CCNS was created on August 7, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy,[3][4] when he signed a bill enacting the legislation he first co-sponsored as a Senator a few years prior.

The CCNS includes nearly 40 miles (64 km) of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod, in the towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham.

Notable sites encompassed by the CCNS include Marconi Station (site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission), the Highlands Center for the Arts (formerly the North Truro Air Force Station), the Dune Shacks of Peaked Hill Bars Historic District (a 1,950-acre historic district containing dune shacks and the dune environment), and the glacial erratic known as Doane Rock.

[9][10] As part of the NPS Centennial Initiative, the Herring River estuary will be restored to its natural state through removal of dikes and drains that date back to 1909.

The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) has provided more than $8 million to oversee this project that is to begin in 2023.