Lovely beach in Rockport. I visit every year with my family. Great place in the summer to get some sun and avoid the heat in the cities. read more

Long Beach - Middle of the beach view from the wall - Beaches Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

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By far my favourite beach in New England great family beach, wide soft sand, calm waves, shallow incline & to boot no stones, pebbles or sand biting bugs, even at dusk... If you can rent one of the quaint cottages directly on the beach, it adds to the experience. Nothing beats opening your front door, sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and watching the world idly wake up... At the end of August, Long Beach Day is held with a host of family fun activities for the kids to enjoy and the adults to bring out their competitive sides for wheel barrow racing, 3 legged racing etc... And one thing that makes me happy, happy... is my departure from Boston on a summer Friday @ 5.30pm and arriving at the beach in Rockport by 6.15/6.30 max... It beats the trip south to the Cape, hands down... read more

Long Beach - These 10ft waves are an anomoly due to Hurricane Bill... - Beaches Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

Wonderful beach and clean Parking is reasonable and the parking staff are wonderful and helpful. The parking lot owner has the beach patrolled each morning to assure a clean beach. There is a food truck everyday and ice cream truck on the weekends. I can't say enough about the personal attention taken to provide a nice beach experience. read more

We definitely had a good time at this beach last weekend. It is smaller than the other beaches in the area (ie good harbor) but it is clean and has enough space for fun. We actually liked that there was a little more of an intimate family feel. If we had kids this beach would be perfect for them to have enough space to play without having to be right on top of them so that they dont get lost etc. Parking was $15 (better than $25 at good harbor) and there was a co-ed public bathroom/changing area in the parking lot. No food stand or other amenities so bring a cooler and enjoy! read more

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This beach might be a mile long but the shoreline is very narrow for the most part. The wider area which isn't too much gets crowded for the same reasons. If one is a resident, its ok to come and spend time there. But if you are driving 30 miles, an hour on the road, then its not worth it. Unless you also want to visit the town of Rockport which has small charming boutiques and restaurants worth checking out. We came across three parking slots on our drive to the beach, first two were full but the third which is closest to the beach was open. Parking charge:$30 Clean restrooms in that parking area. Only ones available if you need to go. Spot hero couldn't find any available spots in the area. Only one small snack truck on entry. Apart from that, the sand was smooth, not much pebbles or sea weeds. The water was clear and refreshing but very cold (Mid June). read more

Nice beach. But be ready to pay a lot just for parking. Not much of sand, just few rocks to sit in at high tie. But really nice to see and quite a few waves to play in. read more

Nice place to go with your friends on a hot day. As far as beaches go this beach is better then most. The only challenge was getting parking. My friends and I had to go through some traffic to find a parking lot, which when we arrived cost is $30.00 A car. My advice when going here is bring your own food since this beach has no restraunt to walk to on foot. read more

This is, by far, my favorite Massachusetts beach. I've been frequenting this beach since I was young. My family and I used to head here on Saturday mornings, back when I begged my mom to bring 5 million of my friends with us. Nowadays I go with a towel, a book, a frisbee, and some friends. It is loooooong and clean (sand and water). There is plenty of space to spread out without tripping over a gaggle of children. The jetty is always fun to explore with its numerous tide pools. Or you can just take a nice, long walk as the water rushes at your feet. On exceptionally good days you can score some awesome wave action too! As a lover of swimming, I wouldn't leave the water until my lips turned blue. One of the best parts is this beach's proximity to the town of Rockport. They have stations where you can shower off any sand and salt before getting your car's interior super "beach-y". My family would spend mornings and afternoons at the beach and then we would head to Rockport to eat dinner, gorge on saltwater taffy, and peruse the little shops. Be wary, parking at the beach is expensive because the lots are right by the beach on a private road. read more

this beach is pretty much impossible to find a parking spot at. it gets really busy peak season.

