Wiley Park
Eastham, Massachusetts · on Great Pond · Wiley Park
Verified · 5 independent sources · top-verified
- WATER
- pond
- ACCESS
- Designated swim area
- FEE
- Yes, see below
- SEASON
- Varies by conditions
About Wiley Park
Wiley Park is a Town of Eastham park on Herring Brook Road that serves as one of three official public access points (along with the Town Beach and Nickerson Conservation Area) to Great Pond, a 109.7-acre freshwater kettle pond on outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Town of Eastham designates Great Pond for swimming, fishing, and non-motorized boating, making this kettle-pond swimming hole one of the town's official places to swim.
Great Pond is a roughly 110-acre kettle pond with a maximum depth of about 36 feet, set within a 226-acre watershed on outer Cape Cod. Wiley Park sits on the pond's Herring Brook Road side and adjoins the town's Nickerson Conservation Area, which adds wooded walking trails around the pond system. Great Pond is hydrologically linked downstream to Bridge Pond via Herring Brook, part of a local herring-run pond chain.
Swimming at Wiley Park
Great Pond is designated by the Town of Eastham for swimming, fishing, and non-motorized boating (motorized boating allowed by permit), with a cold-water fish community typical of a deep kettle pond. The town's water-quality data show the pond responded positively to a 2013 alum treatment aimed at controlling phosphorus/algae, with clear upper-water conditions (Secchi disk transparency around 2.8 m) though some oxygen depletion persists in deeper water. No first-hand accounts of the swimming experience specifically at the Wiley Park access point were found in this research.
How to get to this swimming hole
From Eastham Town Hall, turn onto Samoset Road (opposite Town Hall) and follow it to a four-way stop; take a right onto Herring Brook Road, and the entrance to Wiley Park is about a half mile up on the right.
Parking: Wiley Park has its own on-site parking area, which the town renovated (along with the playground) under a project designed in 2020-2021; specific parking capacity was not found.
The walk in
No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. Wiley Park is a drive-up/roadside park with its own parking lot immediately adjacent to the Great Pond swim area and docks -- no hike is needed to reach the water. The adjoining Nickerson Conservation Area (which Wiley Park adjoins) has its own separate walking-trail network, including the 'Lady Slipper Trail,' an easy wooded loop through pine and oak -- but this is an optional bonus walk, not a route to the swimming area.
Plan your visit
Bringing kids
Good for kids
Multiple independent sources describe Wiley Park as a family-oriented freshwater beach on Great Pond: calm, warm, shallow-entry water, an on-site playground and picnic/grill area, swim docks kids can jump off, and seasonal lifeguards. Great Pond itself gets deep (max ~36 ft) away from shore, so supervise kids off the docks and away from the drop-off.
Parking
Paid, $30/vehicle/day
On-site lot with roughly 54 spaces. A Town of Eastham beach parking sticker or daily pass is required June 20 through Labor Day (Sept 7, 2026); daily passes cost $30/vehicle, cash or check only (no card/Venmo), and Wiley Park is one of only four town locations where daily passes are sold on-site. Seasonal/weekly resident and non-resident sticker rates are handled through the Recreation, Beach & Sticker Office.
Restrooms
Yes
Restroom facilities are on-site at Wiley Park, alongside the swim docks, playground, and parking area (per capecodbeaches.net and capecodbeachsand.com beach listings).
Water clarity
Clear
Great Pond is a kettle pond described by multiple beach-guide sites as having 'crystal clear' freshwater; the Town/Cape Cod Commission pond fact sheet cited in the prior dossier recorded Secchi-disk transparency around 2.8 m in the upper water column, consistent with clear conditions near shore, though some oxygen depletion persists in deeper water.
Hours
No posted open/close hours found for the park itself. Beach parking stickers/passes are required daily June 20-Labor Day (Sept 7, 2026); the Town's Recreation, Beach & Sticker Office (555 Old Orchard Rd) is open Thursday-Monday, 9am-3pm. One source describes lifeguards on duty 'in season' but published lifeguard hours were not found.
