Massachusetts
50+ Massachusetts beaches closed for swimming by Department of Public Health. See where
Ever Wonder What the Beach Flags Mean?
For your safety, learn what the beach flags mean
As we enter the last stretch of summer before school starts, there is no better way spend a day than relaxing at one of the Bay State’s beautiful beaches.
However, the number of closed beaches in Massachusetts keeps getting higher. This weekend, over 50 beaches are closed due to unsafe swimming water.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) states that swimming in the water at these closed beaches poses a threat of illness due to high levels of bacteria. Symptoms can range from nausea and vomiting to a sore throat and fever.
Here’s a full list of closed beaches to avoid when planning your weekend.
What beaches in Massachusetts are currently closed due to bacteria?
The following MA beaches, listed by town, are closed as of Friday, Aug. 16:
- Amherst:
- Puffers Pond (Bacterial Exceedance, Other)
- Stanley St. swimming hole at Cushman Bridge (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Ashby: Damon Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Ashland: Ashland Reservoir Main Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Barnstable:
- Wequaquet Lake Town (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Braintree: Smith Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Brewster: Upper Mill Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Concord: Walden Pond (Other)
- Danvers: Sandy Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Dartmouth: Moses Smith Creek (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Framingham: Learned Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Grafton: Silver Lake Beach (Other)
- Harwich: Sand Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Haverhill: Plugs Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Holland: Collette Drive Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Kingston: Gray’s (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Lowell: Merrimac River (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Lynn:
- Kings (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Lynn Shore Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Nahant: Nahant Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Nantucket: Sesachacha Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Natick: Cochituate State Park Beach (Bacterial Exceedance, Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- North Andover:
- Frye Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Stevens Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Northampton: Musante Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Oxford: Carbuncle Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Plymouth: Nelson Park (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Quincy: Norton Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Salem:
- Camp Naumkeag (Other)
- Children’s Island (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Ocean Avenue (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Willow Avenue (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Saugus: Pearce Lake at Breakheart Reservation (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Shutesbury: Lake Wyola (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Springfield: Bass Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Swampscott: Kings (Other)
- Templeton:
- Beamans Pond Campground (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Beamans Pond Day Use (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Townsend: Pearl Hill Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Truro: Longnook (Other)
- Wayland: Wayland Town Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- West Stockbridge: Card Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- West Tisbury: Seth’s Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Westborough: Lake Chauncy Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Westfield: Hampton Ponds Kingsley Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Winchendon: Lake Dennison State Park (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Winchester: Shannon Beach at Upper Mystic (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Winthrop: Halford (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Worcester:
- Indian Lake Public Beach at Sherburne Ave (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
- Lake Quinsigamond-Regatta Point Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
- Shore Park (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Most beaches are closed due to bacterial exceedance, meaning the levels of bacteria in the water are higher than the limits set by the MDPH.
Those in the “other” category can be closed due to a variety of chemical or physical hazards, such as riptides and poor visibility.
Beach weather this weekend: AccuWeather warning about rip currents developing this weekend from storm off coast
When will beaches in Massachusetts re-open?
According to the MDPH website, beaches can only re-open when their bacteria levels are back within the safe range, so there is no set amount of time for a closure.
The status of a closed beach can be checked on the website’s water quality dashboard, which is updated at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. daily.
National Hurricane Center cautioning beachgoers in the Atlantic
Forecasters are warning beachgoers about possible “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” this weekend because of Hurricane Ernesto. The storm is not predicted to make landfall in New England.
“Even if Ernesto stays well offshore of the U.S. East Coast, beach goers should be aware of a significant risk of deadly rip currents beginning later this week,” the National Hurricane Center said earlier this week.
Riptides or rip currents are powerful currents of water that can pull people away from shore, according to the National Weather Service. They can be deadly: data from the NWS shows rip currents have killed almost 30 people this year alone.
If caught in a rip current, the NWS says to yell for help and remain calm and stay afloat while waiting for help. Do not swim directly against a riptide, rather swim parallel to the shore.
Melina Khan contributed to this report.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Springfield bankruptcy attorney Andrea M. O’Connor has been named to the 2026 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list.
According to the firm, Andrea M. O’Connor of Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., has been named to the 2026 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list in the Bankruptcy: Consumer practice area, marking the fourth consecutive year she has received the recognition.
O’Connor’s practice draws on experience representing both debtors and creditors, serving as a Chapter 7 trustee and clerking for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. The firm said she develops legal strategies tailored to her clients’ individual needs and goals.
O’Connor graduated magna cum laude from Western New England University School of Law, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Western New England Law Review. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well as before the U.S. District Courts for Massachusetts and Connecticut, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Beyond her legal practice, O’Connor serves as chair of the Bankruptcy Section of the Hampden County Bar Association and is co-chair of both the Western Massachusetts Bankruptcy Conference and the MCLE Bankruptcy Conference. She also serves on committees for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Before earning placement on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list from 2023 through 2026, O’Connor was recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star each year from 2019 through 2022.
