Hampton Beach, New Hampshire – We may not be quite as consistent beach-goers as we were last year, with our weekly pandemic field trips. BUT this summer has been great for hitting a wide variety of New England beaches. In fact, the twins managed to visit beaches in four different New England states in the course of one summer vacation. I’m sure that’s some sort of world record (or at least a household record).
We kicked off the season at our favorite, Wingaersheek Beach in Massachusetts. Last month, we spent a week at Ferry Beach in Maine. And the twins hung out in Rhode Island, where they visited Narragansett Beach (without me!)
And today–bringing the total to four–we met some friends at Hampton Beach State Park in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire has a tiny coastline–13 miles long, to be precise. When looking at beaches, it’s easy to overlook the Granite State, especially with the wonderfully varied Maine and Massachusetts coasts to the north and south. NH’s beach towns are not that appealing either. Hampton Beach, in particular, is a fun but hokey boardwalk with arcades and ice cream lined up along a sandy strip. I understand the appeal, but it’s not my favorite kind of beach destination.
Little did I know, there is a lovely, undeveloped beachfront–Hampton Beach State Park–just one mile south of town. It’s a long luxurious stretch of sand with big waves and few rocks. This was our destination today.
We arrived at low tide, so the crowds were dispersed. But our timing was not ideal for big surf. Hampton is not really a place for beachcombing or rock climbing, but the boys entertained themselves with digging, dipping, reading and snacking. As the tide came in, so did the waves. Then they grabbed their boogie boards to catch some action.
Hampton Beach is a popular surfing destination (yes, surfing in New England is a thing). So I know the beach gets hit with big waves. Our experience was pretty tame, however. The kids had some fun, but it did not compare with their adventures at Narragansett in Rhode Island or Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts. Technically, this is the same coastline as Salisbury Beach–just a few miles north–so the conditions should be similar. We had a calm day, but I would definitely bring our boogie boards back here to try again.
For a perfect ending and a blast from the past, we stopped at DQ on the way home. We all got Blizzards.
