I love Crane beach. My favorite part is the you can walk about a mile down the beach and then take a trail up to walk around the grounds of the Crane Estate. (I'd wear some sort of footwear on the trail) The changing rooms are nice and there is potable water available to refill water bottles and composting toilets, as well as a snack bar that has burgers/ice cream/etc. The soda vending machines only take $1 bills which is somewhat annoying as the food line can be quite long if you just want to get a drink. The food stand does take credit cards. The per-car fee is $20 for trustees of the reservation and $30 for non-members. Parking can also get full quickly so come early and use as few vehicles as possible. read more

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Cranes Beach is consistently rated one of the best beaches in the world for good reason. It's Sandy with waves staffed with lifeguards and support staff and beautiful read more

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Amazing beach. Just watch out for high tide because while the beach looks big, it is almost all covered by that time. We had to move our stuff 3 times and found ourselves surrounded on 3 sides by water at one point. Love the sand dunes and the trees, long stretches of beach. Good facilities with showers outside and cute picnic area. Very nice view from the top of the sairs. Love the lack of seawood and how soft the sandy bottom is with a gradual decline. Hard to find in our RI beaches. The only thing I didn't like was the douchebags who were fishing in the water. wtf. Who does that? so inconsiderate. The current was so strong it pulled me into their fishing line at one point so that guy got some dirty looks from me. douche read more

Crane beach was nice. It has good facilities - a lot of toilets and a shower area. It is definitely one of the closest beaches in Boston but you have to go early thought because it will be packed by mid day. A lot of families, which means a lot of kids but you can avoid them by walking further where there are less people. It is a bit pricey though, that's all. Also, they have food choices too which is always a good idea. read more

Crane Beach - Ipswich - Me with some folks. - Beaches Near Me - Ipswich, Massachusetts

My second favorite north shore Massachusetts beach! Best in terms of on-site facilities with friendly knowledgeable staff. The towns around are quaint and absolutely gorgeous! In the morning & evening, with the low tides, there are shallow bodies of water in which children can freely able play. Kid friendly, family friendly. Sad that dogs aren't allowed :-( Parking is ample and you can return if you leave the site to eat. Great place to explore. read more

Crane Beach - Ipswich - Evening falling upon us too soon! - Beaches Near Me - Ipswich, Massachusetts

I am a disabled vet and struggling to get from parking lot to beach. A man pulled up in an ATV and said "need a ride ?" HR said he is a transport his name mike young. Mike was friendly courteous he took me to the beach, and after right to the thank you door of.my car. The world could a few more mike youngsters. Thank you mike and thank you cranes beach read more

This is by far my favorite beach I've been to so far! The water is perfect & the sand is so soft... I would absolutely recommend visiting! read more

Crane Beach - Ipswich - Day at Crane beach - Beaches Near Me - Ipswich, Massachusetts

i LOVE this beach! the sand is great quality, amazing air quality too, green heads (bugs) are bad in season tho. the thing i don't love is how people are trying to make a business out of other people connecting with nature. there are def karen's here.. maybe more parking could be built in the future to make it less of an issue, or something could be done to allow longer hours of access for people to even make reservations to catch lovely sunsets, and allow more people to come for free or less money for a longer duration of time. don't think i've ever been here at night because they are strict about kicking everybody out before dark every time i have been. it just feels wrong to be enjoying a crisp nature moment and have karen threaten to lock up the doors on this place drive up to you on the beach with a pickup truck, then tell you to leave.. when we all share the earth and i genuinely enjoy going here, i just wish people could work together to allow greater accessibility to the general public. i would give the place 5 stars, but the people behind the $ part, a 1 bc improvements can 100% be made to enhance the quality of peoples lives here in my opinion. read more

This is a beautiful (and long) beach with a larger parking lot so you'll still be able to get in if you arrive at 11am on a hot Saturday. The sand is soft, the water cool, and there's enough mileage that if you walk out far enough, you can find a quiet spot to relax. Beware that there are greenhead flies here. read more

Crane Beach - Ipswich - Beaches Near Me - Ipswich, Massachusetts

Love Crane beach! It's the prettiest beach on the North shore. It still takes my breath away and I feel lucky to be part of this community. read more

