Seabrook Beach
Seabrook Beach, NH
A short stretch of coast on the New Hampshire side of the Massachusetts line, Seabrook Beach sits wedged between Hampton Beach's crowds and the state border. Most of the road along the water is posted for residents only. Public access points break up the beach every few yards, so anyone can walk down, even without a car.
Quieter than Hampton Beach next door and an easy walk-on for anyone nearby, but almost all the parking near the water is reserved for residents in season, which is the main complaint from everyone else.
How we score beachesThere's a small public lot with a bathroom about 200 yards south of the Route 1A bridge into Hampton Beach. It's the easiest bet if you don't have a resident sticker, though it's still first come, first served on summer weekends.
Street parking near the water requires a Seabrook resident sticker from Memorial Day weekend through mid September. Non-residents can try the small public lot 200 yards south of the Route 1A bridge, or park in Hampton Beach and walk across.
The beach itself is flat sand reachable from public rights of way spaced every few yards along the road, no boardwalk or stairs involved. It's an easy, direct walk from the street to the water at any of those access points.
Dogs are only allowed on the main beach before 8 a.m. and after 6 p.m. from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and are barred from the children's beach near the pier during that window.
The swimming season here runs Memorial Day to Labor Day like the rest of the New England coast, with the water not really warming past the low 60s until midsummer. Fall brings the beach back to locals once the resident parking rules lift in mid September.
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