Cape Cod town takes steps to ban day-trippers on July 4 after uptick in ‘dangerous conduct’

The Cape Cod town of Dennis is imposing a parking ban to deter some Fourth of July beachgoers.

There will be no daily parking passes sold at Mayflower, Chapin, and Bayview beaches on the holiday, the Dennis Police Department said. Only cars with a valid 2024 beach sticker will be allowed to park in the beach lots.

Cars will also be banned from parking in neighborhoods in the Massachusetts town, or near businesses, close to the beaches. Violators could be ticketed and/or towed.

Only those with a residential, seasonal, or weekly parking sticker will be allowed entrance to the beach parking lots, police said.

The police attributed the new changes to a “combination of crowd size and alcohol has resulted in increasingly large, disorderly, and chaotic crowds.”

Dennis police chief John Brady explained the new policies in a Facebook video: “Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic increase in unsafe and dangerous conduct: fighting, assault, vandalism, binge drinking, drug use, loud music and other concerning behavior.”

Police also noted that beachgoers have left behind “a tremendous amount of trash,” including beer cans, broken glass bottles, towels, clothing, shoes, coolers, beach chairs, that has taken the Department of Public Works hours to clean up.

Since 2019, there has been a 100 percent increase in beach-related calls for emergency services at the three beaches, a police release said. Dennis Police responded to more than 1,200 calls for service at its beaches over the past three Fourth of Julys, with 459 calls last year alone.

“Dennis is home to some of the best beaches on Cape Cod, including Mayflower Beach. Our goal with these measures is to make sure that beachgoers can enjoy Dennis beaches this July 4th holiday safely without worrying about out-of-control crowds, violence, and other dangerous behavior,” Chief Brady said.