With shoreline on both the Atlantic and Cape Cod Bay, Eastham shows the Cape's rustic side. Pilgrims began settling here in 1644, and the town was incorporated in 1651. First Encounter Beach marks where the Mayflower passengers first met the native people of the area.
More than a third of Eastham lies within the Cape Cod National Seashore, which President Kennedy signed into law in 1961. The Salt Pond Visitor Center is a good first stop.
Nauset Light stands on a bluff above the Atlantic. The tower originally stood in Chatham as one of its twin lights and was moved here in 1923. Nearby are the Three Sisters, three small wooden lighthouses that once lit this stretch of coast together.