Worse beach I've been to so far!! This place is CROWDED!! Impossible to find any visitor parking unless you're an early bird. I got there early afternoon, and they won't let you into the parking lot even if they are empty lots from early visitors leaving. Traffic police/security are extremely impatient, unwilling to explain why they are not letting people in as others leave. The beach is sandy, but further in the water they are tons of stones making it hard to walk. Some parts of the beach have tons of smelly seaweed floating everywhere. What a total waste of my time. read more

I've only been here after Labor Day, but I loved it. It was not crowded at all, and the weather was decent. What a beautiful effin' beach. It's got great surfing, dog friendly, dogs pee on my chair. It's kinda off to the side and if you don't know how to get there, you're really not gonna stumble upon it. I like climbing on the rocks to the side of the beach. Pete likes to surf here. Our pups love to run around here. One of the dogs actually bit a little girl here and I was pretty stoked she didn't cry and her family wasn't mad at us, haha. Friendly people too, I guess? read more

Great alternative to Good Harbor! $20 for parking but it is a smaller parking lot so I imagine it fills up quick. We got there at noonish and had no issues. Only downside is that is the only bathroom is located in said parking lot which is a walk from beach. Nothing drastic but if you gotta go, don't wait till the last minute. Outside showers to rinse off after. Beach was packed on a 90+ degree summer day but we found a spot no trouble and without feeling like we were on top of one another. Water was perfect! Waves were great! No biting flies! Bring your snacks and drinks because there is no snack bar. Can't wait to go back! read more

Long Beach - Long Beach 2015 - Beaches Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

One of my most favorite places on earth. I've been coming here since I was a small child, and it never changes. The crowd is non pretentious and a lot of fun. The homes on the boardwalk are lovely. The jetty is fun and the waves are small but boards are welcome. Family friendly, hooligan friendly, rabbit friendly-this stretch is just really peaceful and laidback. Parking might be pricy but the bathrooms are very clean. There might be some festivals of families enjoying each others company, ya never know. Yes, there is a tide. It is a beach. The water is sometimes colder. Complain to management and see if it can be changed? (see Nahant beach review) read more

I ended up at Long Beach when I headed to Good Harbor beach and the parking lot filled up. At the time, I wanted to head to a beach with some waves. I read that Long Beach had decent waves and people surf there, but when I got to the beach... there were very small gentle waves. Hardly worthy of having a six year old niece ride them on her boogie board, let alone myself. One thing that should be noted right off is that this beach might have the coldest water of any beach that I have been to in New England besides Good Harbor. I have grown a tolerance to cold ocean waters over the years and even I couldn't stay in the water for more than five to ten minutes and my niece would get blue lips and shiver almost instantly. The parking lot at Long Beach is fairly small, so unless you get there early... I can see that parking lot filling up as well. It should be noted that the bathrooms are in the parking lot and that is a ways away from where you sit on the beach... so you have to go, then go before the beach. It was also a huge plus to have outside showers besides the bathroom to wash off the day of swimming and sweating so you can enjoy Rockport or Gloucester afterwards. The one advantage of having a small parking lot is that the beach didn't get overcrowded, even on a perfect 92 degree beach day. The beach is nice to walk, but at high tide there is much less beach. They have a sea wall in front of the beach front places for a reason.... the water comes way up to the wall like at Nantasket beach in Hull. They have a little bridge that goes across to a small island of sorts. It appeared to be a good place for fishing and for kids to explore... but given I was with a six year old, the rocks looked dangerous. I was interested in checking it out more, but being a good uncle... I couldn't. First reason for marking down stars is because they had no snack stand at all. I don't like to carry a big heavy cooler to the beach and prefer to get my food there. The second reason is that the water was almost unbearably cold, even in August when Gloucester and Ipswich beaches are at their warmest. The third reason is the expensive parking at $20. The fourth reason is that huge ugly sea wall, I don't think the beach is beautiful or awe inspiring at all like Crane's, Good Harbor, Wingaersheek. The last reasons for marking down stars is that the beach gets half swallowed up by high tide. The good parts of the beach were that it was exceptionally clean, no biting green head flies during green head fly season, doesn't get overcrowded, clean, place to shower, bathrooms and nice sand. As a backup to Good Harbor, you could do worse... but if I were to do it again, I would spend the time to drive to Crane's or Wingaersheek personally. read more

