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!

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!

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.

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

By far my favourite beach in New England great family beach, wide soft sand, calm waves, shallow…read moreincline & 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...

First time here. Must reserve $40 parking ahead of time during the day, free parking after 5pm…read more You'll be turned around if you don't have reservation. Small walk from secondary lot, residents of the town have priority and cheaper rate. Beach is super clean, keep it that way please and pick up after yourself. Sand is smooth and fine, very minimal rocks or pebbles. Water during high tide makes the cover feel intimate, then when low tide hits BOOM the water rips out of the area for a Mile kind of wild to see. My lady introduced me to this beach and boy I'm glad she did. Add it to my favorites list! They have a food hut with actual meals to be purchased, not sure about showers etc we couldn't find them but think they close at 5pm either way. There's hermit crabs, fishes and snails to be found in the water for the youngings to learn and see! Great beach, great sun, clean and clear, water is also crystal clear. Nothing in the sand to step on and hurt your feet. Nice sandbar to swim over to and explore. Definitely looking forward to the next beach day!

Hands down, the best beach on the north shore or even all of New England! We spend a lot of time…read morein Gloucester over the summer and this is our go-to beach. The beach is flat and gradual, ideal for kids. There are fun rocks to climb on and tide pools to jump in. The sand is soft and fluffy. Lines can get long and you now have to book in advance, so be sure to plan ahead w/r/t your visit. There are life guards on staff and I feel the beach is very well maintained overall. We are usually on the "boat side" where dogs are allowed, which makes for a fun family experience. We like to go early (get there by 9am if not before) and leave early (in time for lunch), which I would recommend, to avoid the crowds.

Plum Cove is a small resident only beach on Ipswich Bay. There is a lifeguard from Father's Day…read moreuntil Labor Day from 9am - 5pm. The beach has limited parking and vehicles must have a resident parking sticker. Port-o-pottie on site.

The entire Cape Ann area is just beyond fantastic. In many ways, it's better than Cape Cod because…read moreit doesn't have all the tourists and not a lot of people outside of Massachusetts know about it. Long known as an artist's colony and encompassing small towns and hamlets like Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester-By-The-Sea, Ipswich, and to some degree Salem, the entire coast here is dotted with little coves and bays and beaches and you really can find out about a lot of these places by actually driving around and exploring. That's how my friend and I stumbled on Plum Cove Beach. Definitely a spot locals know about, this is easily one of the cutest, picturesque and prettiest beaches I've encountered in New England. Flanked by giant stone, sloping cliffs (which I saw some hikers going along), trees and amazing estates clinging to these cliffs, the actual beach sits snugly in between. It is not a big beach, there are no facilities here and I imagine parking here in the summer must be a nightmare, but the day we came, hardly anyone was here, the water is super dark blue and clear and as long as you mind your own business in typical New England fashion, people are pretty chill. The beach is very clean, the water was cold (but it's only early June) and on a clear, sunshine day with hardly anyone there, it really is an amazing spot to enjoy yourself in.

Eelgrass Habitat is a nice little section located on Gloucester's beach front strip. There is a…read moresmall parking lot (free) which holds about a dozen cars. You can walk down to the sand and rocks via a small public pathway. The sand is nice and definitely a great place to set up a chair and read a book. The waves are minimal at this spot and the water should be safe. Please check the local postings as I'm not that familiar with the water conditions here but assume it's a safe spot since the famous greasy pole is located just off this spot. Which brings up that this would be the ideal spot to watch the greasy pole computation. Perfect viewing from here. Also there is a lot of signage regarding the sea life in this spot so please read prior to setting up for the day here as not to harm or disrupt any of the sea life.

not my fav beach. the water is kinda mucky and not my choice for hopping in for a swim. the sand is…read morenot very soft either. the parking lot is pretty small and exclusive.

Had to pay $15 to sit on the beach to watch fireworks, which was pretty pricey. The fireworks were…read moregood and you could see Marblehead's fireworks at the same time (which looked even more impressive, honestly). Small beach tucked in a residential neighborhood. It has a food stand, small parking lot, and nice cove. Unless I was local I would not go to this beach.