Stage Harbor in Chatham is located in the northeast corner of Nantucket Sound, about 16 miles east of Hyannis Harbor. The harbor is used extensively by recreational boaters and a small local fishing fleet. The Chatham Coast Guard Station maintains a boathouse facility and dock in the inner harbor.

Original work in the harbor, completed in 1901, consisted of a channel six feet deep through the bars at the eastern end of Harding Beach. In 1957, the Corps completed a 10-foot-deep channel extending 2.5 miles from Chatham Roads in Nantucket Sound, around the southeastern flank of Harding Beach, to Stage Harbor. However, significant shoaling of the channel from Momomoy Beach to the south resulted in reevaluation of the plan. After a detailed study, the Corps relocated the channel from Chatham Roads directly through Harding Beach to the upper harbor. The 2.1-mile-long channel is 10 feet deep and 150 feet wide. Also constructed were a 500-foot-long stone jetty at the southwestern end of the relocated channel; a 2,500-foot-long sand dike extending from Harding Beach across the harbor to Morris Island; and a 1,500-footlong timber jetty adjacent to the dike (portions of the timber jetty were removed in 1982 and 1991 as a danger to navigation after deterioration rendered it no longer effective).