Long Beach is a beautiful beach that seems to stretch as far as the eye can see. The only drawback is at high tide when there really isn't any sand left to park your stuff on, but time it at a lower tide time of the day and you'll have a wonderful time. There is tons of sand at low tide, and a boulevard up top for strolling, jogging, or if you're one of the lucky ones to rent out/own a beach house, sit on your porch and watch the tides. Rocks provide adventurous climbing at the Rockport side (watch out for poison ivy), or some fishing off of the end, and tide pools to poke around for periwinkles and crabs. The creek that flows in is a bit gross, so stay away from that if you can, but I love this beach and can't wait to go back. read more

I grew up at this beach, my family and family friends have always had a summer houses' here and the beach has never let us down. It's always been very clean and quiet (yet family friendly). There is tons of room for kids to run around (especially at low tide) but you wont be disturbed because there is PLENTY of space to distance yourself. The parking for the private section is plentiful and secure; you have to check-in with the front gate before you're allowed to continue (they check your parking sticker & name typically)... and if you're visiting someones house I think you have to pay a small fee (i think its $7?) - not bad in my opinion compared to the $25+ the public side pays.. yikes. I will say, often times when you look down to the public end of the beach it looks a lot more crowded (so get there early!) .. I just never understood why those people don't walk down the beach a bit for some space? I would! If you can, I highly recommend renting or investing in a beach house here.. the community is amazing (we've never had a bad neighbor!), the houses are beautiful and the memories you make are worth every penny. read more

We got herded in this direction with the other people surprised to find Good Harbor closed to non- residents. It still cost $20 to park, but was a lot less nice than Good Harbor. First of all: no lifeguards and no signs warning parents that there aren't any lifeguards- so you pay the $20 and then find out. The water was really nice, but the beach was super crowded and really unpleasant. It was really like hanging out in an ashtray all day. Tons of second hand smoke coming from all directions, cigarette butts all over the beach. No restrooms, no snack bar- just a pink ice cream truck where the driver smokes while he gets your sno- cone. Pretty gross. read more

What a waste of a beach day. The description of a noisy ashtray is perfect. We were funneled here due to residence only on Good Harbor. Before we entered the parking lot we asked how the beach compared to Good Harbor and told it was better. This is not better than any beach I have been to. read more

Awesome beach. One of the best in MA. You can bring your boogie boards and enjoy the waves. Not a lot of commericalism here. In fact, it's mostly locals as the parking is $20/25 if you don't have a pass. Worth every penny though. The sand is soft, no rocks, great waves, beautiful people. Doesn't get better than this!!! read more

