Back Beach
Rockport, MA
Back Beach sits on the other side of the rock outcrop from Front Beach on Beach Street in Rockport, a mix of sand and rocky ground. Scuba divers count it among the region's better dive spots, and a bandstand at the beach hosts free summer Sunday evening concerts. The view runs across a quieter, more sheltered stretch of water than you get at Front Beach.
Good diving and a proper bandstand give it character, but the rocky shore keeps it from being a great swim beach.
How we score beachesBring a chair for the Legion Band Sunday evening concerts in summer. Divers will tell you to watch the tide and enter from the sandier spots.
Paid on-street parking runs along the whole beach, and the same Blue Gate Lane park and ride shuttle serves it in July and August.
The street runs right along the sand, so access is flat, though parts of the shoreline are rocky.
Dogs are prohibited on Rockport's town beaches from June 1 to September 15.
Water is calmest on summer mornings, and fall dive days are clear. Sunday evenings in July and August draw the concert crowd.
More Atlantic Coast beaches
Coast Guard Beach
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Surfside Beach
Nantucket, MA · Atlantic Coast
Open Atlantic swell and a wide sandy shoreline about three miles from Nantucket town, popular with locals for its bodysurfing waves and quieter, less commercial feel.
Jones Beach State Park
Wantagh, NY · Atlantic Coast
A classic Long Island beach with six and a half miles of shoreline, a landmark water tower, boardwalk, and a large outdoor amphitheater that hosts concerts through the summer.