The Wellfleet Beachcomber
Cahoon Hollow Road
Wellfleet, MA
508.349.6055
www.thebeachcomber.com
Despite having arguably the worst radio jingle in the
history of humanity, the Beachcomber is a must when visiting the lower (outer)
Cape. Depending on where you are
staying it could be a tricky and lengthy drive. In the summer months, it could take a little over an hour from
the Hyannis area to make your way to northern Wellfleet. Check out the website for the “official”
directions. However, I find that a
slightly different route gives you one of the most scenic stretches of road on
the Cape. (if you are not interested,
skip to paragraph 3)
If you follow Route 6 into South Wellfleet, look for
Lecount’s Hollow Road on your right. It’s about a mile or so after you cross into Wellfleet (if there is only
one lane going in each direction, you are in Wellfleet). Follow this to the end and there will be a
beach parking area (LeCount’s Hollow Beach), bear left before the parking area
entrance and you will be paralleling the coastline. As you look to the right, the Atlantic Ocean spreads out before
you in impressive fashion as you are high above it on rolling dunes. The Beachcomber is approximately two to
three miles up on the right.
There are really two shifts of visitors at the Beachcomber,
the day and evening crowds. There is
definitely limited parking so if you are going to spend the day on the beach,
and eat lunch at the ‘Combah, plan on getting there early, around 9am should
suffice. Many people do spend the whole
day on the beach since it is the National Seashore and no other beach in the
area has a full service restaurant steps from the beach.
WARNING: The dune down to the beach is extremely steep and
long. If you have older adults or young
children, they will need assistance. On
the upside, the cooler should not be as heavy on the way up.
If you do make it back up the dune to the restaurant, the
atmosphere is just beachy, pardon the pun, as you might expect. Bathing suits are acceptable and are the
norm at lunchtime. There is an outdoor
deck and bar as well as a raw bar serving all the New England classics:
oysters, little necks, shrimp, etc. The prices are upper mid-range. The rest of
the menu has something for everyone, from burgers to broiled seafood. The food is good, but the view doesn’t get
any better, and somehow the seafood is more delicious and the beer is more
refreshing on a gorgeous July afternoon looking out over the Atlantic.
Many of the day shift folk start moving on around 4-5
pm. There is a residual “happy hour”
crowd that hangs around. If you
thinking about dinner, I would go earlier than later to enjoy the view as much
as possible. It does cool off significantly as it tends to do by the
ocean, so dress appropriately. Also, the restaurant closes from
8 to 9pm to clear out tables and shoo out any minors for the evening’s
entertainment.
The Beachcomber does have great live music. I have seen many bands there, and they are
consistently high quality. If you are
looking for alt-rock covers or Jimmy Buffett, you will not find it at the
Beachcomber. Most of the bands are
regionally or nationally touring acts that play mostly original music. On any given night, there may be bands that
span reggae, blues, bluegrass rock-a-billy, or jazz funk. They usually have live music 7 nights a
week. Always a great, relaxed scene, seldom any punks or thugs starting
trouble.
Another note: be careful of your libation intake, as there
is only one road back from the Beachcomber to Route 6 and Wellfleet’s finest
know it well.
One of the best spots on the Cape, hands down. I highly recommend a trip to the ‘Comber at
some point on your trip to the lower Cape.
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