https://www.facebook.com/longbeachrockport/ I live here, so I am prejudiced. Here's what I think can help any person and/or family who chooses to visit Long Beach. Long Beach is in both Gloucester and Rockport, Mass (a small portion in front of the Cape Ann Motor Inn is in Gloucester) and is approximately 3/4 mile long. There is a concrete boardwalk with private homes along it which runs much of the length of the beach, and the start of the Rockport portion of the beach begins at the end of Rockport Rd in Gloucester, MA. How's that for confusion?! On most days, the surf is minimal and provides plenty of opportunity for good swimming for young children and parents. Rockport provides 3 lifeguards on the beach from 10:00-4:00 between beginning of July-Labor day. The water temperature at Long Beach varies significantly. Yesterday (8/3/2016), my good friend Joe's thermometer read 74-75 degrees when he took the temperature (he's the resident water temperature man), and since mid-July we have been in the low 70s. For the last 3-4 years, you can count on the low 70s during July and August. However, don't be surprised if, out of the blue, you get a couple of days of cooler temps (high 60s). The parking (on hot weekends) at Long Beach has become increasingly difficult over the last 5 years. Either be at the beach very early (before 9:30) or come after 2:00 on any days that are very hot if you don't want to be angry when you get to the rotary and wait an hour in traffic only to find you cannot get a spot in a lot. Legally, there are spots in two lots for 285ish cars (don't quote me, but it's not far off). As with many other beaches in the United States due to whatever you believe, the beach has lost a lot of sand and the result is that over 100 years, we have lost 91 feet of beach. As a result, the high tides are now coming to the boardwalk wall all winter long and during the summer, you have about 5-10 feet beach along 90% of the beach at high tide. MAKE SURE YOU GOOGLE THE TIDE CHART in Gloucester, Mass before attempting a visit to Long Beach on a hot weekend day. There is very little beach at high tide except at either end of the beach. Plan, plan, plan ahead. Don't say I didn't tell you. Many reviews talked about water temperature. I have a home in Florida and the water temperature is not comparable to Florida EVER. Temps in May are in the 50s-low 60s. Temps in June are 60s. July and August are the only months where you can swim comfortably (much of the time). On the weekends, there is always an icecream truck in the parking lot of the Cape Ann Motor Inn, and recently, there has been a guy selling hot dogs and chicken on skewer. There is an icecream store and sub shop within walking distance of the beach (less than 1/4 mile), but bring a cooler if you have a family. Best options to visiting Long Beach are to try it on a weekday. I'm not going to lie. It's not MY favorite beach on a hot weekend day at high tide. We're in the same situation many beaches in the area are; tides are rising and we are losing beach. read more

This has always been where my family goes on beach days. It is smaller than others in the area, like Good Harbor beach down the street, but that means it is often less crowded and more intimate as well. The houses that stretch along the beach give it a nice feel and they are beautiful! High tide can diminish the size of your blanket space, but it isn't that bad. You do also have to make a small walk to the bathrooms, but it is nothing to worry about. The view it beautiful and it is long enough to take a walk without getting somebody lost. The waves can be really good too! All-in-all I don't know what else anybody would want in a beach. The ice cream truck even arrives every afternoon! read more

I read about this beach on Yelp and wanted to take my daughter there on a recent Sunday afternoon. Could not find an access road or public parking even with the help of the GPS, and ended up parking on a street with plenty of open spots. Unfortunately, I did not notice the resident permit only sign, and got socked with an expensive parking ticket after 5 pm. This is the case of a public beach made de facto private by restricting access and parking. Very disappointing. read more

This is by far my favorite beach and many of the reviews are just plain wrong. We usually go on weekdays and if you get there before 10 the parking is less money. Some people have said there are no waves or just small ones. Don't they know that the ocean changes all the time because of the winds, tides, and storms at sea ? Magic seaweed certainly finds it the best beach for surfing in the area. If you want to now what the surf is like, visit their website. Many people sit at the nearest end to the parking lot where it is the most crowded. we walk to the middle of the beach and it is much less so but one has to expect ,people there on weekends, beach lovers all! Just get there early if you want a spot! As for cold water--this is New England, folks! I have found it much warmer the last few years and can actually get in without wincing and cringing--an upside to Global Warming? I started going there many years ago with a group of women and children just because there is no refreshment stand so the kids couldn't beg to use it! We did always include a walk to the ice cream truck in our visits though. read more

the best place to take your dog off leash during the off season as it has only one entrance and a seawall that runs all along it. at high tide most of the beach is covered but between tides or at low tide, the slope of the beach is gradual and large. it's approximately half a mile long so a nice walk. read more

This is a family beach and is so nice. It is so much fun. An earlier review said it is dog friendly BUT dogs are NOT allowed on this beach or any public beaches in Rockport and Gloucester. SO leave them home! read more