Peddocks Island Beach
Hull, MA
Peddocks Island is one of the largest and longest Boston Harbor islands, a slender 1.5 mile stretch with tall bluffs at each end and a rocky shoreline that is good for swimming nearly the whole way around. Ferries reach it in season, and the island has a visitor center, fresh water, restrooms, and camping.
A big, quiet island with a long swimmable shoreline and camping, though it is a ferry trip and the beaches are rocky rather than sandy.
How we score beachesWalk the island shoreline and pick your own spot to swim. Bring shoes for a rocky beach, and check ferry times before you go.
Reached by ferry in season, from Boston, and from Hull's Pemberton Point in July and August. There is no parking on the island.
Ferry and dock access, with a visitor center, restrooms, and fresh water. Shoreline walking is over uneven, rocky ground.
Ferries run May through October. Summer is the swimming season, and the shoreline is best on calm days.
More Atlantic Coast beaches

Coast Guard Beach
Eastham, MA · Atlantic Coast
A National Seashore beach backed by grassy dunes and a tidal marsh, with clean Atlantic surf and one of the Cape's most scenic approaches on foot from the parking area.

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.
