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Chatham by the Sea, Cape Cod 
My family has been coming to Chatham for most of my life. First, I came as a child with my parents. Later my mother bought a home in North Chatham after my dad died where we spent summer weekends and much of August. I came here after law school not knowing what I would do next and needing the time, after studying for the bar, to chill and figure it out. After my mom sold the house and moved to New Seabury, and I moved to Washington D.C., my kids and I would come for three weeks every August from our suburban Maryland home. We all agreed that we would live here someday. And, then it happened. My oldest, who has severe learning disabilities, graduated high school with a diploma! We no longer needed access to the special schools he had attended and we decided the time had come. What's So Special About Chatham
Morning Scene of Wetlands in Chatham at Chatham Gallery Well there are a lot of things.
It is bordered on three sides by water -
There are beautiful views everywhere you look. There are 27 acres of salt marshes, dunes, shoals, channels, and islands, as well the actual town. There's also Monomoy, an 8 mile thread of sand off Chatham which is home to the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Dog Walkers Sandy Beach Chatham at Chatham Gallery Then there is the Chatham Fish Pier. The kids and I considered it our summer, spiritual home. Chatham is one of only two Cape towns, the other is Provincetown, that supports a commercial fishing fleet. Boats go out everyday from 3 to100 miles to sea to catch haddock, cod, flounder, lobster, pollock, dogfish, monkfish and halibut, depending on what is in season. They start returning around 3 in the afternoon. If you get to the Observation Deck, overlooking the fish upload area, around 5, after a day at one of the barrier beaches, you can spend an hour watching them upload their catch and enjoying the glorious view.
From the fish pier you can see North Beach, the barrier beach for Pleasant Bay, which is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. You can also see Tern Island in the middle of the Bay. Off to your right, or southeast from the Observation Deck, you can see the 1987 Chatham Break caused by a winter storm that breached the barrier beach. Hazards now include: shifting shoals, hidden breakers, strong tidal currents, shallow water, and unreliable buoyage. In 2007 new Chatham Break occurred after a bad storm. Prior to that there had been break on the barrier beach in 1987. Until then, Chatham Harbor had been protected from surges of the open Atlantic by the lower end of Nauset Beach, which is known as North Beach. It is much safer now for the uninitiated to come to Chatham by boat via Stage Harbor. 
At the Fish Pier, you can see members of our harbor and grey seal populations who come for handouts, along with the seagulls, while the boats unload. You can also visit the seals and their many relatives by boat. Or you can hire a deep sea fishing charter for the day from the lower dock.Chatham Light is one of the best known lighthouses in the U.S. From it you can see more "Lights" than at any other point on the Atlantic seacoast. It overlooks Chatham Light Beach which, if you follow it for 3 miles, will lead you to South Beach, a three mile long sandbar and a great place for a day trip. You can see the Chatham Break from there, as well.
In addition, there are the Atlantic beaches like Hardings,and Forest Beach. The gentle beaches of Nantucket Sound and the large fresh water ponds like Oyster Pond and Schoolhouse. All kinds of water sports. The Chatham Bike Trail, the Fourth of July parade, First Night, the Chatham Railroad Museum, a local theatre, art galleries, and terrific and varied restaurants. I can honestly say I've never had a bad meal dining in Chatham. To learn more about Chatham, you might want to read To learn more about Chatham click on one of the links below: For more information about conflict resolution, click on any of the links below. Or return to our Home page
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