A Cute Day Trip To Chatham, Cape Cod
I grew up in New England, but the moment I reached of age (and budget), I was out of here, which made me realize I haven’t really explored this area as much as I thought. We grew up going to the Cape every summer, but we never ventured super far in. I honestly had never even heard of Chatham until I was in my early 20’s. After spending a couple of years back in my home state, we are leaving New England again, which makes me want to explore some towns I’ve never been to or haven’t spent much time in. I heard good things about Chatham, so we decided to take a day trip there. The town is quite small, so all you really need is a day to explore, and it turned out to be the cutest day ever.
First things first, we headed to Main Street, which is where most of the appeal and attractions are in this quaint little town. There is street parking along the road and several parking lots right off Main St. Some free, some paid. It was a bit busy when we arrived, so we had to park a little further up at Elredge Garage for $15. It was still very close to everything on Main St and, to me, worth it rather than circling a million times looking for a free spot. Find the best places to park in Chatham HERE.
You can walk down Main Street and stop into different bookstores, antique stores, candy and ice cream shops, cafes, restaurants, and more. We started our day with coffee (matcha for me!) at Snowy Owl.
SNOWY OWL
Snowy Owl is a small coffee shop offering a variety of hot and cold drinks, as well as light bites. It’s off of Main Street in a little alley. You can order your drink and enjoy it on one of the benches in the alley, or take it to go, which is what we did.
MAIN STREET
Then we walked along Main Street for a bit, window shopping and admiring the charm of this little street. Main Street offers small-town coastal vibes and is a must-visit if you come to Chatham.
CHATHAM BARS INN
(PRO TIP: If you're walking here from Main St as we did, don’t walk down Chatham Bars Ave; it’s a winding road with no sidewalk, which you may not feel comfortable doing with small children. I would either suggest walking down Seaview Street, which has a sidewalk, or driving there instead.)
Afterward, we walked to Chatham Bars Inn to have lunch. If you walk down Seaview St from Main Street, the walk is really cute, as you will pass quintessential Cape Cod homes that evoke an idyllic sense of seaside charm. You are walking towards the ocean, and when you make it to the end of the street, you are met with a gasp-worthy view. The Chatham Bars Inn property is spread across a few blocks and is absolutely stunning. The hotel offers several restaurants, and we opted for Beach House Grill for the view. I will say, though, that lunch was lackluster and the food did not match the vibe. It's hard for me to fully recommend this place for lunch because there are better options food-wise, but you honestly can’t beat the ambiance and ocean view. With that, either come with low expectations for the food or just enjoy light bites and drinks so you can take in the view.
BUFFY’S ICE CREAM
After lunch, we walked back to Main St, and before heading back to our car, we made an ice cream stop at Buffy’s Ice Cream. They coin themselves the only homemade ice cream shop in Chatham, so that’s how we made our choice from the many ice cream shops in the area. They even offer a small selection of vegan flavors as well as vegan options for their epic ice cream sandwiches. My daughter ordered the strawberry ice cream, and it was top tier. They also have a few outdoor benches where you can enjoy your ice cream. I opted for their freshly squeezed lemonade, which was perfect for the hot day.
RIDGEVALE BEACH
After ice cream, we walked back to the car and headed to the beach. There are three main beaches in Chatham, and because it’s in the “elbow” of the Cape, you can swim in the Atlantic, the Nantucket Sound, or Pleasant Bay. After some research, we were torn between Hardings Beach and Ridgevale Beach; both are family-friendly, but we ultimately chose Ridgevale Beach, and I’m so glad we did. There is a beachside and a creekside, which offers calmer waters and is perfect for kids. The tall grass and marshes really add a level of beauty to this beach, and it’s a nice touch that you can rent paddle boards and ride them through the marshes. We lucked out visiting on the most gorgeous summer day. The water is shallow a long ways out, so it’s perfect for kids to wade and catch crabs or just play in the sand. The waters of the Nantucket Sound are much warmer than when you are swimming directly in the Atlantic, which is a win in New England. We would have stayed much longer, but the tide started coming in and filling the creek, so we were basically run out by the ocean. That’s the only caveat to picking the creekside because parts of it go underwater at high tide. The ocean side is just on the other side, though, so if that happens, you can just reset up camp there. Parking was $30 for the day and could be used at Hardings Beach and Cockle Cove if you wanted to beach-hop. Ridgevale Beach also has a little food shack offering items like burgers, fries, fried fish sandwiches, ice cream, etc as well as beach items such as shovels, buckets, floaties, and sunscreen. There are outdoor porta-potties, and paddle boards can be rented at the food shack. I honestly loved this beach so much; it will definitely be a go-to for us whenever we visit the Cape again.
Overall, Chatham is a very cute town. My only note is that it completely lacks diversity, as we were the only people of color we saw the whole day who were not service workers. But we didn’t feel out of place or unwelcome and really enjoyed our day here. Everyone was friendly, the weather was perfect, and the beach was a hit. We left salty and happy.