Ridgevale Beach — Attraction in Chatham

Family of 5 Review - Go for it 👍🏼 Tuesday July 9th, arrived just after 10 AM. Paid $20 to park and found the lot mostly empty (could have been due to the foggy weather). IMPORTANT - ONLY PORTA POTTIES. Bit of a trek over pedestrian bridge with crabs 🦀 under it and out to the beach front. Lifeguard on duty. Bit of seaweed near the lifeguard area - 10ft out in the water and you are mostly clear. We had decent waves - likely due to the breeze (really comfortable). Walked down to the sandbar where we found many crabs 🦀, hermit crabs, and 2 horseshoe crabs - one was huge! Kids loved catching the crabs. Made our way up to the pedestrian bridge later in the day to catch the crabs in their holes - some with larger pinchers. Pro-Tip: Use a sturdy shovel to dig around the holes and you will find tons of the crabs! Kids dug a huge fort at the crest of high-tide - not much tide movement on the sound side. Didn’t go to the snack shack. Beach never filled up - stayed until...

This beach really has a place for everyone. If you just like sitting on the beach and reading, consider going to the part on the ocean near the bridge. If you have small kids who like to catch crabs or splash around in the water, set up near the tidal stream, it's a great spot for small kids. If you have older kids who may like to kayak or swim in a bigger river, go to the peninsula where the river meets the ocean, you can float out with the current or kayak there. There's even a sand bar you can swim out to.

Be warned that if you hate seaweed, you may want to set up near the tidal stream, as the ocean and the bigger river have lots of seaweed.

Overall, this place can be great for anyone. It's a great place for a walk because it's a big beach with many tidal streams. It can be great to come as a family, with older or younger kids, or alone.

This place is my favorite on the...

Nice Chatham beach option, especially with young children and the shark issue. In addition to the beautiful, pristinely clean beach, there are some unique, big, clean natural tidal pools that are perfect for young children. If the kids are playing in the pools there's no chance of a shark attack. They simply can't get in as the water is too shallow for them. Of course, the kids are still in danger of drowning so you must watch them but it eliminates one major parental worry.

I'd give the beach 5 stars except that if you don't have a Chatham resident car sticker it'll cost you 20 dollars to park. However, there's a decent clam shack/snack shop at the end of the parking lot and a large number of clean port-a-potties available too; two nice amenities that make the fee less...