The best beach north of Cape Cod. Clean, lots of room, nice but not too large waves. Love it. There is a very clean changing area as well. Yes it's an expensive pain to park. It's a privately owned beach. Get over it. What I recommend, is to park in Ipswich or Essex and ride bicycles to the beach. A beautiful ride and the entrance is free. You can add a stop at Woodman's for whole belly fried clams... you've earned it! read more

Crane beach has made for the perfect summer day many, many times. The beach is beautiful and well taken care of. This year I bought a family membership to the trustees and was able to park for free all year. The membership also gave me insight into a number of fun new outdoor spaces to check out, most of which I didn't know existed! The beach is easy to get to, and Russell Orchards is on the same road so we always stop for some blueberry cobbler and ice cream on the way home. The water at the beach is mostly always cold, but when you wade into the water it's not too rocky and is nice on your feet. The bath house with showers and bathrooms is always clean. There's food for sale there as well, though I always bring a cooler. This is probably my personal favorite beach on the north shore. read more

Beautiful beach, but I guess that's why you pay $25 to park. Packed, but people kept popping out so there's a lot of space. read more

Crane Beach - Ipswich - beach beach lets go to the beach - Beaches Near Me - Ipswich, Massachusetts

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The best beach I have been to on the MBTA route! The place is scenic and has amenities that most beaches do not have. They have nice bathrooms, a restaurant and even a gift shop. The beach itself boasts white sandy beaches and calm clear waters. read more

One the best beaches in MA! Seriously a gem that I would rather keep hidden for locals only. Their waters are warm and sand beds are flat and shallow and sometimes you'll even encounter some seals resting with their heads out of the water. I could assume this would be a great place for beach fishing too if you don't mind the walk all the way down away from the swimmers. I've seen many anglers in the past. You might even find a clam or conch too but please don't take them home. Lifeguards are watching! And be very weary of those darn green flies, they draw blood! read more

We had a lovely time at Crane Beach! We came on a cool day, so we didn't really go into the water, but we took a nice walk along the beach and the sand dunes. It is such a beautiful place! It's easy to spend a few hours here just walking around. I'm sure it would be great on a warm summer day, too, but the lack of crowds on a colder day made it a very peaceful visit. read more

Crane Beach - Ipswich - A lovely walk along Crane Beach! - Beaches Near Me - Ipswich, Massachusetts

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Like all these pictures posted by fellow yelpers, both on the way and the beach itself, this whole area is so picturesque. Absolutely gorgeous. You might find parking spot is pretty pricey(ranges from $11 to $25), just think of how much of effort having been put for dune restoration, keeping beach clean, maintaining the little stand, shower, bathhouses, etc... So it's fair. Just like other beaches, later you go, cheaper the parking is. We arrived there around 3pm and it was $11 for parking. Best practice is to pack the car with many people as you can to split it. I ditched my car at Woodman's then hopped on my friend's. read more

Went there for the first time, i have never seen that many flies in my life and they sting you so baaad!!!! Its like terrible everyone was fighting with the flies it was a disaster for sure not going back!!!!! I wish someone warned me !!! Dont go there!!!! read more

Nice, clean beach. You have to pay $30 to get in and park your car in the parking lot, but so worth it for the cleanliness and also safe. We left our stuff on the sand while we went out far in the water, and even as more people came, we weren't worried that our stuff would be stolen. It's a bit far for us but overall great Beach, not very rocky so can walk on the sand and water without needing to wear slippers or water shoes. read more

Loved this beach, it was expansive, and a fun place to spend the afternoon. We set up our chairs and had a wonderful afternoon.

