Wingaersheek Beach

Lovely spot that you have to earn your way to get to a bit, but once you do rewards you with either warmth (if you’re seeking an audience with the sun) or a nice, bracing wind (if you elect to visit at the very end of the day or during the shoulder seasons).
From certain angles, the beach faces back westward over Ipswich Bay, so that you are able to witness that east coast rarity: The sun setting over the water. It is in those moments that the spot is at its most sublime. With a lighthouse on the opposite shore across the Annisquam River and the coastal topography extremely jagged owing to Cape Ann peninsula, there are as many things to visually focus on as there are ways to get your orientation completely spun around.
The beach itself is coarsely grained, but certainly easy enough on the feet and completely welcoming to the unfurling of a blanket.
Very picturesque spot that provides multi-​faceted appeal to beach lovers and nature meditators alike. The posh shops of Essex are just up the twisting roads a little bit and seafood shack heaven just a little farther in Ipswich.
Well worth a visit whether you’re looking to be surrounded by the summer throng — or escape it.

I am completely OB-​SESSED with this beach.
I live in KCMO, spend quite a bit of time in SoCal at Pacific Ocean beaches, and love beach vacations to Florida and the Yucatan, but this has to be one my favorite ever.
The reason why Wingaersheek is my vote for one of the best beaches in the U.S. is because of the wide variety of activities you can enjoy in 1 location.
1) shallow warm water,
2) rock formations,
3) tide pools,
4) sand dune beach grass (we don’t have those in L.A.)
5) sand bar — A sand bar that you can walk to during low-​tide
6) water color — tan (shallow), green (medium), then fades to blue in the deep parts.
7) Watch boats sail on the river /​channel
8) lighthouse
I love big waves too, but I sometimes prefer not having a face full of salt water. Because the beach is so shallow the water is warmer and it is absolutely perfect for babies /​toddlers.
PRO-​TIPS —
1) Go before Memorial Day or after Labor Day — if you don’t want to wait for parking.
2) Pack a sandwich — you’re not going to want to leave once you’ve been through the trouble of finding this beach in the middle of no-​where and mortgaging your house to pay for parking. Snack bar was closed during our visit on Wed ⁹⁄₉
3) Go during low-​tide — You won’t want to miss my magic place, the sandbar.

we went there on weekdays. It was very nice, not crowd, water was warm and clean.

The beach is nice yet the traffic is insane. Don’t bother trying to go if you don’t arrive at 8am. Additionally, if you try to go late, don’t count on getting in either.

Wingaersheek is a little bit of a hike from the other beach in and around Gloucester, but the drive is worth it because it is one of the best beaches for several reasons. One, is that it is extremely shallow, for what seems like miles at low tied you can walk out safely to the confluence of the ocean and river. There is excellent wildlife to keep kids occupied from clams to crabs and even the occasional striper swimming by. Finally, it is visually the most beautiful white sand beach with dunes that rival what you would see in Florida. The only downsides to the place would be when the green flies are buzzing they will eat you alive so bring bug spray and on a very hot day, be careful about getting too much sun because it is a very unshaded beach. Prepare to put on tons of sunscreen or cover up from time to time.

I have loved this place for so long. It’s now declining. I have been coming here for over a decade and would give it a 5 star plus plus up until this year. This year things have majorly changed and I don’t know why. I have come 5 times this season and every time there has been no change. So I’m going to guess that’s the way it’s going to be this season.
My gripes are:
The bathrooms are disgusting all 5 days I’ve came here. No toilet paper, no soap, broken toilets, toilet paper all over the ground. They even have had a bathroom attendant that doesn’t do a damn thing. You tell her there is no soap and a half hour later there is still no soap.
The concession stand changed hands. There is half the choices you used to have and the burgers are gross… Which used to be my favorite to order… I tried 3 times to give them a chance. Never once did the burger come out even mediocre.
If you’d like your food in a timely fashion then bring your own. I just waited 25 minutes for chicken fingers and fries and it wasn’t close to peak hours.
I don’t know if this is a huge trend this year but every 4^th blanket someone is blaring music. You never heard anyone before… Maybe I’d hear music twice the whole season.
I’ve also seen a rise in blatant alcohol drinking (which isn’t allowed) I don’t care too much about it. I’ve been known to put a little vodka in my cranberry juice before. But now people aren’t hiding it anymore and some are visibly drunk. A lot of broken glass up on the rocks.
There has also been a rise of smoking/​doing chewing tobacco. If you’re going to chew take your disgusting spit cup with you.
I was going to give the beach kudos for lack of trash on the beach (except for the tampon that just washed to shore) but the trash is overflowing up at the concession stand. Shit is stacked HIGH on top and it never seems to get changed.
The plus is that is beautiful beach, shallow warm water, awesome sand bar and great for little kids. But it is a seriously HUGE change from just last year. I’m very sad. I hope it goes back to being a 5 star.

Nice beach ! Parking was a bit crazy and ppl was in a rush with attitudes… but over all a nice place to visit

Controversial opinion: this beach isn’t that good!
First, the traffic is terrible. You need to be there by 9am right when it opens if it’s a «beach day» and even then you will sit in traffic for at least a half hour waiting for the super slow lot attendants to casually direct you into the parking lot while little kids in the street run in front of your car. Oh, and it costs $ 25. If you come on a weekday or at 3pm there is still a good chance you will be waiting in traffic for a long time even if there are parking spots. And you have no reliable way of finding out if there are spots available to decide if waiting in traffic is worth it.
Yes, this beach is great for families! Are you a family? You will probably like it! Your kid can sit in 12 inch deep water and kill sand dollars all day long. Are you a grown up who likes to submerge your entire body into the ocean? At low tide you will need to wade through 17 miles of babies peeing in the sea before the water hits your bellybutton and you can splash some water on your head. Waves? Who likes waves at the beach?
The tide pool there is pretty cool if you want to let your 8 year old torture marine life.

