In April 2007, a new inlet formed opposite Minister's Point. The two inlets are now fighting for domination of the Pleasant Bay-Chatham Harbor system.  Find out more about the new inlet.  Read news accounts of the evolution of the new inlet in our news archive.

In 1978, Dr. Graham Giese produced a report for the Chatham Conservation Commission entitled "The Barrier Beaches of Chatham, Massachusetts."  It predicted a breakthrough in approximately the location of the 2007 break.  Download a PDF of the report here.

Local land surveyor Thadd Eldredge provides a regular erosion update showing how the tip of North Beach has changed since last July.  Download the latest here.

If you are studying or making regular observations of North Beach, contact us. We want to be the place for North Beach information.

This slide from Chatham Coastal Resources Director Ted Keon's recent presentation at the Pleasant Bay Alliance symposium shows the approximately width of the inlet, both inside and outside.  More of Keon's slides will be posted shortly.

North Beach Island is situated between the 1987 and 2007 breaks.  The island contains 11 beach camps, which were known as the second village when the beach was a continuous sand spit.  The island has become popular with boaters, beachgoers and piping plovers.

North Beach, the new island and South Beach are all popular nesting sites for shorebirds like piping plovers and terns.  Kelly Hebert, a town bird monitor, maintains a website that provides information about the status of nesting shorebirds as well as photographs. Read more about the conflicts caused by nesting shorebirds below.

This immature bald eagle was photographed on North Beach
Island this weekend by Kelly Hebert.

Off-road vehicle access: For years North Beach has been popular with ORVs. Recently, the presence of nesting piping plovers, an endangered shorebird, has closed much of the beach to vehicle access during the height of the summer season.  The towns of Orleans and Chatham, which jointly oversee use of the beach, have struggled with how to preserve beach access while protecting endangered species.  Read more about this conflict, and find out the current status of beach access, and download ORV rules and regulations. 

"Drifting Memories, The Nauset Beach Camps On Cape Cod," by Frances Higgins tells the story of the beach's camps through recollections by those who have owned and used the camps for generations. Coming soon: excerpts from Fran's book.

Have a North Beach story or anecdote you'd like to share? Send it to us, or join our discussion forum.

Daily North Beach Photos

Photo taken from Scatteree July 3 at 1:06 p.m. by William McClellan.
Wider beach view is below, same time and place.