Despite being about 100 miles long...they only let on a certain number of people and that costs you $25...what a joke

I loved this beach so much that I started working here! And as a proud employee, I'm taking this opportunity to answer a few FAQs. 1. Our beach is a great place for bird-watching, hiking, and experiencing nature. We try to maintain the barrier beach ecosystem as close to the way it should be as possible. This means we do not clean up the seaweed and other natural debris. 2. We encourage visitors to carry-in-carry-out. This helps us maintain a cleaner beach and reduces the number of predators that affect our federally protected piping plover (shorebird) population. Therefore, we have no trash barrels on the beach and only a few at the picnic area. 3. We provide the best in customer service and facilities as well as free programs for kids and adults. To offer these services we charge $25 for non-members on the weekends. Good Harbor Beach and Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester both charge $25 on weekends so our price point is actually on par with the region. 4. We are not just a beach! The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land trust that owns 105 properties across the state. Most of our properties are free for the public to use, and with a membership to The Trustees you gain free and reduced fee access to all of our properties and programs. There is always room for improvement and we're working hard to provide visitors with the best possible beach experience! read more

There's a reason that the readers of Boston.com voted this beach as the best in the Commonwealth- beating out gorgeous beaches on the Cape and islands. This is a special place. The soft white sands are surrounded by dunes and set to a backdrop of a magnificent historic mansion. The water is clean and pure, far from population centers. There are always sandbars and plenty of room to find a spot, even at capacity. The facilities are the best in the state. They have very clean bathrooms and showers with ample space and a great snack bar with covered seating. There is an information kiosk, a boathouse and miles of trails in the dunes and surrounding area. Right next store, you can visit the historic Crane Estate- a beautiful period castle perched dramatically over the ocean. The drive down is scenic, and is accessible to runners and cyclists. Here are some things you might want to know before considering a trip. -In peak season on weekends, the parking lot is full by 11AM. It then frees up again in the afternoon. There is also a shuttle bus that goes to and from Ipswich center. -A lot of people complain about the price of admission. It's $25 for non-members. Please remember that this is a private beach, and not public land. The state pays absolutely nothing to have this pristine area protected, and to employ lifeguards, rangers, facility staff and for all of the maintenance. This land is part of the Trustees of the Reservations, and memberships (and paying non-members) help pay for that. For a small fee, you can get a membership and a parking sticker, and parking becomes free. This pays for itself in only 3 visits a year. Also remember that coming on foot (by bike, running or shuttle bus) is only $2. Also, after 3PM, the fee is reduced by 50%. -For a few weeks in July, the green head flies are annoying. We found that Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard actually works great against them. -The beach maintains a Twitter account for real-time updates on weather and parking. Watch it closely to give you an idea of what to expect there. -Sure the water is cold, but it's New England! read more

I like this beach a lot. The water is a little on the cold side even for Ma, but it's clean. The sand is soft and clean too. There are 2 weeks in July that are horsefly season, so don't go, or you'll be bit to death! People are also very considerate. I'm lucky enough to have friends who live in Ipswich and get to go for free so I'm not one who has to pay, but I will say if you go, walk over the dune to the private side, it's way less crowded than the public side. read more

Crane's Beach is one of the best beaches you can trek to on the North Shore. But there are some caveats. You have to go early to get a parking spot on the weekends. You have to go before the horse flies the size of your head hatch and mug you for your munchies. The Parking is $25 which sucks, BUT if you get a membership to the Trusties of Reservations ($45 - $65) then parking is $8 a pop here, you get access to a bazillian other parks, including ones on Martha's Vineyard, and every other cool place in MA. It's nice for the staycation weekends, and if you go to the beach more than 3 times, the sucker pays for itself. The thing is good for a year I think. Any-hoo, not sure what the 411 is on the booze, but keep it under wraps and you'll be good to go. No Dogs though :( I'm totally a darker shade of translucent. read more

First - I love this beach. It's my happy place. Here's the issue. I became a member with a parking permit so that we could go regularly ($155). I set a weekly timer so that I will be on for the noon release Thursdays only to find that there are no permit holder passes available at any point. Only passes available for sale to members ($30 weekend or non-members $50 weekend). I keep inquiring but no one is answering my questions. I gave it a while due to Covid as I thought it might be a systems glitch but now not so sure as my issue is not being addressed. So sad as we are missing out again and I keep wasting my time. read more

