NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Atlantic and Gulf Coasts Recreation Area Survey
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UNDEVELOPED SEASHORE AREAS OF MASSACHUSETTS
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Undeveloped Seashore Areas of Massachusetts (Vicinity Map) (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)
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Plum Island
Massachusetts
| Location: |
An island running nearly parallel to the
mainland, about 5 miles east of Newburyport.
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| Accessibility: |
By car, off U. S. Highway 1.
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| Description of Area: |
Plum Island is one of three outstanding areas along
the Massachusetts coast, easily accessible by car and extensive enough
to include natural, scenic and biological features that can be
preserved for public use without severe modification. There are six
miles of gently sloping beach, and clean, white sand; dunes are up to 50
feet in height and generally stable. Some of the best beach vegetation
is to be found along the coast, such as beach grass, beach heath, beach
plum and bayberry; there
are small trees of red maple, pitch pine, and wild cherry. It is an
excellent habitat for migratory
waterfowl.
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| Present Use: |
Under the jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife Service as a migratory
bird refuge.
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| Analysis: |
The quality of its beaches, picturesque dunes,
unusual beach vegetation, and its ease of access make it very desirable
for public recreation use. A compatible use arrangement with the Fish
and Wildlife Service would be most advantageous.
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Plum Island
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Duxbury Beach
Massachusetts
| Location: |
A slender peninsula lying about 2 miles
directly east of Duxbury.
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| Accessibility: |
By hard-surfaced road from Green Harbor, and by bridge from Powder
Point.
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| Description of Area: |
Duxbury Beach is a 5-1/2 mile long barrier beach of
sufficient size to accommodate adequately an active recreation program
without destroying its natural features. Its biological and beach values
are not as superior as those of Plum Island. The beaches are wide and
gently sloping but contain extensive gravel deposits. The dunes are low
and irregular, subject to blowouts from storm tides. The tree and shrub
communities which appear only in the middle and southern portions of the
area are sparse and not well developed.
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| Present Use: |
The northern portion is used as a public beach by the
Town of Duxbury. In the southern portions, Gurnet Point and Saquish Head
are being developed as summer colonies.
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| Analysis: |
The area's size, ease of access, proximity to large
centers of population, and undeveloped status make it of prime
importance in the plan for preserving certain seashore areas for public
recreation use. The State has included Duxbury in its long-range plan of
acquisition of seashore recreation areas.
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Duxbury Beach
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Great Beach
Massachusetts
| Location: |
The eastern shore of the outer arm of
Cape Cod.
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| Accessibility: |
By road, train, boat, airline.
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| Description of Area: |
Great Beach has the longest unbroken and undeveloped
sweep of beach in New England, combined with a picturesque and
fascinating hinterland. It is one of the two most outstanding areas
reviewed on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and is believed to be of
national significance. The section under consideration should include a
maximum of 33-1/2 miles of seashore, in addition to the Province Lands,
and a minimum of 15 miles, with an average width of three-quarters of a
mile. The beach is excellent in places, quite variable, and backed by
cliffs 150 feet high in some sections. The dunes are spectacular, some
more than 50 feet high; the vegetative cover is seminatural but varied.
The geology of the area is interesting and the history outstanding.
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| Present Use: |
There are numerous private ownerships, and it is a
very important summer resort area.
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| Analysis: |
The area is outstanding and deserves every
consideration as a public seashore recreation area. Careful study should
be given, however, to the possible boundaries of this area in order to
determine if acquisition of its natural features without excessive cost
is possible.
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Great Beach
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Sandy Neck
Massachusetts
| Location: |
A peninsula along Cape Cod. Bay, 10 miles southeast
of the Cape Cod Canal and directly north of Barnstable.
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| Accessibility: |
By car, paved road off State Highway 6A.
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| Description of Area: |
Sandy Neck is a superior undeveloped area, second
only to the outer arm, of those areas accessible by car along the
Massachusetts coast. There are 7 miles of wide beach, gently sloping,
sometimes gravelly in texture but generally clean, white and fine. The
vegetation is among the most varied and interesting to be found along
the coast, with "sunken forests" of pitch pine. There are areas of shrub
and heath types of vegetation with such plants as blueberry, bay berry,
beach plum, beach heath, barberry and cranberry. There is an extensive
salt marsh and the dunes are high, stable and spectacular.
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| Present Use: |
The western end of Sandy Neck is used by the Town of
Barnstable as a recreation area. An occasional cottage or shack is
spotted along the shore at the easterly end of the peninsula, where
there is a summer colony of about 20 cottages.
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| Analysis: |
This is one of the best undeveloped recreation areas
seen along the Atlantic coast; it is near large centers of population,
and is accessible by car. The area is desired by the State and is
included in its long-range plan of acquisition of seashore recreation
areas.
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Sandy Neck
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"Sunken Forest", Sandy Neck
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Monomoy Island
Massachusetts
| Location: |
An island running directly south into Nantucket Sound
from Chatham, at the "elbow" of Cape Cod.
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| Accessibility: |
By boat or plane.
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| Description of Area: |
Monomoy Island is a 10-mile stretch of sandy beach without the
spectacular dunes or unusual vegetation of Plum Island and Sandy Neck,
but extensive enough to support recreation activities without
destroying its natural features. The beach and foreshore are gently
sloping, with white, clean sand. Dunes, some as high as 15 feet, exist
in the northern and southern portions of the island. There is an
oak-pine forested area in the northern portion while the remainder of
the island is almost barren of vegetation. The biological importance of
the island is primarily that of a migratory bird refuge.
