First Encounter Beach, Eastham

On December 8, 1620, before the Mayflower's company had found their footing at Plymouth, a hunting party came ashore here and met the Nauset people — an encounter the beach has carried in its name ever since. A bronze marker set in stone at the parking lot's edge marks the spot. The water facing Cape Cod Bay is calm and warm, the tide retreating far enough at low tide to expose wide tidal flats. It is a working town beach, not a monument.