There is nothing like driving through picturesque stretches of quaint villages with antique houses and bucolic farmland to then land at Crane Beach, one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in Massachusetts. and while this is one of my all time favorite beaches there are several important things to consider when planning your trip. If you come unprepared you'll hate me for this glowing review but if you follow my advice I promise you a great day at the beach. Green Flies: First off yes there is the issue of the stupid green flies. early in the summer season you don't have to worry about them, but come july and part of august please come prepared with bug repellant. I don't mean the standard crap like Off cause that does not work. the only stuff I have found to actually repel them is BuzzAway natural spray. Seriously go find it online or something and just keep in your beach bag at all times. Wind: the wind and the weather patterns are very different here so just because its sweltering in your landlocked 3rd floor apartment in Allston, does not mean its going to be sunny and warm on the Ipswich shore. Check the weather conditions and be open to changes in the notoriously changeable weather New England is known for. When the wind blows on this beach the sand gets into everything and makes it quite unbearable. Parking: its expensive to park here. check the website for updated fees for this season but last year during the peek season the fee was like $22 so get a car full people and make sure everyone chips in. there is a shuttle that you can pick up from the commuter rail so the car-less can still take advantage of this beach. If you are driving however the parking lot, while enormous, fills up quickly and by mid afternoon you might see signs on your way down that say LOT FULL. Do not be deterred. they want you to park in Russell orchards and walk or something. what a schlep- ignore these signs. maybe I have just been lucky but I have yet (um...why aren't you knocking on wood for me as you read this informative and illuminating review ?) to be turned away by the gate keeper. now on to what makes this beach special...For me i think it has to do with the cove like shore line. it makes the water delicious to look at and luscious to swim in. the water on some days can be full of waves and perfect for body surfing, while other days it's is smooth and clear and perfect for laps or just floating on your back. The sand is clean and soft and the back drop of green woodland is striking. this place is huge and as you can imagine gets packed with both tourists, locals and city folk alike. best bet is to escape the madding crowd by walking to the RIGHT of the center to find a quiet secluded spot to enjoy the pristine unspoiled natural beauty of this unique beach. if you make the mistake of venturing off to the left side of the beach don't be surprised when you find yourself surronded by ipswich highschool kids blasting bad hip hop and pounding bud lights. Bring a sweater and stay till dusk. read more

Sometime they're not having a corporate function up on the estate, I'm going to dig a hole in the forest and live here. Then I will subsist by sneaking into the corporate functions and stealing the wine and cheese. PS: plovers, gulls, seals, whales, crabs, giant sea snails, clams, mussels, worms, big fish, baby minnows, shiny soft white, golden, black, and purple sand, ... I've seen Things here. PPS Those who complain about the water are sissies &/or didn't stick around long enough/are unobservant. 2 words: sandbars = tidepools. They're like bathtubs. Ya freaks. (As IF CA has warm water anywhere between WA and LA?!) read more

Parking: Arrived here on a Saturday at 11am and the parking lot was full. Get there early! The police officer told us to park at the Ipswich train station, and get aboard the "Ipswich Essex Explorer" bus, which takes you straight to Crane beach. The bus comes by about every 20 minutes. There's a bus schedule posted but don't pay attention to it (makes it seem a bus comes only once an hour). During the busy season, the buses run continually. The cost of the shuttle bus is $5 a person round-trip (you pay the $5 to get on, and you don't pay to be brought back to the train station). Beach: Clean, no seaweed, white sand, plenty of bathrooms. I didn't see signs that prohibit alcohol, and we saw people drinking some beer. No one was rowdy. VERY family friendly. People of all ages here. Would return in a heartbeat. read more

This place is gorgeous. It is my favorite beach I've been to in Massachusetts. Costs 12 bucks to get in, which is definitely worth it for a whole day out there. They have separate paths you can go for a walk on, and very secluded areas. read more

I love this beach and it's very easy and CHEAP(er) to get to via the commuter rail and the Ipswich Essex Explorer bus versus driving. This beach is five miles of soft sand. At high tide (mid day), a good portion of sand disappears, but given its length, there is plenty to find yourself a quality spot. I was particularly fond of the part around the bend (to the right of the main boardwalk entrance) that forms a huge sand bar; providing lots of shallow water as far as you dare to walk out. Oh man, so anyway, the water was cold at this time of year (early September), but I got used to it (not because I was numbed) to the point where I didn't want to get out. But in some spots there was a thick mass of seaweed. But really; isn't there seaweed everywhere? Oh, and those nasty horse flies or whatever you want to call them? None to speak of today. Oh man, what a beautiful day! The sand dunes were also nice; there are roped trails for you to explore. Unfortunately, not a lot of amenities, but the grounds are kept quite clean by the beach trustees. read more

