhibits at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

One end of the Salt Pond Visitor Center is taken up by a large museum dedicated to the history of Cape Cod. There are dozens and dozens of artifacts, so this is a true museum, not simply a glorified exhibit area with information panels as you find in many National Park visitor centers. The museum is comprised of five sections that are arranged in somewhat of a chronological order, starting with the Indians who first inhabited Cape Cod, the Wampanoags. Today, there are three tribes living on the cape.

Display of Indian artifacts and house at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Display of Indian artifacts and house at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

The second area covers the fishing and whaling industry on Cape Cod. One exhibit is an actual whaleboat, which isn’t much larger than a small fishing boat of today. Large ships took whalemen to sea, but when a whale was spotted and the actual hunt began, the men used a whaleboat. Most weren’t any larger than the whale itself, which is why whaling in the early days was a dangerous job.

Whaleboat exhibit at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Whaleboat exhibit at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

By the 1800s, whaling voyages lasted anywhere from two to four years, during which time a crew would be lucky to catch twenty whales. Thus, there was a lot of sitting around with nothing much to do. Some sailors passed their time by creating scrimshaw: etching images into whale bone or teeth. Men also carved walrus tusks and made useful products from whale bone. The museum has a nice collection of scrimshaw and ivory and bone carvings on display.

Scrimshaw display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Scrimshaw display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Other industries thrived on Cape Cod before the tourists starting arriving. There was a viable salt industry where salt was extracted from seawater, and there were plenty of cranberry bogs. In fact, cranberry farming was first developed on Cape Cod.

Exhibit on the sea salt industry at Cape Cod at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Exhibit on the sea salt industry at Cape Cod at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Lighthouses and lifesaving stations are an important part of Cape Cod’s history. The museum covers both of these topics and has some interesting artifacts on display, including a Fresnel lens, a Lyle gun, and other lifesaving equipment. A Lyle gun was used to shoot a rope out to a ship in distress. This was the first step in setting up what is similar to a zip line, allowing stranded passengers to zip back to shore.

Lyle gun and other lifesaving equipment on display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Lyle gun and other lifesaving equipment on display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Fresnel lens on display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Fresnel lens on display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

The fifth section of the museum focuses on the cape’s metamorphosis from industry to tourism. This began in the late 1870s when the railroad first connected Boston to Cape Cod, making it accessible to tourists as well as to those who wanted to build a summer house or even live on the cape year-round.

Information and artifacts from the early days of tourism on Cape Cod on display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

Information and artifacts from the early days of tourism on Cape Cod on display at the Cape Cod History Museum inside the Salt Pond Visitor Center

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

Plan to spend up to an hour at the Salt Pond Visitor Center. This allows you to pick up information and talk with a Ranger about what there is to do, plus at least watch Standing Bold, the main park orientation film. As for the museum, the large number of artifacts take up most of the floor space, so it’s not packed full of information panels. I read through everything in thirty minutes.

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Last updated on March 4, 2024
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