davis_square | Sunshine

xostarrynights.livejournal.com posting in

Hello! As a Jersey shore native, and very accustomed to being able to go to a nice beach easily, what are the best beaches/areas to go to for getting some sun and water fun? I know the pools don't open till the end of June and I am looking to go as local as possible. I have a car. I heard about the Medford lake but apparently you need to have a Medford residency so that stinks. Is there anything like that around here?

I went to Revere beach last summer and it was just so disgusting that my roommate and I left an hour in and went to the Dilboy pool instead.

That is if it does ever get to be beach weather before the end of June (I hope).

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From:

lyonesse.livejournal.com

is this too far?

http://www.salisbury-beach.org/salisbury-beach.html

From:

xostarrynights.livejournal.com

A bit but thank you! I will have this on my list of places to check out!

From:

clevernonsense.livejournal.com

Singing Beach in Manchester is easily accessible by Commuter Rail! Parking is also fairly easy.

Walden Pond is easy by bike or car from Somerville--but on hot weekend days the parking lot fills up in about 3 minutes and sometimes they will also turn cyclists away at that point (the park has capacity requirements to keep the ecosystem healthy). Usually easy to get into late in the afternoon.

Wingaersheek Beach, also in Manchester, is one of my favorites within a 30-minute drive. Nahant and the beaches in that immediate area are also great if you have a car and want to do an excursion on a weekday afternoon (rather full on weekends).

Horseneck Beach is probably the "nicest" beach within an hour, but it's about an hour, as are the beaches around Newport (a little more than an hour). Both are nice day trips.

Nantasket beach in Hull is also relatively nice, but can be a pain to get to from Somerville.

From:

clevernonsense.livejournal.com

(also to add: every beach in NJ I have been to reminded me of Revere Beach :P)

From:

xostarrynights.livejournal.com

Ha, thanks! What beaches did you go to in Jersey? Seaside Heights/Point Pleasant/Atlantic City are all disgusting thanks to tourists - it's about finding the beaches the locals go to!

From:

clevernonsense.livejournal.com

Hah, yessss two of those examples come to mind ;) Technically they were no where near as gross as Revere, but not many things are.

From:

ron_newman

Nahant Beach is a reasonable walk from the Lynn commuter train station. It is a very long beach, so if you have a bike, I recommend bringing it.

A bike is also useful if you want to go to Nantasket (Hull) beach. The MBTA ferries from Boston to Hingham and Hull now run on weekends as well as weekdays. Neither the Hingham ferry terminal nor the Hull terminal is at the beach, but you can easily bike to the beach from either one.

Wingaersheek Beach is in West Gloucester, not Manchester. You can bike to it from the West Gloucester commuter train station. Or bike to Good Harbor Beach from the Gloucester train station.

Edited Date: 2014-05-29 04:58 pm (UTC)

From:

ron_newman

At Singing Beach, you will still need to pay an admission fee if you arrive by foot or bike, but it's much less than the parking fee.

From:

clevernonsense.livejournal.com

It may have changed, but I found that the collection of admission fees at SB is super spotty. I think 9 times out of 10 there was no one there to charge us (I haven't gone in a few years though).

From:

ron_newman

I haven't been there in a while but recall being charged a small fee ($3?). I can't find information on the fee on the town's website.

Are you sure parking is "easy" there? Most of the spaces are reserved for town residents; everyone else has to find some place to park around the commuter train station and walk in from there.

From:

obie119.livejournal.com

Parking at Singing Beach is easy only after 5 PM or on cloudy days; otherwise don't bother.

From:

rmd.livejournal.com

If you're heading to anything substantially south of the city on a summer saturday (nantasket, hull, cape cod, etc), my advice is to leave before 0700 to avoid traffic. the route 3 lane drop around weymouth/hingham will back up and serves as a good canary in the coal mine for the state of the rest of route 3. (a gazillion people go to the cape on saturdays - it's the rental switchover day). I drive to the cape most Saturdays and if you leave Boston by 0700, there's never any traffic to speak of, even at the height of summer.

From:

ifotismeni

wow - that is good to know! lifelong massachusetts resident here and i've basically just always avoided the cape in peak season.

From:

rmd.livejournal.com

And now all you folks will start going by 0700 and I'll have to start leaving by 0630... :)

From:

ifotismeni

haha :) i am likely going to continue just avoiding the cape entirely (it's too crowded for me no matter what) or just take the ferry. so i won't be making things worse!

From:

ron_newman

Depending on where you're going on the Cape, the Cape Flyer train may be a good alternative to driving. You can take a bike on the train.

From:

twilighttremolo.livejournal.com

The Boston Harbor Islands are my personal favorite -- the MBTA ferry is a $15 round-trip from Long Wharf (near the Aquarium stop on the blue line, and about 10 minutes' walk from any other line). They are popular but not overwhelmingly crowded. Some sandy beaches, some rocky beaches depending on the island.

From:

abilouise.livejournal.com

As another NJ native, there is absolutely nothing equivalent here in New England. There are nice-ish beaches, which other people have shared, but It's Not The Same.

From:

xostarrynights.livejournal.com

Haha yeah- I'm just looking for a place I can be comfortable with my beach chair, a book, and some sun.

