Visit Us
National Wildlife Refuges offer us all a chance to unplug from the stresses of daily life and reconnect with the natural world around us. Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge is located in Chatham, Massachusetts, on the south east corner of Cape Cod. The refuge consists of 3 offshore barrier islands stretching south off of Chatham: North Monomoy, South Monomoy, and Minimoy islands, as well as a parcel of land on the mainland called the Morris Island unit.
Our visitor center and staff offices are located at 791 Main St. in Chatham, and are open on a limited basis depending on volunteer availability.
Walking trails at the Morris Island unit can be accessed year round from our parking lot at 30 Wikis Way in Chatham. In the summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day), the Friends of Monomoy NWR staff an information kiosk near the flagpole at the end of Wikis Way. The kiosk is generally staffed from 10AM - 4PM, but hours may vary. Stop by to learn about the refuge, learn more about how to access the Morris Island trails, and to ask any other questions you might have!
Access to North Monomoy, South Monomoy, and Minimoy Island is by boat only. The Service does not operate public boat access to the offshore islands.
Pets are never allowed on South Monomoy, North Monomoy, and Minimoy islands. These islands contain sensitive ecosystems, and provide critically important habitat for a huge variety of threatened shorebirds.
On the Morris Island (mainland) trails, dogs are NOT permitted in the summer, from May 1st to September 15th, to protect nesting wildlife. Leashed dogs are allowed on the Morris Island trails in the off-season, which is from September 16th to April 30th.
You can download a copy of our public access map here: https://www.fws.gov/media/monomoy-national-wildlife-refuge-public-access-map-2025.
Location and Contact Information
About Us
Sand, dunes, and marshes stretch for eight miles off the elbow of Cape Cod, forming the barrier islands of North and South Monomoy, along with numerous islets and shoals. The Refuge consists of a variety of ocean, salt and freshwater marsh, dune, and freshwater pond habitats. Nearly half of Monomoy's 7,921 acres is federally designated as Wilderness. The Wilderness designation recognizes areas where the earth is undeveloped, its community of life are untrammeled, and humans are visitors which leave no trace that they had been there- so that the next visitor may have the same experience as the first.
What We Do
Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It drives everything on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters managed within the Refuge System, from the purposes for which a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge is established to the recreational activities offered to the resource management tools used. Using conservation best practices, the Refuge System manages Service lands and waters to help native wildlife species survive and thrive.
Monomoy staff, volunteers, and partners use an array of management tools to ensure the continued conservation of wildlife and their habitats. We also work to keep visitors educated, protected, and most importantly appreciating nature. Some examples of this work include:
Conducting annual counts and breeding season nest monitoring of a number of migratory shorebird and wading bird species, including: common, least, and roseate terns, American oystercatchers, gulls, and federally endangered piping plovers.
Tagging and surveying horseshoe crabs to assess relative abundance and movements.
Gray seal research to better understand seal ecology, population structure, movement rates, and diet.
Successful reintroduction of Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle on South Monomoy Island, from which larvae are now collected to help repopulate other beaches.
Our Species
The Refuge's vast system of ocean, intertidal flats, salt and freshwater marshes, dunes and freshwater ponds, provide vital habitat for a vast array of diverse species.
The refuge provides important resting, nesting and feeding habitat for migratory shorebirds, including the federally protected Piping Plover, Roseate Tern, and Red Knot. At least 25 species of seabird, shorebird, waterfowl, and colonial waterbird nest on our three offshore islands. The refuge also supports the largest nesting colony of common terns on the Atlantic seaboard, exceeding 17,000 pairs in 2022.
In addition to many bird species, Monomoy NWR supports grey seals, horseshoe crabs, seabeach amaranth, northeastern tiger beetles, and many more unique species.
Get Involved
Volunteering, Internships, & Friends
We love our volunteers! Without their generous help, much of what we do at Monomoy, both in the Visitor Center and in the field, would not be possible. Check out our Volunteer page under the "Get Involved" tab on this website, or fill out this form to sign up or learn about future volunteer opportunities!
The refuge typically has a variety of internship opportunities each summer ranging from biology and invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species work to interpretation and education.
The Friends of Monomoy is the official Monomoy NWR Friends organization who are devoted to the continued protection and management of the refuge.
Projects and Research
Shorebird Disturbance Project
Monomoy NWR provides important resting, nesting, and feeding habitat for a huge variety of migratory birds, including more than 40 species of shorebirds. The refuge has been designated an Important Bird Area in the state of Massachusetts and Site of Regional Importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
Migratory shorebirds are in decline all over the world. This decline is driven by a number of factors, one of which is human disturbance. Human disturbance is any human activity that disrupts a shorebird's natural behaviors (such as foraging, resting, incubating a nest, or raising their chicks) forcing them to expend extra energy, abandon habitats, and significantly impacting their survival. Shorebirds rely on coastal habitats like beaches, which are often shared by humans.
To help protect these vulnerable birds who call Monomoy home, we are taking part in an effort stretching along the entire Atlantic coast to reduce human disturbance to shorebirds. The goal is to use a combination of research, outreach, and engagement techniques within our local community to help provide these birds a safe place to nest, raise their young, and stop to rest and feed during their perilous migratory journey.
You can play a key part in helping these amazing birds by learning how best to Share the Shore, and by leaving pets at home when visiting the beach!