Nahant Beach - Beach in Nahant - 1 Nahant Rd, USA

Let me take you through the brief history of Nahant Beach and Town! The Town of Nahant is a resort town of rocky coasts in the southernmost part of Essex County. Used in early colonial days as a grazing area for cattle, sheep, and goat flocks owned by Lynn residents, Nahant very soon became a maritime community with a small population devoted to fishing. Settlers were granted land for homesites, but only if they also spent time fishing and small boat fishing developed before 1640. Disputed land claims were the hallmark of the town’s early years since the Sachem of Nahant, Poquanum (also called Duke William, Black Will or Dark-skin) apparently sold the same town site to three different sets of people. By 1657, Nahant was laid out in planting lots of equal shares for all residents of Lynn with the requirement that all lots were to be cleared of wood in 6 years. This mandate effectively stripped Nahant of all its first growth woodlands. The town became a resort mecca very early on with chaises coming from Lynn. Visitors stayed in boarding houses or private homes, and the first hotel was built by 1803. In 1817, a steamboat sailed from Boston to Nahant daily, and by 1826, a stage from the Nahant Hotel connected twice a day with coaches running between Boston and Salem. Fishing and several shoe shops were the major businesses aside from agriculture and tourism, and even up to 1830 year-round residents were very few. Thomas Handyside Perkins, a prominent Boston businessman, built a hotel in Nahant in 1823, which featured a bowling alley, and by the 1840’s the town was already celebrated as the summer resort of Boston’s elite. Incorporated in 1853, the town was the site of the most massive hotel complex on the Atlantic Coast and the location of an annual regatta. By the end of the 19th century, there was a visible shift away from hotels and toward residences. An era of skyrocketing growth began about 1870 and continued unabated for the next four decades, with construction firms putting up hundreds of summer homes for visitors to the town. In the modern era, Nahant has protected its residential status, and farming and industrial activity have disappeared. Nahant is located in Eastern Massachusetts. It is a peninsula jutting south of Lynn and surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean. Nahant is 14 miles north of Boston; 98 miles south of Portland, Maine; and 232 miles from New York City. Nahant has a land area of 1.24 square miles and a total area of 15.48 square miles. Let me share some pictures with you as well. For your update, do not attempt to swim in the beach, as life guards are not available, no alcohol is allowed on the beach. The beach has lots of parking spaces for over 2,000 vehicles, and that's super amazing. There are two standard public rest rooms, including a changing room for babies. Enjoy the pictures I have for you..

Good for surfing, I do believe the dirty water has gotten me sick a handful of times 🙁

Lots of parking, $10 for MA residents. Long beach with usually clear water. Check postings after rainstorms though for bacteria warnings

Did a little photoshoot for my girlfriend. Always come up to relax and sunbathe.

Beautiful beach only half hour outside boston and can see the skyline so you still feel at home. Paid parking but plenty of spots available. Small restaurant where you can get great tasting pizza and drinks but we always bring our own food and drinks. Can go pretty far out into the water before hitting waist deep and i’m only 5’2. Lots of shore space, no sharks! But plenty of sunshine. This beach does its job for those of us who are local.

Beautiful beach, clean sand and water. Plenty of parking if you arrive really early

Beautiful beach. Water too cold for swimming even in early August. Saw a sea dog while swimming near the shore. Plenty of parking spots ($10) along the beach. Good place for playing card games with friends in a Sunday afternoon.

It is a beautiful beach. This beach has longest areas. It’s very clean. It doesn’t have rocks. It has a parking fees of 10$. I guess you can’t do fishing at this beach.