The most beautiful cliffs on Cape Cod? A Truro hike offers a contender
We don't get high enough on Cape Cod. Of course I mean altitude high, not Cheech & Chong high. Heck, there are three cannabis dispensaries within a few miles of my house, so clearly that's not a problem if the mood strikes.
But while significant elevation is hard to come by, we do have awesome cliffs, especially along the ocean-facing beaches of the Outer Cape. And I have had a case of cliff fever lately — I just can't get enough of the crumbling chaos at the edge of the sea.
This peculiar affliction was given extra zing the other day when someone asked where they could find the most beautiful cliffs on Cape Cod. I had never really thought about our cliffs that way. I love them all! But this was a legitimate aesthetic query, so I retreated to my specially equipped cogitating and reflection lounge for a period of deep consideration.
After I woke up from my nap, the answer seemed clear. Great Cape cliffs need color and texture and clay, not just slumping sand. They need significant drama and height and chunky evidence of erosion's toll.
And so I whistled for the Ravenous RAV4, ravenous for gas, that is when compared to my beloved Curious Prius. But the CuPri had been purloined by my better half for a journey to Bourne, a sad but thrifty turn of events.
The sad sack substitute and I set sail for Coast Guard Beach in Truro (not the glamorous Eastham strand, but a fine beach nonetheless). The area south of the parking lot runs underneath Highland Light and the Highland Links golf course. I hadn't been there in a while, but I had an inkling that this is where I would find the most beautiful, or at least the most interesting cliffs on the Cape.
This was the scene of the Giant Cliff Collapse of 2016, when more than 31,000 cubic yards of clay and sand slid onto the beach. A geologist likened it to an iceberg calving off a glacier. It remains, by far, the most epic thing I have ever seen on a Cape beach, an enormous pile of shrub-studded craziness stretching from the backing cliff into the sea.
The first thing I noticed along my journey was that the piping plover string barrier was up. Yup, it's that time of year again. and the protected species needs a bit of breathing space to cook up another generation. But there's still room to walk along the beach and take in the cliffs.
Things got really interesting about a half mile south of the parking lot. The cliffs shifted to a dramatically raw appearance, ribboned with gray clay and evidence of recent collapses. And suddenly, I could hear water running.
It wasn't the surf crashing on the shore, it was water trickling down the face of the cliffs in at least a couple of locations. You could see where the water had carved out what looked like a miniature riverbed on the beach.
I had investigated this phenomenon in 2022. Back then, I wasn't seeking out beautiful cliffs, I was just focused on the weird little waterfalls.
At the time, Mark Adams, a former coastal geology technician at the Cape Cod National Seashore explained that there are a lot of clay layers in the area that formed "saucers" where fresh water collects underground. When erosion slices into the layer, the water is released, kind of like what would happen if you knocked the side off a clay bowl filled with liquid.
Pretty dang cool! And for me, that was the cherry on a beautiful cliff sundae. True, I am not known for my artistic or geologic eye, and would rather visit a brewpub than the Louvre, but still, these cliffs in Truro get my vote. Get out and see 'em before you need a beach sticker, and don't bother those cute little plovers!
Eric Williams, when not solving Curious Cape Cod mysteries, writes about a variety of ways to enjoy the Cape, the weather, wildlife and other subjects. Contact him at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X: @capecast.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod hiking: A Truro beach journey offers lovely cliff views
