Watch for low tide and enjoy a quiet and beautiful beach walk. No crowds to contend with on this walk.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! I would highly recommend a visit to Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge!
miles and miles of beautiful, natural coast line. had to be mindful of the tides. some places needed no foot wear and the others needed some foot protection. so important to wear water proof shoes.
We walked along this beautiful beach today, enjoying the blue sea, white sand,Sandpipers, fiddler crabs, views of the sand bar which has been constantly changing. I walked from the visiter center to the channel that enters Stage Harbor--almost 2 miles each way. It was awesome.I have been walking here since I was a girl with my grandmother an avid birder and now I am 70. It is better not to go at high tide!
Monomoy has such a marvelous history! It is a shame that our government, in the form of The National Park Service, has chosen to over-regulate visitation rights, and has decided that "Man knows best" when it comes to which animals may choose the land as their home. Shooting Coyotes, Deer... poisoning seagulls, coddling the seal population... trying to restrict natives from shellfishing? What has become of this land we call the United States of America. I was born here in Chatham and am totally angered by the way that our beloved sandspit has been managed. I learned to drive, as a young teenager, on Monomoy. Granted, that should no longer be allowed, but the general trend has become far too restrictive for my blood.
We took the beach walk around the refuge, and it was beautiful! We were there in the Fall, so it was quiet and peaceful. The beach is lovely and you can literally walk forever it seems (and we did!). There were also many shells to pick through. Our only complaint is that there were no maps or signs to follow and we had difficulty finding our way back. But getting lost in such a paradise is not always a bad thing.
Make sure you drive through the National Seashore. Even in the winter, it is so beautiful...as nice as any shore anywhere in the world.
You can see, smell, and hear the ocean from this refuge. It's very pretty, quiet, and peaceful. It's usually not busy, and you can walk the beach to paths, if you would like.
Not much of a trail available when it's high tide. Low tide woul be great, as next day an a boat trip saw many walking the beach area and sand bars. Disappointing, museum closed on Sunday morning and 11:30 boat trip cancelled due to not enough signups. We were close with 12, but not enough so call ahead to reserve if you only have a day or so in area and want to visit the nearby shores/bars. We did hang around hoping the boat would go, bad for tourists to hear this cancellation at last minute. Restrooms.
We visit here several times each summer by motor boat and are never disappointed with scenery that is other worldly, framed by lots of birds and the occasional seal. The channel is ever changing, but well marked when there is little fog. A rare treat.There is a commercial boat that visits from Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich Port (Perseverance) if you do not have your own boat.