I’ve been visiting Cape Cod since I was an infant, and it’s so fun to go now with my kids. (My husband grew up vacationing on the Cape too, so we have a wealth of knowledge between the two of us!) Today I’m sharing a bunch of activities you can do on the Cape with kids, specifically in the Chatham area.
Chatham is considered “the elbow” of the Cape, about a 45 minute drive once you’re over the bridge. (If you look at a map of Massachusetts, which kind of looks like it has an arm off of it, Chatham is all the way East before you have to go North. If that make sense?)
Anyway, Chatham is an adorable little town – and home to one of the Cape’s most beautiful resorts, Chatham Bars Inn. Whether you’re staying at CBI or another hotel, or in one of the many vacation rentals in town, there’s SO much to do (and so many great places to eat!). If you’re looking for something to do on the Cape when it rains, here are some ideas of what you can do!
Cape Cod with Kids (Chatham)
Where to stay with Cape Cod with Kids
Chatham Bars Inn is one of my favorite resorts. It has a beautiful beach, a really fun pool for the kids, a wonderful spa with its own pool area, and on-site restaurants. In-season rates are around $1500/night, but you’ll save a bit if you go in the shoulder season (April-May-early June and September-October) though you may or may not have beach weather. Even if you aren’t staying here you can stop by for drinks or light dinner at the gazebo up on the lawn, which is a great spot for watching the sunset or just hanging out with friends. Sometimes they have live music outdoors as well.
Chatham Tides is my other pick for hotels. It has its own beach, and you can choose a townhouse-style at a nightly rate around $550/night in season (July and August). Again, you’ll save if you go in the off season – winter rates are closer to $160 a night! (When I last checked) some of their rooms/townhouses are pet-friendly.
Aside from hotels, vacation rentals are popular on the Cape. For any Cape rental, check out weneedavacation.com, which a lot of locals use to list their rental homes. You can also check out the Chatham rentals available on a home rental site like VRBO.
What to do in Chatham with kids
Chatham beaches
My husband and I have been visiting Cape Cod together for years, and separately since we were both children. I like to think we’re pretty well-versed in where to go on the Cape, so today I’m sharing all of the best and most beautiful beaches to head to if you’re staying in the Chatham area. The Chatham beaches are on the Atlantic Ocean, so the water is rougher here than in Cape Cod Bay with strong currents. Just something to keep in mind if you’re visiting with small children! But while the bay side beaches are much calmer wave-wise, on the Chatham beaches you can find a lot of interesting sea creatures, shells, and seaweed.
You also do have to be aware of great white sharks on the Cape. They typically avoid warm waters but sometimes appear in the shallow water depending on where the seals are going. Also note that on the Cape during the summer months (from Memorial Day until Labor Day) you pretty much cannot bring dogs on the beach.
Getting a parking pass
Most Cape Cod towns will let you get a weekly visitors pass for the beaches if you don’t have a resident sticker. This allows you to pay one fee for the whole week. Here’s the info to purchase for Chatham.
Chatham Lighthouse Beach
Chatham has an active lighthouse at Lighthouse Beach. There isn’t a lot of parking but this is a family-friendly beach, and probably one of the most popular beaches, because it’s in a central location.
Cockle Cove Beach
A small beach but a great spot for finding shells. It’s at the end of Cockle Cove Road, and one of my favorite things about this beach is that you can drive literally to the sand. It makes it so much easier when you’re with small children vs. having to walk across a large parking lot.
Harding’s Beach
Harding’s is another beach where you can drive right up to the sand. Located in South Chatham and has plenty of room for bigger crowds during the summer season. This is a great place for families because it is on Nantucket Sound so the water is calmer than at other Chatham beaches. Harding’s Beach always has horseshoe crabs around, which the kids are fascinated by. I think they’re creepy prehistoric-looking creatures, but they’re still cool to see wandering around.
Beach at Chatham Bars Inn
If you’re staying at CBI, you have access to a beautiful sandy beach on Shore Road. It’s a short walk to the Chatham Fish Pier, where you can get raw bar snacks. The fish pier is also a popular spot for buying fish to cook, or just to see the seals that hang out waiting for the fishing boats to come in (and drop something).
Pleasant Bay (Jackknife Beach)
Jackknife is a lesser-known area of tide pools and a marsh where kids can explore, catch crabs and find clams digging themselves into the sand. Just know that the marsh area goes from ankle deep water to about 6 feet deep pretty quickly, so keep an eye on little ones.
Chatham airport
One of my favorite places to take the kids! You can sit right next to the runway and have a snack, or go up onto the deck and get a cocktail. They recently updated their menu and the breakfast has been really good. Just know that they don’t take reservations, and waits can sometimes be over an hour, so go early if you can! Book a biplane ride if you’re adventurous, or just hang out and watch the planes come in and go out.
Shark Center
If you need a day out of the sun, the shark museum is a cool place to take the kids. Learn about the great whites that swim around the Atlantic.
Candy Manor
I can’t go to Chatham and NOT stop at the Candy Manor. We always visited growing up, and they have the best chocolate. My go-to order is a box of salted caramels in dark chocolate, chocolate covered cherries, and 1/4 lb peanut butter fudge and 1/4 lb chocolate fudge. SO GOOD. They also started shipping because of covid, so if you need to ship yourself some once you’re home, that’s doable!
Train Museum
So we’ve never actually been inside here (every time we have gone to visit it’s been closed!) but it’s worth a stop just so the kids can climb aboard the caboose! My kids love trains, so this always makes them happy.
Chatham Anglers baseball
The Cape Cod Baseball League is a big deal, and not just for locals. A lot of heavy hitters in the major leagues played at the Cape at some point! Baseball players are recruited from universities around the country and split up onto teams throughout the Cape. Games happen up until early August, and they’re so much fun to go to. Tickets are free and you can get hamburgers and hot dogs for something like $5 each. Cape Cod baseball is always a highlight of the summer! (The field where the Chatham As play has a really great playground right there, but keep an eye out as balls have been known to land on the playground during a game!)
If you’re curious what to pack for a trip to Cape Cod, check out my Cape packing list!
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