This dataset documents the locations of ground control points associated with images obtained from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) flown in the Cape Cod National Seashore. Most of the ground control points were temporary targets placed by the U.S. Geological Survey field crew, but four were man-made features already in place, and two were points selected a posteriori from preliminary orthophotomosaics. Photographs of the four in-place features are included in this dataset, as are images showing the location of the two a posteriori points at two zoom levels. The locations of these ground control points can be used to constrain photogrammetric reconstructions based on the aerial imagery. The overall objective of the fieldwork was to evaluate the quality and cost of mapping from UAS images. Low-altitude (approximately 120 meters above ground level) digital images were obtained from cameras in a fixed-wing UAS flown from the lawn adjacent to the Coast Guard Beach parking lot on 1 March, 2016. All activities were conducted according to Federal Aviation Administration regulations and under a National Park Service Scientific Research and Collecting Permit, study number CACO-00285, permit number CACO-2016-SCI-003.