Cranes Beach, which is owned and operated and protected by the trustees, is my favorite beach of…read moreall time. It has a large parking lot, although you need to make reservations to guarantee a spot. It is not cheap, but it is extremely clean and the bath house and the snack bar are top-notch as far as Massachusetts beaches go. The snack bar has real food items, not just junk food and ice cream. The one drawback and it really could be a dealbreaker for some people is that the parking lot is a mid distance to long walk over sand dunes to the beach. Yes there are paths and stairs, but for people with mobility problems, this really could be a deterrent. I still rate it a 10/10.

A wee bit hard to get to but well worth it. Visiting during the week and it was nearly empty. I…read morecould have spent the entire day listening to the waves. Very peaceful.

Plum Island Beach, in Newburyport, is a great & lowkey beach on the North Shore to go to!…read moreThe beach is clean & pretty quiet, mostly locals. Much less congested compared to the popular beaches in MA & no traffic jams. I usually only come here if I'm planning a trip to see my friends in Newburyport ;) Not sure how much the parking is; I park at a friend's house. Very calm beach ONLY THING IS, avoid going in the month of July, OR be very careful of the greenhead flies! They are everywhere here during that month & their bites hurt lol. Not sure if greenheads are only specific to this beach in particular, however, I've only really ever experienced this here.

Visited plum island beach river side of it. I was sad to see how much they let things go there but…read morestill charge $15 to park?Trash on the beach / glass. The wooden wall way was closed off on the parking lot side and on the beach side the stairs/ramp removed. The view is still beautiful. They no longer have life guards on duty..

Great beach! We love coming here for the soft sand and fun waves. During low tide there are tide…read morepools and a river the kids can explore, plus an island you can reach via a sandbar. During high tide there's still plenty of beach. The parking is great - plentiful and stretches across the whole beach, making it easier to spread out and you never have to walk far.

Good Harbor is still one of my all-time favorite New England beaches, but I haven't been going as…read moreoften since they switched to the app-based reservation system and we moved further away. I understand why they did it, as it's one of the most popular beaches in the area and for good reason. Our recent visit was amazing. We arrived while the tide was low and crossed over to the island, and what an amazing view it was. It was fantastic, but don't stay too long or miss when the tide is coming back, or you might have a hard time getting back and get soaked. If you haven't visited, do yourself a favor and enjoy!

Absolutely gorgeous beach. Large, clean, and one of the best views of the stars I've ever seen…read more Note parking is a little away from much of the beach, so be prepared to carry your things for a bit on the sand (especially if you want to be a little away from the crowd!).

Such a lovely beach in such a great town! I visited this past weekend for the first time and adored…read moreit. Parking can make things a little tricky, but you won't need to walk for more than 10-15 mins from your spot to access the beach. Beach access is $10 a head, which may seem steep but I think is pretty average for beaches nowadays. The sand was nice, the beach staff was friendly, and the water was SO clean. We even spotted a couple of seals. Will go back!

I love this beach and it is my favorite beach in New England. The beach is impeccably clean…read morebecause most of it is maintained by private beach associations. The sand is beautifully fine and soft, unlike many of the rocky beaches in New England. I have passed out a great number of times in this sand with a hangover... nothing feels better when working off a night of drinks. Leave your boogie board at home, because there are no waves at this beach. It is wonderful to walk this beach. It is about a mile and a half from end to end. At low tide you can walk over to Wingaersheek beach and head out on the sand bar. Just be sure to make it back relatively quick since the tide comes in fast. The water doesn't get deep fast. In fact at low tide you have to walk very far out to get over your waist. This is really good for small children, but it can get annoying for grown ups who just want to cool off and not walk a half mile to get deep enough. There is also no undertow at all and this is also great to keep kids from getting swept out to sea. The beach is not crowded at all since the people that come are mainly residents and vacationers and there is no public parking. What you lack in eye candy is made up by not having to listen to other people's pain in the ass kids. If you do have some brats nearby, there is tons of room to move your stuff to. There are no concession stands, public parking, public access or lifeguards, but there is peace, beauty and quiet. The only warning is that like other beaches beside salt marches, the beach gets green head flies from the first full moon in July until the first full moon in August. For some reason between those two full moons... these huge vampire flies infest the Gloucester and Ipswich beaches. If you forget your bug spray, you might as well leave... they suck that much and they can ruin a trip for the unprepared. They are the most painful bitches that will have even the most reserved cursing like Ralphie in the Christmas Story... they are relentless just like horseflies but the bite is more painful.

