We didn't actually get to go in, so my experience is mostly for the parking lot and the beach. This was our first stop in Chatham so a neat way to start the trip with views of the light house and beach. It's only 30 minute parking, but honestly, how much time do you need? It was very beautiful, but man what a walk up and down to the beach. There are portapottys, and they are not clean. Overall, it's a must do, but not a lot to do there. read more

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Chatham Lighthouse is a nice highlight of Cape Cod, offering stunning panoramic views across North Beach Island and the Atlantic Ocean. Perched on a bluff overlooking the water, it's a great spot for pictures and great scenery. This old light house was established 1808, had a deep maritime history. The lighthouse is still active and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. Though it's only open to the public one day a week--Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:30 PM--the trip is worth planning for. Theres a short presentation about the lighthouse's history and even take a tour up into the tower. A word of caution: the steps are narrow and steep, and the final ascent into the lamp room involves climbing a near-vertical 90-degree ladder. If you're in search of a nice Cape Cod experience, Chatham Lighthouse is worth the visit. read more

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Everything. The small town atmosphere and little shops. The Chatham Inn was amazing and the inn personnel was fantastic. Every place we ate the food was wonderful. read more

A MUST DO! 4 & 1/3 STARS! After walking up & down the quaint shops & eateries on Main Street in Chatham we headed to Chatham Lighthouse Beach. Parking can be challenging here. It's Free but there are a limited amount of parking spaces for short term parking. It's a Beautiful Beach to sink your feet in the sand. Sometimes you can spot seals here. It's a very tranquil beach. Sunny Days are Great & what most people prefer. But you've got to come here on a Cloudy Day; it's FANTASTIC! It looks like an artist painted the clouds in the sky! Beautiful! It used to be, you had to have Mega Bucks & be really rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget! read more

This beach is a must stop for us whenever we're on 'The Cape', whether we're staying near here or not. I definitely believe it's worth the detour. This is mainly because of the seals!! I've never come and NOT seen some! During our last visit (April 2019) we saw TONS!! They were on the other side of the sandbar and there was a sign I striating not to cross, but we could still see them. If you have or rent a boat while in town, definitely do a loop around here for a better view! Seeing them swim and Bob their little heads in definitely the cutest! While we always seem to visit in the off-season, we don't swim, and I'm not sure I would anyway, just for fear of sharks with all of the seals around. This beach is notorious for sightings, so swim with caution, especially with littles! Coming in the off-season, we also never have an issue parking in the lot above, but do read the signs! The beach is free, quite clean, well kept and quiet. I love beaching while looking back at the lighthouse! The kiddos also love the house made from driftwood! They played for quite awhile there! If you have real small Kiddos, have them write a letter to place in the real mailbox! So cute! Also, the little sea creatures and shells in the area are pretty cool! Definitely our favorite beach on 'The Cape', and that's even without swimming! No food options RIGHT there, but there are showers and restrooms. read more

Moving to MA a few month ago from CA. Never imagined there are seals and dolphins in MA. I am excited seeing here many seals and dolphins! It was windy but very nice beach! read more

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This is one of the most beautiful beaches on the Cape and extra special to me since it is in Chatham. I grew up spending time in this quaint little seaside town each summer ever since I was a baby. However, be VERY cautious about going in the water here. There have been drownings and other accidents. The is a very strong current here. I was there the day this happened: http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20080905/news/809050303 The town does a good idea of posting signs about the risks of going in the water, but accidents keep happenings. I would recommend sitting on this beach or dipping your toes in the water, but be cautious! Parking at the lighthouse is very limited, so I prefer to park in town and walk here. If you like walking on beaches, this is a great place for it and you could get a good long stroll in. read more

Chatham Lighthouse Beach - A couple getting engaged in May 2014. Romantic! :) - Beaches Near Me - Chatham, Massachusetts

My personal favorite beach on Cape Cod. We visit this beach upon every visit to Cape Cod. Beautiful views!! Parking is always a hassle as there is not much parking for the amount of people who visit this location. read more

Chatham Lighthouse Beach - Lighthouse beach - Beaches Near Me - Chatham, Massachusetts

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Such a beautiful beach! By far my favorite in Chatham, the only issue I have with it is the parking. You can park for 30 minutes from 9-5 so it's great for pictures, but unfortunately if you're looking to spend the day here you're going to have to go looking for parking somewhere else...(which is not as easy as it sounds). Other than that the beach is incredible, it's well-kept, offers a beautiful view, and it's rarely crowded which is nice compared to the smaller beaches where you're just feet away from the family next to you. read more

