Greater Boston and Cambridge beaches offer excellent sand, swimming and water sports
Route 135
Ashland, MA
Phone: 508-435-4303
Ashland State Park has 470 acres including the 157 acre Ashland Reservoir. The park is operated seasonally and provides opportunities for swimming, picnicking, boating, fishing, bicycling and hiking. Beach improvements at the park include facilities for wheelchair access to the boathouse and by ramp into the pond.
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-223-8666
Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area offers a quiet place to relax, explore, camp, swim, fish or picnic. Tours to Boston Light ("The ultimate Lighthouse experience," according to the Boston Globe) operate Thursday-Sunday from June to October. Ranger narrated Discovery Cruises and Sunset Cruises are offered on a frequent basis in the summer. Ranger-led activities and special events are offered on many islands for a variety of audiences. Not only are these islands a source of natural beauty and wonder--they're also rich in history and legends, with tales of pirates, shipwrecks, wars, abandoned prisons, and even ghosts! It's all right in Boston Harbor and accessible by boat or public ferry from Long Wharf downtown or the South Shore... so near, and yet so far away!
William J. Day Blvd.
South Boston, MA
Phone: 617-727-5114
This sandy beach, maintained by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, is one of the best swimming beaches in the area, with nearby public amenities and great views of the harbor. New sand, new walkways, benches, lighting, shade shelters and award winning landscaping have helped to make Carson Beach a popular destination. "Mother's Rest" and its fishing pier have also been rehabilitated, making for a beautiful picnic area with a fantastic view of the Harbor. Life guards. To reach the beach on the subway take the Red Line to JFK/UMass. Or use the bus on routes 5, 8, 11, 16, or 41. Parking available.
Route 30
Natick, MA
Phone: 508-653-9641
Cochituate State Park is a popular regional day use park featuring water-based recreational opportunities including boating, swimming, windsurfing, and fishing on its three large lakes. Picnicking, swimming, and boat launching are limited to the main area of the park on the middle lake and boaters can gain access to the other lakes through channels under roadways. Jet skis are not allowed on the lake.
Constitution Beach
Orient Heights
East Boston, MA 02205
Phone: 617-727-4708
Restrooms, lifeguard.
Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
Phone: 617-727-5290
Malibu Beach, Victory Road Park, and Tenean Beach provide the public with coastal access along the extended mouth of the Neponset River. Malibu Beach offers protected swimming and bathhouse. Victory Road Park is a passive park with indigenous planting on a reclaimed landfill. Tenean Beach is a popular swimming beach with playground facilities, tennis and basketball courts. Nearby Savin Hill Beach, restored to its original Olmsted Brothers design, has a tot lot, baseball fields and protected swimming. Together these facilities are an important link in the continuous pathway and greenway system from Castle Island in South Boston to the Neponset River. Open year-round, dawn to dusk.
268 Cedar Street
Hopkinton, MA
Phone: 508-435-4303
Hopkinton State Park offers a year-round recreation, including two guarded swimming beaches, stocked fishing, a group picnic site, 12 shaded picnic areas, 10 miles of marked trails, open field space, a boat launching ramp for non-motorized watercraft, and seasonal boat rentals. The swimming areas are supervised by lifeguards from late May through Labor Day. The waterfront has a handicapped accessible ramp.
Hours: Summer, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; rest of the year, 8 a.m.-sunset. Pets on leash are welcome. Trail system is multi-use. Hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, cross country skiers are welcome. Snowmobiles are permitted when snow cover is at least four inches deep.
695 Hillside St.
Milton, MA 02186
Phone: 617-698-1802
Supervised swimming beach at this spring-fed kettle pond. Concession pavilion and Visitor’s Center open seasonally. Restrooms, telephones, and a first-aid station at the bathhouse on the beach. Lifeguards from late June through Labor Day. Handicapped ramp leads to the water.
L Street Beach
Day Boulevard
South Boston,
Phone: 617-635-5104
Restrooms, lifeguards, handicap accessible.
