David Howland Photo
A weathered gray shingled shed stands on a snow-covered beach at sunset, surrounded by wooden snow fences and frost-laden beach grasses, with the ocean and pastel purple-and-orange sky visible in the background.

Chatham's First Sunset of 2026

2026 started off cold and snowy on Cape Cod. Several inches of snow fell overnight and a line of snow squalls dropped several more inches in a short time during the morning. By sunset, the storm was blowing out to sea and I knew there was a solid chance of a good sunset at one of the sound-side beaches. I had been wanting to photograph this beach in Chatham for a while and was planning to wait for the spring beach flower bloom but this beautiful coating of fresh snow was too good to pass up. The sunset was the best of 2026 so far and I particularly liked the way the light caught the tip of the old lifesaving station house in the dunes.

This beach is also a great spot to visit in the summer when the beach roses are blooming and it’s much warmer. You can see my photo from sunset in June here: Cape Cod Beach Rose Sunset.

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A sandy footpath winds through coastal dune grass and vibrant pink beach roses on the dunes of Forest Beach in Chatham, Cape Cod, leading toward a traditional gray-shingled cottage beneath a soft purple and rose-tinted sunset sky.
A weathered wooden beach shack sits among lush beach rose bushes blooming in pink and white, framed by a leaning driftwood fence with calm ocean water and a soft pink-orange sunset sky behind it at Forest Beach in Chatham, MA.
A gentle wave washes along a sandy beach shoreline at sunset in Chatham, MA, with warm pink and orange light reflecting off the water, a rocky jetty visible in the distance, and grass-covered dunes lining the right side beneath a dramatic pink and blue sky.
A weathered shingled shed stands amid snow-covered dunes and wooden snow fencing on a Cape Cod beach in Chatham, Massachusetts, with the ocean and a pastel winter sunset visible in the background.