Coffin's beach is almost 2 miles of white fine powder sand - surrounded by beautiful white sand…read moredunes. It is a very flat beach and when the tide goes out the beach is well over 500 feet deep and it exposes a large multi acre submerged rock (called Bald Rocks) where kids and adults alike can explore and find lobster, crabs, star fish, sea urchins, sea clams, horseshoe crabs. The beach is so vast and expansive you can literally sit 100 yards away from the next person if you so choose. Parking is an issue - but you can park at the next door public beach Wingaersheek and walk over the rocks that separate the private beach from the smaller public beach. At low tide you can walk in the sand. Sand bars allow you to walk out 100's of yards at low tide and be in only waist deep water. This beach is very kid friendly as there is no real current and no rip tide. Access in and out are limited so that a child who isn't being watched has little opportunity to leave the vicinity. Overall I would say this is the best beach I have had the opportunity to visit and it's a hidden treasure as few people other then the local residents use this natural wonder. Another thing to see is the 1000's of sand dollars which are easy to find at low tide - especially in the sprint and early summer before the tourists and summer residents collect them! Just be sure not to take the black ones as they are still alive!

My first time here walking around. We've driven by but this time we decided to get a little…read moreexercise and enjoy the views. We weren't the only ones here. Lots of people from all over. There were families, tourists, college kids, locals, and of course, love birds!! ;) We enjoyed our little walks and stopping to rest. While resting, we enjoyed people watching, the waves, and surfers. What's not to like?!?! The waves are so beautiful and relaxing! It doesn't matter if it's cloudy or sunshine. It's just the doctor ordered!!

Don't go here. I was walking over the rocks and climbing on them and then they HAD to be slippery…read moreand mind you, I don't know how to swim, even though I'm from Gloucester. I fell on a rock, and I struggled to get back up. another time, I decided to go in the water and try to sit on the rock, but the thing is why is the sand so FUCKING DEEP? It could've been like 3 feet and I would've been okay, but it was like 5?! THE HELL? Never in my GODDAMN life that I would've been complaining over a beach but here I am. Why? I am a local and I would rather shoot myself with a hunter's rifle then swim here. Go to Good Harbor instead.

Got to relax on the beach mid-September and it was perfect. The part we were at is nice and rock…read morefree, plus they had a sand rug as you enter that beach that made it easy to get to. The water was cold but was nice to dip my feet in. They do charge for parking until October I believe but it was Girl Scouts love State park weekend so it was free for us. There are both parking meters or you can use Yodel.com for convenience. They have a bathhouse at the parking lot that is clean and has an outdoor shower too. Plus I saw a children's park and a cookout area. Overall lovely park and I'd love to come swimming here in the new england summer months!

Ok park with good access to the beach. It gets very crowded in the summer, but we were always able…read moreto find a spot on the beach. Sites are water and electric only - they have a dump station with 4 lanes which is convenient. Few trees and kind of close together. One negative for us, it's really priced for Massachusetts residents. They charge an extra for non-MA residents (Like $40 more per night).

My husband and I found this cozy little beach area years ago. Parking is along the water but get…read morethere early. We have in the past brought a small grill to cook hotdogs on the sand or rocks, not sure if this is still allowed? The water is super clean and cold! Oh yeah the parking if you find one is free but again get there early. It is a very quiet spot, not sure if kids would enjoy it much. Trish

Dangerous beach, this beach experiences very dangerous and out of control shore-breaks, when there…read moreare waves their basically hazardous large waves smashing up against the rocks on shore, strong undertow could knock you off your feet pull you in before getting wrecked in shallow water full of pebbles by massive wave crashing on the beach, do not surf or swim here on larger surf

Growing up a few towns away led me to enjoy many visits here over the past 30 years. But last…read moreweekend was my first visit in around 5 years. It was good to see some small upgrades around the land, starting with a revamp of the parking area and more identifiable main signage to lead you into the park. The Trustees of Reservations segment of the land is now also more clearly delineated, though there is no additional admission charge or anything like that. The trails themselves maintain a timeless and spirited quality that encourages exploration and staying in the moment. The views are certainly something to behold, which I appreciate more now as an adult and needing to make the effort if/when I want to return to these surroundings.

Many many hiking trails going 1) around a central quarry now inactive and 2) leading to the ocean,…read moreboth up to vista views, and down to the very rocky, beautiful shore line. We hiked a LOT there. The trails are not for beginners--there are steep inclines and declines. We did several miles while taking photos and pacing ourselves. Everything here is breathtaking and beautiful. You are at the extreme end of the Rockport Peninsula. It doesn't get any better than this, unless you go to Acadia in Maine. A first rate park hiking destination and park. A plus!

Hidden gem that is well maintained with crystal clear waters. Despite what the one off review…read morestates front beach is very clean and there aren't any issues with bugs. We've been going at least once a year for almost 10 years now and it's amazing every time. The only negative remark would be that the water is usually freezing cold.

Front Beach is small but beautiful, and it really packs a lot into its minimal square footage. Not…read morefar from downtown, Front Beach is sunk down from the street for some seclusion. The sand is soft and clean, and the water is calm and clear. There is a lifeguard on duty -- who, on the day I visited, kept alerting us when a sneaky, little shark kept swimming into our waters. The beach is actually a small cove, and there is a swim platform about 30 feet out from the shore. There are public restrooms, and they are the cleanest beach facilities I have ever been in. There are no concession stands, but you're a short walk from all the adorable downtown eateries if you get hungry, or just pack a lunch. The only drawback I could find was the parking challenge; there is no parking lot, and most street spaces are either metered or short-term.