I used to go here a lot. I used to date this girl who looooved beaches. I used to HATE the beach. But after going a million times, I am now a beach-lover. Then, I dumped her. She was NUTS. I still love this beach, though. Yes, parking is expensive. Welcome to New England! Bathrooms are nice! Kind of? Well to me it's a plus... You can smuggle your own beer! Don't sit near the lifeguards! Water is so cold, it hurts to put my ankles in it. I don't really like swimming in the ocean anyway. I go for the scenery, the booze, and the sun. It's a nice big clean beach so if you walk a little bit down the beach you'll find a nice spot that's not so crowded. Movie bonus: "My Best Friend's Girl" was filmed up here. Oh, and I like to smoke cigars here. Nothing like the fresh air!!!!! read more

I have been a trustees member with a beach access parking permit for years, and yes it is fairly expensive $185 plus. Which I found reasonable if you use it. However, the trustees who manage the beach is now ripping the beach permit holders off citing Covid-19 as the issue. I get limited access, I get website incompetency and policy changes. However it has now been decided that people who have paid for membership cannot access the beach on weekends! The Trustees have intentionally shut them out and weekend dates are only available to non - members or non-beach pass members who need to pay $35 or more for the day. Two weeks ago Saturday was excluded to permit holders, last week it was Sunday (both were the best weather days) and this coming week it is both Saturday and Sunday! I have written the Trustees several times and no response. I will not renew my membership and I will find another nice beach on the north or south shore. There are plenty - you should do the same. Bryan K read more

I love this beach so much. Specifically, I love this beach in the off-season. When there are no crowds, no murderous humidity, no blazing sun, and no flying biting bugs. In the off-season, all you need for a good time is a beach blanket, sunglasses, water, headphones + mp3 player, and some reading material. Kite is optional. Shoes are also optional, once you get on the sand. In the crowded and gross busy season, also bring the Buzz Away, extra sunscreen, and perhaps a beach umbrella. Do give yourself at least an hour to enjoy the beach. Also note the high price of admission ($25/car on summer weekends and holidays). This place is an absolute treat in April and May. Sometimes if you go late enough on a chilly day when it's slightly overcast, you might have the whole place to yourself. Just how I like it. You can meander barefoot for hours along this long and heavenly soft beach. On really non-crowded, overcast days, I strongly prefer not carrying anything with me other than a camera, water, and the car keys. There's a LOT of beach to cover, and a lot of walking to do. :) read more

This was a great beach to check out on our "Head north from Cambridge" tour. Semi-private beach that's beautiful, pretty clean, and lots of wildlife. I mean real wildlife, not screaming kids or spazzy dogs. While walking the expanse of the beach we found plovers, seagulls, and some living examples of mussels and a ginormous clam. We saved them from a possible doom amidst the beached, broken bodies of their kind. This place is like some sort of buffet for seagulls that dig clams. (literally) The water isn't as cold as I expected, but the wind was. It's a pretty cold place in early October, I could see this place kicking ass in early june - july. Of note, they allow fishing! I think next time out here I'm going to hunt out some clams. Reason for the neg: Dog owners aren't adhering to the on leash/ off leash areas, and that can be obnoxious. I wish this was enforced. read more

Ye Gads...crowds of Biblical proportions. 1300 car parking lot was first advertised as full by 11 AM! But was then re-opened. I'd heard at it was a very pretty area but honestly I could not see it for the oceans (get it?) of people and beach umbrellas. $25 to get in, but from the looks of the majority of the cars, 4 times that price wouldn't have been a problem. After that go find a 6' squ area and hope the incoming tide does squeeze you out. The clientele seems pretty cosmopolitan based on what we overheard as well as what we saw... Men wearing speedos..who shouldn't, and women wearing Brazilian cut bikinis, who in many cases shouldn't either. I will say that generally people were very polite and the facilities are very well kept and quite comprehensive. Might try again after Labor day...I would like to actually see the landscape. read more