On the water
Restrictions: Non-motorized boating (kayaks, canoes, small sailboats) is permitted; motorized boating requires a Town of Eastham permit. There is a boat ramp/launch area at the Great Pond Beach access point (across the pond from Wiley Park) suitable for hand-launching kayaks and sailboats.
One local guide (dguides.com) notes kayaking/sailing on Great Pond, including via the connecting stream to the adjoining smaller pond, as a relaxing option, and mentions a delivery-based kayak rental service serving the area.
Rentals nearby
Kayaks (single/tandem/fishing/touring), canoes, SUPs ('Lily Pads'), rowboats, Sunfish sailboats, surfboards
Prices: ~$30-145 per 24 hours depending on craft (e.g., single/tandem kayak $60-75, SUP $65, canoe $75, Sunfish $145); 'every third day free' promotion published
Based on Route 6 in Wellfleet; delivers across the Outer Cape (Brewster to Provincetown), which includes Eastham/Great Pond -- confirm delivery to this specific pond by phone (508-349-9808) · 9am-4pm daily, May 22-Sept 13, 2026 (appointment-only Sept 14-25)
Kayaks (single/double) and paddleboards; also bikes at their canal-path location
Prices: At their fixed Sandwich/Mashpee locations: single kayak ~$30-35/hr or $55-70/24hr, double kayak ~$48-50/hr or $75-95/24hr, paddleboard ~$36-40/hr or $65-75/24hr; delivery pricing for locations like Eastham is not published online
Fixed rental locations are in Sandwich and Mashpee; the company advertises delivery 'all over Cape Cod & Plymouth' for 24+ hour rentals -- call ahead (508-247-0827) to confirm delivery to Great Pond/Eastham
What regulars say
Visitor reports on r/CapeCod describe Great Pond as a good smaller freshwater alternative to the ocean beaches, with one commenter recommending it for someone with mobility concerns, and another calling it 'a great relaxing spot' when listing things to do around Eastham alongside Rock Harbor, First Encounter Beach, and Coast Guard Beach. No visitor comments specific to the Wiley Park access point (as opposed to Great Pond generally) were found.
Backstory
The Town of Eastham approved a concept design in 2020 to renovate Wiley Park's playground and parking facilities, with the project anticipated to go out to bid in summer 2021. Great Pond itself underwent a 2013 in-pond alum treatment to address phosphorus loading, part of a longer-running town pond water-quality management program dating to at least 2009.
Wiley Park: FAQ
Does Wiley Park charge a fee?
The Town of Eastham requires a beach parking sticker (or daily pass, per the town's Beach Parking Daily Passes program) for its bayside beaches and ponds, issued through the Recreation & Beach/Sticker Office; specific dollar amounts were not found in the pages reviewed.
Is Wiley Park kid friendly?
Multiple independent sources describe Wiley Park as a family-oriented freshwater beach on Great Pond: calm, warm, shallow-entry water, an on-site playground and picnic/grill area, swim docks kids can jump off, and seasonal lifeguards. Great Pond itself gets deep (max ~36 ft) away from shore, so supervise kids off the docks and away from the drop-off.
Do I need to hike to reach Wiley Park?
No significant hike is required. The swimming area is close to parking and access.
Where do I park for Wiley Park?
On-site lot with roughly 54 spaces. A Town of Eastham beach parking sticker or daily pass is required June 20 through Labor Day (Sept 7, 2026); daily passes cost $30/vehicle, cash or check only (no card/Venmo), and Wiley Park is one of only four town locations where daily passes are sold on-site. Seasonal/weekly resident and non-resident sticker rates are handled through the Recreation, Beach & Sticker Office.
Can I bring a kayak or paddleboard to Wiley Park?
One local guide (dguides.com) notes kayaking/sailing on Great Pond, including via the connecting stream to the adjoining smaller pond, as a relaxing option, and mentions a delivery-based kayak rental service serving the area.
What are the rules at Wiley Park?
A town beach parking sticker/daily pass applies to town beaches and ponds, including access points to Great Pond. The adjoining Nickerson Conservation Area has its own separate conservation-area regulations document (revised November 2023) governing that adjacent land.
What water body is Wiley Park on?
Wiley Park is on Great Pond, a natural pond verified in USGS hydrography data.
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