Best beach in MA. Hands down. Pretty gold sparkly sand which is incredibly soft, island feel, clear blue water and beautiful scenery surrounding you.

Get there early!
We got off the exit around 9:30am, sat in traffic for the next hour plus, only to be told the parking lot was full. So we never did get to this beach. The moral of the story, if you’re heading to this beach on the weekend in the summer, get there around 8am!

I wanted to love this place, really I did. But since I never made it there it’s hard to write a good review. Left Wayland at 8:30. Was exiting in Gloucester around 9:20. GPS said less than 3 miles to go. That took us around an hour and 20 min. Only to find out parking was full. With two kids in the car and another family of 5 supposed to meet us there, we had it. We turned around and went to Stage Fort park instead. Found out that many others there were in the same situation we were. Very disappointed. Wish there was a better way to know the lot is full before you are stuck in the traffic.

Amazing find. Soft, sparkly sand in a cove-​like setting. The water is so gradually walkable, it’s perfect for little kids. Can get crowded but there’s enough room to seat many. Also be sure to bring the $ 25 parking fee in cash.

+: great for toddlers, clean/​fine sand with little debris…
-: parking is expensive, get there early for parking and space… the drive as you get closer to the beach has severely narrow roads…

Terrific beach, with an interesting terrain for the kids to climb on. This makes this beach a great option in a warm or cold weather.

My favorite Cape Ann beach. Large, well-​kept, and facilities are usually quite clean. Love the shallow, warmer water and the rocks for climbing!

+peculiarly soft sand
+lots of space
+snack shop is remarkably good, and economical
+no greenheads (regional hazard)
–very far from Boston, especially with traffic
–once you get there, best case is $ 25 parking, worst case is it’s full
–water a bit muddy
–seagulls are highly motivated and well organized, and will stop at nothing to get at your snacks. honestly they do not fuck around

As far as beaches go in New England, Wingaersheek is pretty solid. It’s smaller than Crane and a tad smaller than Good Harbor, especially at high tide, which translates to a smaller parking lot. Weekday parking is $ 20. Weekend parking is $ 25. For non-​residents.
There are bathroom facilities on the «meh» side of things. There’s a snack bar with plenty of beach foods to choose from. I didn’t try it though.
What’s great about this beach?
+ Great for families (you’ve heard this before). Why? b/​c there are hardly waves and the water depth is shallow (2.5 feet?) even at high tide.
+ Soft sand areas and harder packed sand areas
+ At high tide, you can get about waist deep a fair distance from the water’s edge
+ At low tide, you need to walk a mile out to get deep because the grade is so shallow, but it’s pretty cool and the contours of the sand deposits make for good walking out and out and out.
+ The temperature is refreshingly cold, but not unbearable (this is from a Mainer’s point of view, mind you). Definitely swimmable/​floatable for quite some time.
+ Rock outcrops split the beach in half, but make for good crab explorations and snail observings, a climbing area for youngsters, and VERY warm puddles of water.

Wingaersheek Beach is one of the top spots for a summer day on the North Shore. Situated on the bank of the Annisquam River and Ipswich Bay, Wingaersheek has calm, clear waters that are generally warmer than the other local beaches and soft, beautiful grey sand. There are many rock formations creating tide pools that house many different forms of sea life from hermit crabs and sand dollars to small fish and crabs. Parking is $ 20 on week days and $ 25 on weekends and the beach is open 8am-​9pm. Prices lower the later in the day you arrive. This beach has a no trash policy so you must take out what you take in. The beach also has restrooms and a concession stand.

This is not a very large beach but has beautiful sand.
As mentioned before, it is $ 25 to park.
It is VERY family friendly … Perhaps too much. I don’t have children and I was amazed at the lack of … Non-​families.
I recommend going at high tide and waiting out to the edge of the rocks, in the waist deep water.

This has been MY beach since I was a kid and it brings back many fond memories. I will continue to go here with my children even if the parking is RIDICULOUS in so many aspects. The price is crazy, and the parking options is limited. They have def upgraded their concession stand since I was a kid, and this beach was one of the only ones I remember having a shower.
The one feature though that makes this place worth it is the football size sandbar that comes up during low tide which allows you to walk out to what seems forever. You can almost make your own adventure how far you choose to walk out while the water tends to dip and get cold or go shallow and stay work. Just remember, if its dark its probably deep and cold!
This beach is definitely family friendly so take your loud boom boxes, and obnoxious attitude elsewhere. My friends and I have no kids, but we appreciate that environment, I’m sure the many ppl who pay to park and go here do too. You won’t get much eye candy here for either sexes… LOL. Mostly parents, kids, old people…
To prevent parking in the crappy area they send you when the main lot gets full get there NO LATER than 9am.
There are green flies and they will bite your face, so check out the green fly meter when you get there.
Sand is soft, no rocks and hot like it should be. Life guards are a bit obnoxious, but who isn’t that is in their teens that think they look cool in a lifeguard outfit? This doesn’t just go for teens… haha.
Stay off the dunes and the private property nearby, and don’t jump off the rocks. Also watch for seals, they come by sometimes and you shouldn’t bother them.
Love this beach and close by to all the seafood you could ever want!