Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Chatham

We took a nature walk with Bud, an older gentleman who volunteered, and it was fascinating. The guided walk is free, but you have to wear a sticker that indicates you are going on the walk - and you must go inside to the admission desk to get the sticker. You can take the walk by yourself, but Bud was an invaluable source of information and he told us lots of stuff about the flora (and a bit about the native fauna), plus some history of the area, and generally made the entire experience much more interesting than it would have been if we'd just walked without a guide. Plus, he's just an amusing guy who was really sweet and fun to talk to.

I think this walk would be appropriate for almost anyone except small children or people who need any sort of ambulatory assistance, as you walk out over a bog on two wooden planks, and that couldn't be navigated by toddlers or people with mobility issues.

Inside, the museum is small, but interesting. There are also grounds around the museum that are pleasant to stroll through, and the plants are labeled, which would be a good idea for the nature walk, too (plants outside the museum grounds are not labeled president). There is also a butterfly house, but the line was quite long and we were unable to get in.

The only downside is the museum closes at 4:00. I wish more tourist attractions on the Cape stayed open until at least 6:00 p.m. - 4:00 seems so early to close, but a LOT of places are only...

Coming with good old memories of hiking on the seaside trail at low tide and seeing the trail disappearing behind us being submerged in water and then we had to take the trail through marshland back…, it’s really in memories now! Haven’t been here for almost five years and when arrived we were puzzled “ where is the small museum?!”, we saw a shed with tables for information display instead, later we were told that the museum has been demolished two years ago, even worst news was that the 3 mile seaside hiking trail that we were coming back for was no longer accessible due to the erosion and loss of one session of beach! Anyway we decided to renew ( not refreshable now!) the hiking experience at the time of lowest tide, great vistas of sand bars appeared once we reach to the waterfront, still that blue sapphire like water surrounding a peaceful sanctuary! We especially walked to those eroded coastal line section, trying to find back those old memories not taking away by the Mother Nature! A good place for family with kids or for a quiet moment of your own mindfulness and peace. We encountered a group for bird watching, and spotted a yellow leg sandpiper and a wounded bird ( reported to the staff at the shed), lots of baby crabs and horseshoe crabs. No ticket needed now to access the hiking trail, the trail head located in an upscale neighborhood. Parking space was full by the time we left...

A beautiful place to visit. And DO NOT be dissuaded by the "private way" signs the snobby locals have put up all along the "public" access road to the refuge. Just keep on driving right to the headquarters! The nerve of some people! This place is open to ALL and is definitely worth your time.

My wife and I parked and went into the main building and one of naturalists helped us out. We walked the mostly-decked trail down to the beach. We then walked the entire beach.

Note that the best time to walk along the beach is low tide. We could walk for a couple of miles on the beach and saw Cormorants diving for food and resting on moorings.

We also saw momma seagulls digging up clams and mussels, dropping them on rocks from the air, and then letting their squawking offspring eat a meal. Really cool place to be on a mid-September day in the mid-70s with periods of dense fog and then...