Active Pursuits

Beaches

Chatham has an unusual array of beach styles, from the peaceful shores of the Nantucket Sound to the treacherous, shifting shoals along the Atlantic. For information on beach stickers ($15 per day, $60 per week), call the Permit Department on George Ryder Road in West Chatham (tel. 508/945-5180).

• Chatham Light Beach: Located directly below the lighthouse parking lot (where stopovers are limited to 30 min.), this narrow stretch of sand is easy to get to: Just walk down the stairs. Currents here can be tricky and swift, though, so swimming is discouraged.
• Cockle Cove Beach, Ridgevale Beach, and Hardings Beach: Lined up along the sound, each at the end of its namesake road south of Route 28, these family-pleasing beaches offer gentle surf suitable for all ages, as well as full facilities, including lifeguards. Parking stickers are required.
• Forest Beach: No longer an officially recognized town beach (there's no lifeguard), this sound landing near the Harwich border is still popular, especially among surfboarders.
• North Beach: Extending all the way south from Orleans, this 5-mile barrier beach is accessible from Chatham only by boat; if you don't have your own, you can take the Beachcomber, a water taxi, which leaves from Chatham fish pier on Shore Road. Call tel. 508/945-5265 (www.sealwatch.com) to schedule your trip, though reservations are not necessary. Round-trip costs $25 for adults, and $21 for children 12 and under. The water taxi makes the trip from 10am to 5pm daily in season on sunny days. Inquire about other possible drop-off points if you'd like to beach around.
• Oyster Pond Beach, off Route 28: Only a block from Chatham's Main Street, this sheltered saltwater pond (with restrooms) swarms with children. It's free to park here and there is a lifeguard.
• South Beach: A former island jutting out slightly to the south of the Chatham Light, this glorified sandbar can be dangerous, so heed posted warnings and content yourself with strolling or, at most, wading. A sticker is not required to park here.

Bicycling

Though Chatham has no separate recreational paths per se, a demarcated bike/blading lane makes a scenic, 8-mile circuit of town, heading south onto "The Neck," east to the Chatham Light, up Shore Road all the way to North Chatham, and back to the center of town. A descriptive brochure prepared by the Chatham Chamber of Commerce (tel. 800/715-5567 or 508/945-5199) shows the suggested route, and there are lots of lightly trafficked detours worth taking.

Bird-Watching

In summer, the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife chapter of the Audubon Society (tel. 508/349-2615) offers bird-watching trips to the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge on North Monomoy Island (monomoy.fws.gov). On the tour of North Monomoy, after a 15-minute boat ride from Chatham, you'll embark on a 4-hour guided tour, where you'll encounter a variety of species -- from herring gulls and sandpipers to black-bellied plovers and willets. Tours cost around $35 adults, $30 children 12 and under, and are recommended not just for avid bird-watchers, but for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Reservations are required.

Boating

You can rent a kayak and paddle down the Oyster River, past Hardings Beach, and over to Morris Island. You can also explore Pleasant Bay, the Cape's largest, and reach the inside shore of the Outer Beach. For those with sufficient experience, Pleasant Bay is the best place to sail; if the winds don't go your way, try Forest Beach on the South Chatham shore.

NautiJane's Boat Rental at 337 Rte. 28 in Harwich Port (tel. 508/430-6893) also offers kayak and sailboat rentals at the Wequassett Inn on Pleasant Bay and on Ridgevale Beach in Chatham (tel. 508/432-4339): Available crafts include kayaks, Sunfish, surf bikes, and sailboats up to 16 feet. Kayaks rent for $25 per hour or $42 for 2 hours; sailboats rent for $65 to $99 for two hours or $115 to $185 for half-day.

Fishing

Chatham has five ponds and lakes that permit fishing; Goose Pond off Fisherman's Landing is among the top spots. For saltwater fishing sans boat, try the fishing bridge on Bridge Street at the southern end of Mill Pond. First, though, get a license at Town Hall at 549 Main St. in Harwich (tel. 508/430-7553) or at Goose Hummock in Orleans (tel. 508/255-2620). If you hear the deep sea calling, sign on with The Headhunter (tel. 508/430-2312; www.capecodfishingcharters.com), a 33-foot sportfishing boat, or the 31-foot Banshee (tel. 508/945-0403), both berthed in Stage Harbor. Sportfishing rates average around $650 for 5 hours. Shellfishing licenses are available at the Permit Department on George Ryder Road in West Chatham (tel. 508/945-5180).

Golf

Once part of the Chatham Bars Inn property and now owned by the town, the scenic 9-hole, par-34 Chatham Seaside Links at 209 Seaview St. in Chatham (tel. 508/945-4774) isn't very challenging but is fun for neophytes; inquire about instruction. A 9-hole round costs $19.

Nature & Wildlife Areas

Heading southeast from the Hardings Beach parking lot, the 2-mile round-trip Seaside Trail offers beautiful parallel panoramas of Nantucket Sound and Oyster Pond River; keep an eye out for nesting pairs of horned lark. Access to 40-acre Morris Island, southwest of the Chatham Light, is easy: You can walk or drive across and start right in on a marked .75-mile trail. Heed the high tides, as advised, though -- they can come in surprisingly quickly, leaving you stranded.

Chatham's natural bonanza lies southward: The uninhabited Monomoy Islands, 2,750 acres of brush-covered sand favored by some 285 species of migrating birds, is the perfect pit stop along the Atlantic Flyway. Harbor and gray seals are catching on, too: Hundreds now carpet the coastline from late November through May. If you go out during that time, you won't have any trouble seeing them -- they're practically unavoidable. Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, operated by the Audubon Society (tel. 508/349-2615), offers guided trips. The Audubon's 3-, 4-, or 7-hour trips take place April through November, and they cost $30 to $60 per person. The boat to Monomoy leaves from Chatham, and the trip includes a naturalist-guided nature hike.

Seal-Watching

The Beachcomber (tel. 508/945-5265; www.sealwatch.com) runs seal-watching cruises out of Stage Harbor from mid-May to late September daily in season and weekends in the shoulder seasons. Parking is on Crowell Road at Chatham Boat Company near the bakery. The 90-minute cruises cost $25 for adults, $23 for seniors, $21 for children 3 to 15, and free for children 2 and under.

Outermost Adventures (tel. 508/945-5858; www.outermostharbor.com) runs boat shuttle service to South Beach. The ride takes 10 minutes and once on the beach, passengers can walk for two minutes to the far side of the spit to see seals gathered along the coast. The shuttle beginning at 8am goes every 20 minutes and is first come, first served. The last pick-up is at 4:30pm. The cost is $20 adults, $10 children 12 and under. Trips run from Memorial Day to Columbus Day.

The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife chapter of the Audubon Society (tel. 508/349-2615) also runs family seal trips to South Beach during the summer for $45 for adults, $40 for children.

Tennis

Free public courts are located near the Railroad Museum on Depot Street and at Chatham High School on Crowell Road; for details contact the Chatham Recreation Department (tel. 508/945-5100). In addition, you may be able to rent one of the three courts at the Chatham Bars Inn on Shore Road (tel. 508/945-6759), which cost $35 an hour.