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| Present Use: |
The island is under the jurisdiction of the Fish and Wildlife
Service.
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| Analysis: |
This is an excellent beach adjacent to a popular
resort area. The State is negotiating with the Fish and Wildlife
Service for its acquisition for public recreation.
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Monomoy Island
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Nantucket Island
Massachusetts
| Location: |
An island about 30 miles south of Cape Cod,
and 12 miles east of Marthas Vineyard.
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| Accessibility: |
By boat and plane.
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| Description of Area: |
Nantucket Island is one of the most interesting and
unusual islands inspected on the survey. Cobblestone streets, old
shops, homes, and museums in quaint villages, bring to mind a sense of
the past when the town of Nantucket was a great whaling port. The island
is about 14 miles long with an average width of 3-1/2 miles. It is
smoothly rolling with practically no forest but extensive shrub cover.
Good sandy beaches extend around the island, the south shore being
rather steep while the north shore is gentle. The beaches range in color
from yellow to blinding white.
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| Present Use: |
It is understood that the county of Nantucket owns
the beaches around the island to high water line, by a recent act of the
State legislature. Land above high water line is owned by private
individuals. The island is principally a summer vacation center.
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| Analysis: |
The antipathy of the residents of the island toward
public ownership of lands and the recent legislation that makes the
beaches available to the public, preclude the possibility of
recommending sites for public recreation areas.
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Long Pond Beach, Nantucket Island
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Great Point, Nantucket Island
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Marthas Vineyard
Massachusetts
| Location: |
Off mainland 5 miles south of Cape Cod
and 12 miles west of Nantucket Island.
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| Accessibility: |
By boat only.
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| Description of Area: |
Marthas Vineyard is a land of serene old houses,
summer cottages, small farms, interesting villages and picturesque boat
harbors. The island is about 20 miles long and 10 miles wide with lands
that are hilly and broken by rocky outcroppings and tree-filled
ravines. Spectacular multicolored cliffs appear at the southwestern end
of the island. The beaches are generally sandy along the south shore but
the foreshores are rather steep. There are no extensive stretches of
land along the seashore that do not contain improvements of some sort.
The system of well-constructed roads around the island receives
considerable use.
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| Present Use: |
The island is principally a summer vacation center.
It receives much heavier use than Nantucket Island, as it is closer to
the main land.
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| Analysis: |
There are at present three public beaches--one State
and two town--located on the island. In addition, it is believed, recent
legislation provides that the beaches are the responsibility of Dukes
County, and the public has right of access to them.
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Gay Head Cliffs, Marthas Vineyard
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Washburn Island
Massachusetts
| Location: |
Situated in Town of Falmouth at mouth of
Waquoit Bay and adjacent to South Cape
Beach.
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| Accessibility: |
By car, off State Highway 28.
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| Description of Area: |
The primary significance of this area is the public
beach recreation opportunities it offers in a heavily populated, highly
developed resort area. There is nearly a mile of beach on the ocean side
and about one-half mile on the bay. The beaches are fairly wide, some
gravel, gently sloping, and comparatively clean. There are no dunes or
shrub or tree communities of significance in the area.
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| Present Use: |
It is held in private ownership and is not now being
used.
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| Analysis: |
The beach area is highly desirable for public
recreation. Its undeveloped status in this section of Cape Cod is quite
unusual. The State is now negotiating for its use as a public recreation
area.
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Naushon Island
Massachusetts
| Location: |
Largest of the Elizabeth Islands, lying
between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound.
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| Accessibility: |
By boat only.
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| Description of Area: |
The largest in this chain of islands, Naushon Island
is about 6 miles long and possesses a rugged shoreline, dotted
with occasional gravel beaches. Rolling topography and good cover add
to the charm of the area. There remain on the island remnants of the
type of oak-beech forest that once covered most of the Cape Cod area.
Exotic plants have been introduced in great numbers. Private residences
and outbuildings of the owners are located on the north end of the
island.
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| Present Use: |
It is used as a private summer residence of the heirs
of the Forbes estate and their guests. Large numbers of sheep are grazed
on the island.
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| Analysis: |
The island does not possess good beaches but should
be preserved because it contains the only proved climax oak-beech forest
surviving in New England. Authorities contend that the forest at the
northern end of the island has never been cut in historic times and that
the southern end has not been cut since 1820.
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Naushon Island
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Horseneck
Massachusetts
| Location: |
Near Massachusetts-Rhode Island line,
southeast of Westport Point.
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| Accessibility: |
By car, off State Highway 6.
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| Description of Area: |
Horseneck is considered by the Division of Public
Beaches to be the best undeveloped beach remaining in the State. The
beach extends for about 3 miles, a portion of which was well-developed
prior to Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The hurricane cleared many
sections of beach developments. There are no dunes or biological life of
significance in the area. The beach is wide, gently sloping, with some
gravel and rocks.
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| Present Use: |
Prior to the hurricane, it was used as a private
bathing beach for property owners and their guests.
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| Analysis: |
The Governor of Massachusetts has requested an
appropriation from the Legislature (1955) to acquire and develop the 3
miles of beach. It will meet a definite need for public beach recreation
in this section of the State.
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Horseneck Beach
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rec_area_survey/ag/ma.htm
Last Updated: 25-Jun-2007
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