Visit Us
Monomoy NWR offers a full suite of wildlife dependent recreational opportunities including, fishing, photography, and hiking. There is over 3,500 acres of designated wilderness which surrounds the historic Monomoy Light and lightkeepers house.
Driving Directions
You can drive to a lookout area at the site of the former refuge headquarters and visitor center is located on Morris Island at: 30 Wikis Way Chatham, MA 02633. Please note that the roads on Morris Island go through private neighborhoods but there is a right-of-way over those roads for all refuge purposes, including visitation. Take U.S. Route 6 East to State Route 137 South, to State Route 28 East. Take Route 28 East to the rotary. Take the Main Street exit, up the hill to Shore Road. Turn right and proceed past Chatham Lighthouse. Bear left after lighthouse onto Morris Island Road. Follow Morris Island Road to Tisquantum Road and follow signs for the refuge on the left, Wikis Way. Limited parking is available at the visitor center.
Island Access
Access to other portions of the refuge is by boat. Refuge staff are developing plans to offer a service which will bring people to the islands. Local ferries occasionally operate a service to the islands as well. Please contact us for current information about any services which may be offered.
Pets
Dogs and other pets are NEVER allowed on South Monomoy, North Monomoy, and Minimoy islands. Additionally, on Morris Island, dogs are NOT permitted in the summer, from May 1st to September 15th. Leashed dogs are currently allowed only on the Morris Island trails in the off-season, which is from September 16th to April 30th.
For alternate locations, we've compiled this list of locations and their corresponding dog policies for southeastern Cape Cod.
Hunting
Check this map to see where hunting is allowed within the National Wildlife Refuge System. You can also zoom in onto Monomoy NWR to see a map of the waterfowl hunting area. https://www.fws.gov/hunting/map
Other Facilities in the Complex
Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge is managed as part of the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Situated along the Atlantic Flyway in Massachusetts, the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex is comprised of eight ecologically diverse refuges. The eight individual refuges include inland and coastal wetlands, forests, grasslands, and barrier beaches that provide important habitat for migratory birds, mammals, plants, reptiles and amphibians.
Rules and Policies
See the appendix of our Comprehensive Conservation Plan for detailed findings and review of appropriateness and compatibility for each of the following activities that were considered.
Following Uses Found to be Appropriate and Compatible with Monomoy NWR
| Beachcombing | Completed FOA to accompany an updated CD. Use is found appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-47. |
| Birding, Natural and Cultural History Tours of Monomoy Islands | New FOA and CD titled " Commercial Tours, Ferry Service, Guided Trips, and Outfitting." Includes concessionaire operations and/or others under special use permit (SUP). Uses found appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-55. |
| Commercial Ferry Service | Combined use with new FOA and CD titled "Commercial Tours, Ferry Service, Guided Trips, and Outfitting." Uses found appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-55. |
| Commercial Wildlife and Landscape Photography | New FOA and CD applies to commercial use, distinguishing it from recreational photography. No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-69. |
| Environmental Education and Interpretation | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-91 |
| Hiking\Backpacking | Combined backpacking with FOA for camping and found it not appropriate. A new FOA and CD is titled "Hiking, Walking, and Jogging" and hiking is found appropriate and compatible. CCP Appendix D-109 |
| Jogging/Walking | Combined jogging and walking with hiking in new FOA and CD titled "Hiking, Walking, and Jogging." Found walking and hiking appropriate and compatible. Found jogging appropriate and compatible on Morris Island only. CCP Appendix D-109. |
| Mosquito Control | Added "monitoring" to name of CD and completed new FOA. Found appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-121. |
| Motorized and Nonmotorized Boat Launching | Completed FOA, No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-139. |
| Pet Walking, Morris Island Only. | New FOA and CD titled, "Dog Walking on Morris Island." Use found appropriate and compatible on Morris Island with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-81. |
| Photography | Prepared separate commercial photography FOA and CD and combined recreational photography with wildlife observation in separate CD. Uses found appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-211. |
| Recreational Fishing | New CD titled "Fin Fishing" covers surf fishing, fishing in freshwater ponds, and all other fishing outside of the refuge's open water. Found compatible. CCP Appendix D-101 |
| Shellfishing (hand harvest of softshell clams) | New CD finds use compatible on refuge, but only for hand harvest of subterranean clams. Use found compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-149. |
| Shorebird research | Completed new FOA and CD titled "Research Conducted by Non-Service Personnel" which includes broader research program and not a single project. New FOA and CD finds use appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-171. |
| Snowshoeing | Not addressed in 2016 CCP revision due to lack of weather conditions conducive to snowshoeing. Was previously found appriopriate and compatible pre-2014. |
| Swimming/Beach Use | Completed FOA to accompany updated CD for sunbathing and swimming only. Use is found appropriate and compatible with stipulations (titled "Sunbathing and Swimming"). A separate FOA for beach use found it not appropriate. CCP Appendix D-191. |
| Virtual Geocaching and Letterboxing | Completed FOA, No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-201. |
| Whimbrel Research on North Monomoy | New FOA and CD titled "Research Conducted by Non-Service Personnel"which includes broader research program and not a single project. New CD finds use appropriate and compatible with stipulations. CCP Appendix D-171. |
| Wildlife Observation | Expanded CD to include recreational photography. New CD finds uses compatible. CCP Appendix D-211. |
Following Uses Found Not Appropriate, Not Compatible with Purpose of Monomoy NWR
| Beach Use (sports, kite-flying, grilling, and shade tents) | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, appendix D-3 |
| Bicycling | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-7 |
| Camping | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-9. |
| Fires | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-11. |
| Fireworks | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-13. |
| Horseshoe Crab Harvesting | New FOA found use not appropriate. Previously found not compatible in 2002. CCP Appendix D-15. |
| Jet Skiing | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-19. |
| Kiteboarding | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-23. |
| Mussel Harvesting | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-29 |
| Over-sand Vehicles | No decision prior to 2014, implemented in 2016 CCP, Appendix D-33. |
| Picnicking | New FOA finds "organized picnicking"(including grills) not appropriate. CCP Appendix D-37. |
| Stage Island Parking | FOA for parking and dinghy storage at Stage Island found use to be not appropriate. CCP Appendix D-41. |