Chatham Fish Pier

Opened in 1946, the Chatham Fish Pier remains what it was built to be: a working commercial fishing pier. Boats go out and come back, and when they do, seals gather along the dock waiting for scraps — a detail that makes the pier one of the more honest wildlife encounters on Cape Cod. An observation deck lets visitors watch the unloading without getting in the way. The catch goes directly to markets. Nothing here has been made safe for tourists, because nothing needed to be.