Great beach but can't even get on it anymore. The way they sell tickets online now, logging on 15 min after their available and their all sold old. They save them just for their members. And $35 a car is highway robbery. Good beach but the ppl running it need to change read more

I've heard great things about Crane beach for a good 5+ years. Everything from seeing it on the tops of Boston.com lists to an old roommate telling me this is one of the only places he went even though he moved out prior to dragging me along with him. We decided to make this a weekend ADVENTURE. And when I say that, I really mean it. This CAN be reached via bicycle although I would recommend you be at least a semi-avid biker.....it's over 10 miles round trip and doing that in 95 degree heat probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world. But we did it and I'm here to survive and tell my tale.... We rode our bikes to our local T station and hopped on for the 11:30 to Ipswich on the Newburyport commuter rail line. The ticket said we would arrive at 12:19 but ended up pulling in about 5 minutes late. I had never been to Ipswich before so when we got off the train, I was confused as to where to head for the beach. Luckily, I had my trusty iPhone with me and looked up maps, although the 3g in the area isn't the best we finally found out that Argilla Rd was just two turns away. Argilla Rd is fairly biker friendly, mapping it out shows an elevation of just 80 ft and there were only two times we had to get off and walk (moreso due to the heat). A 5 mile bike ride took us roughly a half hour to complete, there was nothing happier than seeing sand dunes over the horizon and then also bypassing the $25 parking fee for non-residents. Sure, two round trip tickets on the commuter rail were $27 but I would have spent almost $20 just in gas to get there and back......plus we burned a bunch of calories! Luckily, they have a nice sized bike rack that fits about 20 bikes and there were plenty of spots. We tied them up, bag full o' goodies and beach gear on our backs and began walking up towards the beach and bathhouse. Although this is tough to admit, we somehow got around paying the $5 beach fee. I still don't know where this is paid and I'm not going to go about asking where and when it's done.....but we saved some more money. It goes to a good cause and I feel a tad guilty but we made up for it by buying lots of food at the stand there. Eeeemmm an Appleton Farms salad full of local produce for only $5.25! Cucumbers, celery, tomatoes and balsamic all over local mixed field greens made me a happy camper. The g/f got a turkey wrap for another $6 or so and she said it was "ok". The drinks were easy to buy, $1.50 for 20 oz Coca-Cola products in five vending machines right near the beach. We also ended up purchasing a few hot dogs for $3.50 each. The water was "refreshing" on a day it was almost 100 degrees, even though the 58 degree water is still quite the shock to your body. I dipped in a good 5 - 6 times over the course of the few hours we were there because it was necessary in order to stay cool, thank you for being bacteria free unlike Revere Beach keeping people out of the water that very day because of sewage, BLAH! We reluctantly hopped on our bikes for the 5 mile trek back, although I had to talk her out of not wanting to hop on the local shuttle bus, the bikes may have not fit on it anyway. A few hundred calories burned as well as our skin on one of the most beautiful stretches of beach in all of MA, what a great way to spend a Saturday! read more

I understand that everyone is trying very hard to accommodate social distancing and it takes time work things out but what I don't understand is why parking passes are available for members ($25) and nonmembers ($45) but are listed as "sold out" to permit holders!?!? Emails and phone messages are not returned. Apparently I'll have to purchase a day pass for $25 as a member on top of the $ I've already paid for a beach pass. I'd be more understanding if they upfront told you that they were requiring extra payment for entry during COVID-19. If you're prepaid you can't get a pass. Not a great way to encourage fundraising. read more

Loved it. Left Brookline a little after 8AM on Sunday. Packed a cooler with sandwiches, fruits, and plenty of booze. Got to crane beach in an hour, paid the $25 parking fee, got a parking spot as close as you can get to the beach, had our pick of locations once on the beach, and we were set up and sunning by 9:15. Lots of powdery sand and during low tide you could walk out into the water for what seemed like miles. The water was a chilly 65, but not unbearable. It got crowded by 11ish but not too ridiculously crowded. Everyone was pretty respectful of each other's space. And by 1:00, the early birds started leaving. We stayed til about 2. The facilities were as well kept as you could ask for and the snack bar had a decent enough selection for a fair price. A 10 minute drive into Essex for some fried clams at Woodman's was a great way to cap it all off. read more