Off Mystic Valley Parkway
Medford, Somerville, Everett, MA
Phone: 617-727-5380
Open year round, dawn to dusk. The banks of the Mystic River are almost entirely publicly owned from the Amelia Earhart Dam at the mouth of the Mystic Lakes. The property is accessible via the MBTA public transit system. The property includes:
Mary O'Malley Park.
The park has striking views of the harbor and the Tobin Bridge over the Mystic River. A boat landing and shelter are located on an historic granite pier and a wind sculpture by William Wainwright enlivens the waterfront. Tennis courts and a large open lawn area for concerts and picnics are also available.
Torbert Macdonald Park. Macdonald Park has an award-winning landscape design of the meandering paths, trees and open lawns provides space for rest and enjoyment as well as bicycling, jogging, walking and informal games in a riverside setting.
Draw Seven Park. The Draw Number Seven Railroad Bridge, which once crossed the Mystic River, gave this park its name. This park provides field game space for Somerville and adjacent communities. Draw Seven Park offers nine acres of parkland including two soccer fields, a bikeway/walkway, a picnic area with shelter and beautiful landscaping.
Mystic Lakes. Today the Mystic Lakes are popular for freshwater swimming at Sandy Beach. Special sailing programs are available at the Tufts University Boathouse. The Upper Mystic Lake is for non-powered boats only. The Lower Mystic Lake is for power boats with no wake. Information about Shannon Beach: 617-727-5380.
Nickerson Beach
120 Dorchester St.
Quincy, MA 02205
Phone: 617-376-1251
Nickerson Beach is a very small beach which primarily serves the adjacent Squantum residential neighborhood of Quincy. This scenic coastal area, with its extensive salt marsh and mudflats, is attractive to birds and for bird watching. Owned by the City of Quincy. Access: Most access is by foot or bicycle, although limited curbside parking is available. The area is also accessible via public transportation. Take the Squantum #211 bus to the Bellevue Road & Dorchester Street stop from the MBTA Red Line's North Quincy station.
Quincy Shore Drive
Quincy, MA 02205
Phone: 617-727-5290
Quincy Shore Drive links Wollaston Beach with Caddy Memorial Park and Moswetuset Hummock. The 2.3-mile beach is popular for its jogging/bicycling trail and swimming. Caddy Park on the southern end of the beach has over 15 acres of fields and marsh as well as a play area, lookout tower and picnic tables. Moswetuset Hummock, on the beach's northern end, is a mixture of woodland trails and open marshland. The site which has a short loop trail, offers views of Quincy Bay and 144-acre Squantum Marsh. Open year round, dawn to dusk. Bathhouse open July to September.
Directions:
by MBTA: Wollaston Beach - Red Line to Wollaston Station, walk to Hancock Street, turn right and walk one block to Beach Street or take Wollaston Beach/Ashmont bus #217. Caddy Park - turn left on Beach Street and continue on Quincy Shore Drive. Moswetuset Hummock - Red Line to North Quincy Station, MBTA Bus #211 to Squantum, exit at East Squantum Street and Quincy Shore Drive, proceed to the small wooded knoll 200 yards east.
Revere Beach Blvd.
Revere, MA
Phone: 781-289-3020
Lifeguards are on duty from late June to early September. Revere Beach boasts miles of shoreline which welcomes throngs of visitors every summer. Along the boulevard there is a bandstand for summer concerts, a bathhouse and many shade shelters. Revere Beach is very accessible by public transportation which makes it a popular spot for people from all around metro Boston. Open year round, dawn to dusk.
Swimming holes can be found in or near rock quarries, streams, gorges, and waterfalls. Most are pristine, uncrowded, and surrounded by beautiful woods and forests. For details, see the web site www.SwimmingHoles.info
Swimming holes can be found in or near rock quarries, streams, gorges, and waterfalls. Most are pristine, uncrowded, and surrounded by beautiful woods and forests. For details, see the web site www.SwimmingHoles.info
