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Many of us think of Boston and vaguely remember something about a tea party a long time ago. In fact the sweetly named Boston Tea Party was a destructive uprising against the Tea Tax in 1773. This city of only 600,000 inhabitants has had more than its fair share of historic events and the many landmarks to commemorate these include Revere House, Old North Church, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground and the Freedom Trail which attract thousands of tourists every year.
But beaches? In Boston? Not many people outside the state know about them. Boston is the largest city in New England and the locals pride themselves on their clean and compact city – perhaps they want to keep its beautiful beaches all for themselves! But it may be more to do with the fact that the beaches are a relatively new tourist attraction. Until the massive Boston Harbor cleanup in the mid 1980’s, the beaches were unsuitable for swimming. Now the water quality has been dramatically improved and seals and porpoises are commonly spotted in the water. The many beautiful Boston beaches are ideal places to soak up the sun and dip your toes in the ocean. Here’s a small sample of the very best:
North Boston
Revere Beach is just north of Boston and claims the title of oldest public beach in America since it was established in 1896. It is two miles long with lifeguards on duty from June to September. It’s a great magnet for the crowds on summer days who can take advantage of the public bathhouse and the many shade shelters. It can get busy and with plenty of food stalls, lashings of ice creams and live music at the restored bandstand during the summer, it makes for a great day out.
Every July Revere Beach hosts the New England Sand Sculpting Festival for 4 days where talented artists create amazing and enormous sand sculptures that would not look out of place in an art gallery – seeing is believing. The artists have 12 tons of sand and 30 hours to complete their masterpiece, with the winner taking home several thousand dollars in well deserved prize money.
Winthrop Beach
Winthrop Beach is located just north east of Boston and is smaller than Revere Beach. It’s a great sandy beach ideal for swimming and long walks and has lifeguards on duty from June to September. You’ll be able to see the ‘Five Sisters’ – five wave breakers off shore to protect nearby neighbourhoods from the large swells that occur during storms. They date back to the 1930s along which coarse gravel has accumulated.
South Boston
Carson Beach is another popular summer destination. The Edward J. McCormack Bathhouse has changing rooms, rest rooms, showers, drinking water, first aid facilities and chess tables. The walkways and benches make it an ideal location for a picnic while sitting back to watch the world go by. It’s super easy to access from the city, being less than half a mile from the train station.
Castle Island / Pleasure Bay
Castle Island was once an actual island with a fort but today is linked to the mainland after the strait was filled in. The main bay, wonderfully named Pleasure Bay, has a sandy beach and lagoon for safe swimming.
The islands
The Boston Harbor islands are accessible by ferry and offer beaches, hiking paths and places to camp.
Spectacle Island
This is one of the best islands to swim from. The swimming area is supervised and there is a great sandy beach.
Lovells Island
This cobbled beach leads down to the ocean, but be advised, swimming is unsupervised here.
So when you’re visiting Boston, don’t immerse yourself just in history and museums. Now you know all about the “hidden” beaches of Boston so get over to the coast to breathe in some fresh air, sunbathe on the beach and to take a dip in the big wide ocean – turn your break into an unexpected Boston beach vacation.