a place to relax and get away without the parking issues at Good Harbor Beach No stores on the beach and a lot of summer residences on the boardwalk and a peaceful crowd
You must go at low tide and enjoy the beach. It is incredible! Gloucester has few really nice beaches, yes the water is cold, but it is New England!
unlike the "neighboring" beach up the road this one seemed to have a nicer "clientle" it was quaint and the access as well as parking is far better than Good Harbor beach plus the cost to park is less
beautiful, unspoiled, and very serene place to walk - we happened upon quite a bit of sea glass which was wonderful to collect and were pleasantly surprised to see cairns on the rocks at the end of the beach.
A lovely beach with very clean soft sand. The parking is limited and there are no public bathrooms. There's a sub shop on the corner that has facilities for a purchase of a cold drink. It's mostly family's on the beach and everyone is good about taking out their litter. There is a couple of retired folks that have a pay to park lot that isn't far from the beach and it's much cheaper than the bigger lots.
The length of the beach is lined with an elevated concrete walkway with excellent handrail. It was fun to feel the ocean breezes, enjoy the sunshine, hear the ocean sounds, and look at each of the cottages along the way. At the far end from the Cape Ann Motel there is a bridge off the beach to a stone island. Very enjoyable. One of the highlights of my trip to Gloucester.
Family oriented with mostly " regulars". The half mile cove is protected and has low wave action, but is very dramatically changed by the tides. Great sun rises and full moons. Families with kids rule. It's kept very clean. Parking can be a challenge so get there early if you're not drying nearby. Cape Anne Inn anchors the southern end. A great New England beach.
Long Beach is beautiful but parking is tough in the summer so I compromised on 4 stars but if you can get here it's a five-star attraction. Should mention there are no facilities of any kind so bring your own fluids and food. I should mention this is a nice spot outside the summer months and of course the parking is pretty much not a problem then.I usually ride my bike here so I'm not an expert on parking. There is a small lot on the South end of the beach but you need to get there early. Otherwise I'd say head to the North end and start driving North til you find a legal spot and then walk back. If you have a lot of gear leave it at the beach before you try to find parking so you won't have to carry it. The best thing about tough access is privacy and that you will find here. I like to take my top off and it's ideal for that. If you lie among the rocks at the North end you can take everything off. Long Beach is great for running which I enjoy. At low tide you can go quite a ways. You start at the end of South Beach and can get all the way to the end of Penzance Road and then get on the road itself if you want to go further North toward Rockport. If you're out too long the tide may come in far enough so coming back you'll need to get up on Penzance and turn the corner and get back to Long Beach on the road but it's no problem. This is a really nice destination either real early in the day or late in the day. Sunrise is just beautiful and the last two hours of the day is great too.
We've been going here for years. We love Wingaersheek and Good Harbor, but there's just something special about Long Beach. Maybe it's the boardwalk where you can walk and dream about spending a summer in one of the cottages, maybe it's the surf…. but probably it's the memories you'll make there.
We have stayed on Long beach every summer for as long as we can remember. It's not for everyone and sometimes I wonder if it's the sense of nostalgia that keeps me coming back. There's nothing like walking the beach touching you toe to the rocks on each side of the LONG stretch of sand. The twin light houses are picture perfect. The boardwalk is quaint with kids walking, eating melting ice cream from the ice cream truck that parks itself at one end each day. Crabbing is great at low tide.