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The beach below the Chatham Lighthouse is one of our favorite beaches to spend the day. The beach seems to be never-ending - you can walk along the shore for what seems like miles (and might actually be miles). I walk with family members and we lose track of time walking and walking and walking... Farther down the coast, away from where most people are, you can find beautiful, polished rocks, colorful seashells and all sorts of washed up marine life. The other day we saw seals swimming, and on a jetty a few hundred yards off the shore, hundreds of seals sunbathing! It was an amazing sight to see! The beach is very clean and the water is almost as blue as Caribbean waters (no joke!). And while you're laying out or swimming in the surf, it's nice to turn around and see the lighthouse on the hill. A beautiful place!! read more

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Love going here, it is my absolute favorite beach on the cape. The sand is soft and this place is never too crowded. When anyone asks for my suggestions, I tell them to come here! My husband and I (of 39 years this coming November, this is both our favorite beach) pull out our chairs and put up a large umbrella to sit under. We absolutely love to sit out in front of the water all day. My friends also enjoy this place. I definitely recommend going here next time if you don't know where to go! read more

Came here today by recommendation from a friend, I heard you can see the seals and walk for miles! Luckily everything I was told was spot on - it's a beautiful beach and was not very crowded at all, probably because it's early in the season and was a bit cloudy today. You can definitely walk for what seems like forever, and the sand is soft so it's a great workout! I was able to see some seals, but they were out a bit further than I'd hoped. Noteworthy though that the great white sharks hunt seals, so id say this isn't the best beach for swimming! They do have a swimming area roped off if you choose to be daring and go for a dip, but the water is pretty chilly so I wasn't interested anyway. PARKING: 30 minutes is the max at the top of the beach from 9-5, really just for sightseeing or you can come early and stay for a bit. I parked on Main Street at Eldridge Garage for $5, and it was about 3/4 mile walk to the beach. Not bad at all! And the garage is right in town if you wanted to walk that way after your beach day :) read more

Chatham Lighthouse Beach - Beaches Near Me - Chatham, Massachusetts

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Beautiful beach. Great place to relax and take in the view. Bring a beach chair and book. read more

Chatham Lighthouse Beach - Beaches Near Me - Chatham, Massachusetts

This is such a lovely beach for a stroll, shell collecting, and skipping stones. There's free 30 minute parking for the beach. When we were there in early afternoon, we saw a seal which was the coolest thing. Also found a colorful sea snail and saw kids collecting hermit crabs and sea stars. Highly recommend hitting this beach on the way to downtown Chatham for shopping and a meal. Glad we visited. Be vigilant - there are signs warning of sharks in the shallow waters known to hunt seals there. read more

Pretty beach but parking sucks and the walk there is even worse. Try not to carry too much down as it stinks to carry back up. The parking in front of beach is for scenic viewing only so you have to leave within the hour. I love seeing the light house behind us while there. Plenty of rocks to hunt and places to set up for playing on the beach. When you head down walk towards the right to see the house made of driftwood and random pieces. True beach front property read more

Now this is a Cape Cod beach. The others have you fooled. There is no useful parking. But an industrious person with an empty lot offers $5 parking. Take advantage of his '93 Carprice station wagon shuttle for $15. We tried neither as staying long was not the plan. I do applaud the America this citizen is making for himself. The sand is great and the breeze on this day was enough to make you forgot about the sun screen. But don't. There is no shade. read more

One of the best beaches. Great sand and surf but atrocious parking. I'm not factoring it into this review though because this beach is simply breathtaking. The sand is so soft! The water almost looks like a tropical blue/green. It's never too crowded (probably because of the crazy parking regulation). But, you can park from 7-9am if you are an early bird like me. The ocean, it breathes for me. read more

Best view on the Cape. Park and watch the dunes and seals from your car. Get out and use the viewers to see the boats and beach. Port a John available for use. Lighthouse and Coast Guard boat accross the street. Great views on a sunny day. Always parking and 30 min max. Life guards on duty on the beach. It is quite a trek down to the beach, but well worth it. read more

Grab a parking spot (30 min. max) and go chill on the loveliest beach. I prefer standing on the top, gazing at the cut and the views. Later, drive to one of Chatham's many great spots for ice cream food or libations. read more

