Cockle Cove Beach

Very calm, very warm, very shallow — essentially a giant wading pool for small children. Protected by the outer beach, the water here barely gets above knee-deep for a long way out. Chatham's best toddler beach.

Cockle Cove is the toddler whisperer of Chatham beaches. Protected behind Monomoy and the south-shore barrier beaches, the water here barely gets above knee-deep for a hundred yards out and warms to 74°F in August — essentially the world's largest natural wading pool. The salt marsh just inland teems with fiddler crabs and minnows for kids to chase, and the gentle current of Bucks Creek empties through the sand at the eastern end, creating mini-channels small children float in like ducklings. Parking is sticker-only and the lot is modest, but turnover is good because most families come for a couple of hours and leave once nap time hits. There's a small bathhouse with restrooms but no concessions — pack a picnic. Pair with a stop at the Chatham Bars Inn for an afternoon drink on the lawn, or the candlepin alley downtown if a thunderstorm rolls in. The single best beach on the Cape for kids under five.