Pamela Leavey

words and pictures....

New England’s Best Beaches

The Boston Globe names Crane Beach in Ipswich one of New England’s Best Beaches. It is great to see this local beach made the list:

We happen to love Crane Beach, with its undulating dunes and secret maritime forest, and so do the folks at NationalGeographic.com. They hailed it as one of the Top 10 US Family Beaches. “Calm waters, warm tidal pools, and on-site amenities such as a snack bar . . . make this an ideal destination for families,” they noted. Not to mention the pure powdery-softness of the sand, and the cool views of the Great House, rising over the beach.

I know Crane Beach is a fabulous beach for the reasons the Boston Globe cites, warm tidal pools and powdery soft sands but for me there is a beach that rises above the cut of all of New England’s Best Beaches and that beach has a view of Crane Beach.

View of Castle Hill from Sandy Point
View of Castle Hill and Crane Beach from Sandy Point

The best beach in New England is not easy to get to and it has very little parking. If you time your trip right on a summer’s day you might be one of the lucky ones to nab a parking space before the lot fills up. Get there early… Stay all day. Plum Island’s Sandy Point, is one of Massachusetts’ gems. Thankfully most people cannot be bothered to make the trek through the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge to get there. For me, it is worth the trip. I cruise the Refuge and get my fix of birding, wildlife, native plants and flowers, sights and sounds and then I walk and relax on the best beach in New England.  My life is rich.

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