I wasn't a big fan of Chatham Lighthouse, but the beach next to it is beautiful. We visited Cape Cod, MA during our Northeast road trip in Sept 2016 and enjoyed an hour at the Chatham Lighthouse Beach. Parking is a bit tight, but we were able to park in the tiny lot nearby. The beach is clean, has a lovely view of the Cape Cod coastline, and affords a view of beautiful sunsets. It also isn't super crowded. I didn't get to visit any other beaches on the Cape during our visit, so I have no other local beaches to compare it with, but I could tell it's a truly wonderful beach to visit. I would love to visit again if I visit Cape Cod in the future! read more

Beautiful beach. I didn't know Massachusetts had such beautiful beaches!!! Hard to find parking, but worth it!!! read more

Chatham Lighthouse Beach - Beaches Near Me - Chatham, Massachusetts

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This is by far the most beautiful beach I've seen in Cape Cod. Unlike the other reviews, we found the parking to be great as we pulled up & found a spot free immediately--and unlike all of the other beaches we visited in Cape Cod, it was free. Definitely recommend. read more

Chatham Lighthouse Beach - Beaches Near Me - Chatham, Massachusetts

Amazing beach with some of the best sand on the cape. Family friendly. Signs say that the tide can be Extremely dangerous.

Beautiful beach for walking, shells, seal spotting... but this is not a good place for swimming. The water here in particular is freezing cold. Freezing. Even in August. Add to that VISIBLY strong water currents and great white sharks and I would recommend not coming to this one to swim. Swimming is better in places in the bay or further toward Harwich, etc. Make sure to go to the fish pier too to see more seals up close! I also think people exaggerated the water color here but it probably changes depending on the weather... it also might be safer to wade in a little at low tide. read more

Wonderful time with family. The area had a lot of seaweed, but the ambiance was still nice. The waves were tame, and kids had a blast. Right next to the lighthouse. read more

Beautiful views. The sand goes on for miles! I cannot wait to come by again. Perfect place for a beach picnic.

What a BEAUTIFUL beach. We arrived around 3 PM. Many swimmers at thigh deep, I asked why no one went beyond their thighs....I was told there had been a shark sighting around noon that day. That was kind of exciting to me......the water was great. You can see small sand islands from a distance. You can see people on them. You can also see seals swimming and sunbathing on the islands. There is a 30 min max free parking. I'm not sure if they have a paying parking lot. A must see, so beautiful. read more

I only had time to explore the overlook with 30min parking. A fog set in just as I arrived but the views of the beach and dunes were still gorgeous. Can't wait to make more time to explore the beach for the day. read more

I would give this five stars if there was more parking because it was full on a winter day. I can't imagine going here in the summer. However it is a perfect cape beach otherwise. It has a fun little beach house, watching the seals is amazing, the sand is like brown sugar, the dunes look like they were painted into perfect little pictures. You can even see through the water thanks to oysters filtering the beautiful waters. The lighthouse was closed but the views are amazing on their own. I am pretty sure I could've brought a chair and sat there all day. It was so relaxing with the bright and muted blues and golds and touches of green. I was completely awe struck. I look d at the local gray shingles homes and considered owning one then realized that most are 2-8 million dollars and kept dreaming anyway. I wish there were smaller ones speckled about but oh well at least the beach is here to spoil the folks that don't own one of the beautiful seaside homes. The views are just so epic. I can't even properly put into words. It's like a postcard or a painting. read more

Nice beach, seems to be plenty of parking $15 per car per day, parking lot is close to the beach, new and clean bathrooms, lifeguards on duty read more

Five stars for the beach but dropped it down due to total lack of parking. In front of the beach is a tow away zone and it's 30 minutes only. You'll have to find something on a side street and walk. Some streets require a parking permit. Beach is clean, sand is powdery soft. Views are gorgeous. Once you've parked, you'll love it. read more

This is definitely a great beach. It is simply beautiful! As people mentioned, the parking is bad and there isn't much in the way of amenities, but if you can get there, I highly recommend it. I spent two days there taking aerial footage (you can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuffjiy9Usc), and, as you can see, the area is breathtaking. read more

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This beach was so beautiful! I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting cape cod. The sand was soft and it does not get to crowded. Plus lots of boats in the ocean which is fun to watch. Thank you to the other Yelper for the tip on the $5 parking right on Main Street. No police or lifeguards which made for a wonderful, relaxing day! read more

Very nice beach. We parked in the 30min parking to take a quick look. A bit of a walk to the water. Nice to see the boats and seals. Not for swimming (current). There are portapotties. If you have kids with lots of stuff go elsewhere as you cannot park on site. read more