Experience Chatham
Set in the heart of the quaint seaside village of Chatham, Cape Cod, the Chatham Wayside Inn offers stylish accommodations, comfortable dining and outstanding service creating the perfect Cape Cod experience year-round. Chatham’s strolling Main Street, an exclusive mile of boutique shops, art galleries, restaurants, and other seaside activities is just steps from your door.
Chatham has carefully and beautifully preserved the flavor of a small New England town with great style and charm, creating an ideal destination to experience the quaint feeling of old Cape Cod.
The Village of Chatham has so much to see and do that many guests don’t wander far from downtown during their entire stay with us.
Around Chatham
Chatham Lighthouse
Chatham Light, located on the grounds of Coast Guard Station Chatham, is one of the most popular Cape Cod lighthouses thanks to its beautiful setting overlooking Lighthouse Beach.
Built in 1808, the lighthouse has a long and fabled history. Tours are available every Wednesday in July and August, and every other Wednesday in May, June, September, and October.
Concerts on the Village Green
Every Friday evening from the end of June through the end of August, Chatham Band puts on a free concert in Kate Gould Park on Main Street, just next door to the Wayside Inn. Concerts begin at 8 PM and last about 1.5 hours.
Shows are weather-permitting; should inclement weather occur, Chatham Band will make an announcement of cancellation around 5 PM on their website.
Delightful Shops, Galleries, & Restaurants
Main Street in Chatham offers almost a mile-long stretch of clothing stores, gift shops, restaurants, and ice cream parlors. You’ll also find many galleries featuring work from local artists, such as watercolor paintings, pottery, and scrimshaw. Chatham’s Main Street is extremely pedestrian-friendly, with bright green crosswalks to get you safely where you need to go. For your convenience, there are three parking lots and two public restrooms, and the Chamber of Commerce operates a small visitors center right downtown.
Stage Harbor Light
Stage Harbor Lighthouse, also known as Harding’s Beach Lighthouse, was built in 1880, making it the youngest lighthouse on Cape Cod. It was built as a complement to Chatham Light, helping to guide vessels into Stage Harbor during foggy conditions.
The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 when a new automated tower was installed nearby, and Stage Harbor Light and the surrounding land was sold to an army officer. The lighthouse is still privately owned, and is only open to the public on occasion, but it can be viewed from Harding’s Beach or from across the harbor towards the end of Stage Neck Road.
Beautiful Beaches
Chatham is home to numerous beaches, with a variety of features. South Beach (also known as Lighthouse Beach) is the largest and most scenic. Parking is limited, but South Beach is a short walk from The Chatham Wayside Inn! You can also take a shuttle from Main Street. At Harding’s Beach you’ll always find some sort of game going on, like volleyball, Frisbee, or beach bocce. It’s also a great place to launch a sailboat or kayak for a trip to Monomoy Island.
Both Ridgevale Beach and Forest Beach are popular with families due to the warm, calm water, but take note that, unlike Ridgevale, Forest has no restrooms or lifeguards. Chatham also has two pond beaches that are great for kids, Oyster Pond Beach and Schoolhouse Pond.
For those into windsurfing or boating, check out Cockle Cove Beach or Pleasant Street Beach. Pleasant Street Beach is also known for its sunsets.
Scenery
Whether you’re coming to Chatham for a day or a week, be sure to bring your camera. From the beaches and lighthouses to the historic homes, there’s a photo opportunity around every corner.
Head down to the Chatham Fish Pier around noon and watch the boats come in with fresh hauls of haddock, cod, lobster, and halibut. You might even spy some seals following in their wake. Take a stroll down one of Chatham’s conservation trails and check out the local flora and fauna. If you’re a bird enthusiast, grab your binoculars and get to Monomoy Island. The Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge provides nesting, feeding, and resting grounds for at least 285 species. Monomoy is also known for its seal population, but to see them you may have to take a boat tour or visit Lighthouse Beach around low tide.
The Orpheum
The historic Orpheum Theater first opened in 1916 and was Chatham’s first and only cinema. It entertained locals and visitors for decades, until closing in 1987, eventually becoming a CVS pharmacy. After CVS moved in 2011, local residents created a non-profit to purchase and restore the theater.
Today the Chatham Orpheum Theater houses a state-of-the-art cinema showing first-run features, art films, and the work of local filmmakers. It also houses The Orpheum Café, where you can enjoy great food and cocktails or grab some treats for your movie—all menu items are allowed in the theater!
The Mayflower Shop
The Mayflower Shop is a historic and unique gift shop featuring distinctive treasures by local and national artists. While in Chatham, stop in at The Mayflower to pick up home decor pieces to accent your interior design, gifts and cards for the special ones in your life, toys and trinkets for the kids, or a piece of handmade jewelry to keep as a memento of your visit.
Call us and let us help you plan your stay: 1-800-CHATHAM
 |
 |
 |