From:

curiositykt.livejournal.com

There's this amazing place just north of us called NH. Drive past Hampton and go to any beach in Rye or Newcastle. Most people from MA never get past Hampton (which is like revere) so the "northern" beaches are really nice. (NH's only got 12.5 miles of coast line, so it's not that far)

From:

ron_newman

Wright's Pond (lake) is indeed for Medford residents and guests only, but there's another "lake" beach nearby that's open to all: Sandy Beach on Upper Mystic Lake in Winchester. It's on Mystic Valley Parkway, not far from the Wedgmere commuter train station.

(Some web pages call it 'Shannon Beach' instead of Sandy).

Edited Date: 2014-05-29 04:17 pm (UTC)

From:

xostarrynights.livejournal.com

I've been looking at this one! But there's a bunch of articles about people getting sick from swimming in that area...do people go there frequently?

From:

tartarylamb.livejournal.com

Just down the street from the Mystic Lakes is Wedge Pond in Winchester (go left at the end of Mystic Valley Pkwy and continue straight through the first traffic light and a stop sign, then go right immediately after the tennis court). The beach there is run by the rec department and has a fee; you can get a daily pass or a season's pass ($50 for nonresident adults). It's checked daily and is closed if the water has any problems. There's also a sprinkler park, plus picnic tables and a volleyball net. Check Winchester Rec's website for hours and dates of operation. The last few years, fewer people have been going here (Winchester folks prefer swimming pools), so I've had the adult swimming area to myself.

We used to go to Sandy Beach (now named Shannon Beach), and went once last year when Wedge Pond was closed, but the water quality there is really iffy, according to a friend who's a civil engineer.

As for saltwater beaches, I agree that going north is much easier than going south. And go late in the afternoon. But to the south, Horseneck Beach in Westport MA is a state-run beach and only costs $8 to park, so it can fill up on hot weekends. Huge waves. Go either very early or late afternoon to get a space (but the beach house closes on the early side). I think it takes 45 minutes to get there via rte 24.

From:

pearlythebunny.livejournal.com

Actually, I believe this beach is now called Shannon Memorial Beach (after the late state senator Charles Shannon). Before that it was called Shannon Beach, and before that Sandy Beach.

They do test water quality there, but, in general, I'd avoid it after storms.

From:

emcicle.livejournal.com

we went there last summer with our kids on a day that Walden was closed. It was nice/small and not too busy. We did not get sick. :)

From:

kelkyag

Pleasure Bay next to Castle Island has some tame, kid-friendly constructed beach that's relatively nearby.

From:

ron_newman

And the whole south side of South Boston is a series of beaches -- M Street Beach, Carson Beach.

From:

fefie.livejournal.com

Hopping off the Red Line at JFK stop and walking over to Carson Beach a block away is pretty easy. Personal favorite of mine for a close-by beach.

From:

cutieperson

I'm sure I'll get flack for it, but the Charles is my favorite place to swim in the summer. The docks near Community Boating and the Hatch Shell are great to jump off of & sun on while you're not swimming. The one by Community Boating has a lower section that's a bit easier to get back onto. You can't touch bottom so being able to tread water is a must.

Water quality gets monitored regularly starting in July - http://www.crwa.org/fieldscience/water-quality-notification-data

From:

mytheria.livejournal.com

Going later in the afternoon is the best choice for several places.

Look at Crane Beach in Ipswich. It gets full and they'll turn your car away (but there is a shuttle from the commuter rail station), and can be expensive if you go early in the day, but at 3pm the admission price drops.

Edited Date: 2014-05-29 04:57 pm (UTC)

From:

ron_newman

And that's another place where a bike can help -- it's a reasonable ride from the Ipswich commuter train station.

Being a North Shore beach, it will never have really warm water.

You will still need to pay an admission fee if you arrive by bike (or bus or foot), but it's much less than by car.

Edited Date: 2014-05-29 05:10 pm (UTC)

From:

mjrocks98.livejournal.com

I go to Crane and do the beach sticker every year. It's a great bargain if you go at least one day a week as those pay in cash fees really add up. You get the beach sticker through the Trustees of the Reservation, here's some info: http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/northeast-ma/crane-beach-parking-sticker.html

From:

cowgrrl.livejournal.com

Houghton's Pond in the Blue Hills is nice, and I don't remember a problem with parking there, though I haven't been there in a few years. It's a bit of a distance from Boston but no farther than some of the other places people have mentioned.

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-south/houghtons-pond-recreation-area.html

From:

bikergeek.livejournal.com

Aside Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard, and some points on the outer Cape, the ocean off the MA/NH coast is also much colder than the water at the Jersey Shore The Gulf Stream is relatively further out to sea and doesn't warm the coastal waters quite as much.

From:

bobobb.livejournal.com

My two go-to places were always Crane Beach (stop by the farm on the way to pick up a bottle of wine and cider donuts) and Walden Pond. The Blue Hills also has a swimming hole - but I forget the name. That one was pretty nice too.

My husband says that Demarest Lloyd State Park is the best place he's ever been -- but it's further out.

From:

achinhibitor.livejournal.com

There's also Wollaston Beach in Quincy. It seems to have much warmer water than the North Shore beaches. It's about a mile from the Wollaston MBTA station. There's also parking all along the beach, but it might fill during summer days.