20 Massachusetts Beaches Dangerous and Disgusting for Swimming
Ugh, it’s going to be boiling outside, and guess what? We can’t even take a quick dip to cool off because bacteria decided to throw a beach party.
That’s NOT refreshing at all.
Massachusetts beaches opened for the season, but bacteria levels went nuts.
It’s like they were waiting for us. One day, eight Massachusetts beaches are closed. The next day, it’s twenty.
Seriously?
Here’s the depressing list of no-swim zones at Massachusetts beaches as of Thursday afternoon:
ASHBY, MA
- Damon Pond Beach
BOSTON, MA
- Savin Hill
- Tenean
CONCORD, MA
- Walden Pond – Main
ERVING, MA
- Laurel Lake
FRAMINGHAM, MA
- Saxonville Beach
- Waushakum Beach
GARDNER, MA
- Dunn Pond
LYNN, MA
- Kings
MILTON, MA
- Houghton’s Pond @ Bathhouse
SAUGUS, MA
- Pearce Lake @ Breakheart Reservation
STURBRIDGE, MA
- Wells State Park – Walker Pond Beach
TEMPLETON, MA
- Beamans Pond – Campground
- Beamans Pond – Day Use
WINCHENDON, MA
- Lake Dennison State Park
WORCESTER, MA
- Lake Quinsigamond-Lake Park Beach
Oh, but there’s more! These beaches are off-limits because of harmful cyanobacteria blooms:
FRAMINGHAM, MA
- Waushakum Beach
MASHPEE, MA
- Attaquin Park (Mashpee-Wakeby Pond)
NANTUCKET, MA
- Miacomet Pond
And these lucky ones are closed for unspecified reasons:
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA
- Lake Mansfield
CONCORD, MA
- Walden Pond – Red Cross
Can you believe the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation opened 81 beaches just before Memorial Day? What a tease! By the following weekend, the fun came to a screeching halt. Rainstorms washed all sorts of gunk into the water, sparking a bacteria fiesta.
Testing for bacteria varies from daily to monthly, depending on the beach’s track record. If a beach flunks the test, it stays closed until bacteria levels drop to safe standards. Swimming in these gross waters can give you nasty symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, cough, skin rashes, and even eye and ear irritation. Mostly mild stuff, but kids, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems are at higher risk.
So here we are, sweating bullets and stuck on dry land, dreaming of the day we can swim without worrying about bacteria crashing the party. Massachusetts, sort this out! We just want to enjoy summer without turning into human petri dishes.