refuge faunique national Monomoy - Chatham, Massachusetts

Nicole Weinstein

Beautiful spot.We saw seals and TONS of birds. It’s a great walk on the beach. Drawbacks would be no bathroom (after season and no PortaPottie), and limited parking. Also, watch out for the “quicksand,” — areas of the beach that are wet will literally suck you in. But overall, an amazing place and well worth a trip.

Alissa Neibert-Walmsley

A gorgeous wildlife preserve for experiencing the natural beauty of Cape Cod. There are lots of great walking trails, scenic views and beaches to explore. The beaches are clean, family friendly and beautiful! The water in the inlet is calm and ideal for smaller children to swim.

Beware that the tick warning signs are no joke. Stay on the paths and stay out of the tall grasses. There's only a very small parking lot at the center, so during the busy summer season be prepared to park in the designated roadway area and walk a fair way uphill to the park. The local roads around the preserve are private residential streets and don't allow parking. Also while the park is very family friendly, if you bring a stroller for little ones or a beach cart, there are LOTS of stairs to get down the cliffs to the beautiful beaches.

If you have access to a boat rental or are thinking about taking a charter out to the uninhabited Monomoy Island to enjoy the beaches and see the seals, it's well worth it! Wear plenty of sunscreen (there is absolutely no shade) and pack plenty of water. A visit with the seals and exploring the island is an experience not to be missed!

Cecelia F

Excellent beach! We came here at the end of our vacation and had an awesome time. There is a good amount of parking and a visitor kiosk, (while the visitor center is closed) but the bathrooms are port-a-potties, even though the actual bathrooms are only accessible from the outside and are single person. The walk to the trail to the beach goes on the road and it's a bit hard to see as we passed it the first time. Once you get to the beach it is beautiful. There is informative signs and plenty of birds and some crabs. We didn't see any seals, but maybe it wasn't the a good day for it or something. I would definitely recommend!

Anna G

If you're in Chatham, there are better beaches. Highly recommend spending your time at another beach in the area. This one has extremely limited parking, and lacks other amenities that you'd want, like bathrooms and walkways to the beach. When you finally find your way toward the water, be prepared for rocks and very little sand. On your way home, check for ticks...found one on myself. With that in mind, maybe it's best that they don't allow dogs. Not worth the drive or effort to get to this spot.

Elizabeth Rice

No parking, no restrooms, long walk to the loop. Do not recommend.

Kaitlin McCafferty

What a beautiful wildlife reserve!

I was a little confused on my way out--the street looks like it's saying "No Trespassing" but that just means don't trespass onto people's private property.

I went pretty early one morning in August and enjoyed watching the fog lift, seeing the wildlife, and taking a nature hike to start the day. It was serene and very special. The beach is beautiful, there were flocks of birds on the water and fishermen already set up nearby. Near the parking area there were bathrooms, a hummingbird area, and a nesting ground.

The path itself to hike around was well-defined and safe--lots of decking to make your walk through the woods easy. It's not a tough hike, so perfect for families and it's easy to gage how far you've gone and how far you have to go back since you retrace your steps (at least, I did). Watch the tides b/c high tide eats up the beach part of the hike a bit.

It was a highlight of my time in Chatham. Highly recommended.

SR S

We went there today to walk the trails and were disappointed by the total lack of signage and directions. We did find a path to the beach, but despite driving and walking all around the area, we found only one short (couple of yards long) actual trail that ended at a lookout. That "trail" was next to the closed visitors center.

Elliott Dupont

Really beautiful park! The trails are very nice but I highly suggest going into the visitor center and looking at the map. They also have a lot of special stuff for kids in there!