Super Lawyers is a peer-reviewed attorney rating service that recognizes lawyers in more than 70 practice areas. The organization says its selection process includes attorney nominations, independent research and peer evaluations.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
Massachusetts’ recent smoky skies and hazy sunsets may look unusual, but experts say what we’re seeing is part of a growing pattern fueled by bigger and longer wildfire seasons.
The strange haze has lingered for two days — so far — thanks to a weather pattern bringing smoke straight from parts of Ontario, Canada, straight to New England.
NBC10 Boston NBC10 Boston
“A lot of the fires farther up north are burning longer and more intensely than they have previously, so that’s been a big change and may be why we’re seeing more of the smoke,” said James Urban, an associate professor in the Fire Protection Engineering Department at Massachusetts’ Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
It looks like Boston’s getting a break from the wildfire smoke that’s making the sky hazy enough that you can actually look at the sun, if briefly. But that break may not last. Plus, we’re looking at rain moving in this weekend.
He explained the nuances about how climate chance may play a role in what we’re seeing this summer.
“In general, drier conditions make things more flammable, but also, if you have a period before that of wet winter but not a lot of freezing, you may get a lot of plant growth, and then when it dries out in a drought, you get a lot of fuel that may ignite,” Urban said.
Why does smoke travel cross-country and change the color of the sky?
We went to a museum to find out more about what’s causing the unearthly images in the sky.
“With smoke, it’s driven into the air with the heat and then gets caught in the upper air current, so it travels over the mountains and comes straight across the country,” said Noreen Johnson Smith, president and CEO at Worcester’s EcoTarium.
Mass. or Mars? Photos of the eerie, rusty skies caused by Canadian wildfires
The way the sun looks has to do with how smoke scatters light.
“We’re seeing these bright orange and red suns because the blues aren’t able to reach our eyes at the moment,” said Murphy Florman, an educator at the museum.
How smoke affects air quality
An air quality alert for Massachusetts has been extended through all day on Thursday, with the Department of Environmental Protection saying in a statement, “elevated levels of fine particles [mean that] air quality statewide is expected to be unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
Massachusetts is under an air quality alert due to the Canadian wildfire smoke that’s made the skies dark and hazy and turned the sun into an “orange orb.” Here are the factors making the air hard to breathe for some and what medial professionals say about it.
Tufts Medical Center pulmonologist Dr. Sucharita Kher said that it’s important to be aware of the air quality where you live, especially if you’re going to be spending time outside. The conditions Massachusetts has been experiencing are especially harmful to those with heart or lung disease.
“The symptoms of that can be tightness in the chest, they can experience more wheezing, they can have more swelling in their airways leading them to cough more, produce more phlegm,” she said. “All of that ultimately leading to worsening symptoms of that underlying disease.”
Needham pharmacist Kevin Ryan said certain medications can help with symptoms, such as histamines like Claritin or Zyrtec, as is wearing an N-95 mask.
“If you feel like you’re doing fine outside, that’s great. If you if you don’t feel like you can breathe effectively, then limit your exposure,” he said.
Canadian wildfire, smoke map
BOSTON (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) announced Wednesday that it is distributing 5,063 internet-enabled devices to 45 organizations across the state.
The statewide effort, administered through the Connected and Online program, aims to expand economic opportunity by increasing digital access. This program is a $31.6 million initiative funded through the U.S. Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund that provides Massachusetts-based organizations with laptops, tablets, and desktop computers to help residents access the internet.
Equipment provided through the program also includes supportive items, such as braille keyboards, intended to assist vulnerable populations.
Both Gateway Cities and rural communities are supported by the Connected and Online program, as residents are provided with direct access to devices through lending programs or resources at publicly accessible locations.
“The Connected and Online program opens doors for communities to access critical services and build relationships with their neighbors,” said Governor Maura Healey. “By partnering with trusted local organizations, we’re helping more people get online, access essential services, and connect to new educational and economic opportunities.”
To date, the program has provided nearly 32,000 devices and more than 13,000 pieces of supportive equipment. These devices have been distributed to hospitals, municipalities, nonprofits, public libraries, elder and youth aid groups, and workforce training organizations across the Commonwealth.
This latest award announcement follows a prior distribution launched by MBI on April 2, which included nearly 27,000 devices to over 200 organizations across the state.
“MBI is leveraging strong relationships with local and regional organizations to deliver digital devices for Massachusetts residents,” said MBI Program Executive Jody Jones. “The Connected and Online program is a statewide effort to expand access, increase digital skills training, and, at its core, expand the ability to connect to the internet.”
For a full list of awardees, visit broadband.mass.tech.org.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Download the 22News Plus app on your TV to watch live-streaming newscasts and video on demand.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WWLP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WWLP staff before being published.
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