The Friends of Nantasket Beach is a volunteer organization founded in 2019 with a mission to promote public use of Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA and to address quality of life and environmental issues related to the Beach.
Summer 2023 Information
For the most accurate information, visit the DCR web page for Nantasket Beach.
Recreation
Activities are RETURNING. Check out our own SUMMER SUNSHINE PERFORMANCE SERIES on Saturdays at 3pm starting in July as well as Music by the Sea and Nantasket Beach Volleyball on Facebook. Nearby recreation facilities like Paragon Carousel and Paragon Boardwalk are OPEN. If a group wants to host a recreation activity on DCR property, they need to apply for a special use permit.
Parking
DCR parking is OPEN at Nantasket Beach. The DCR charges for parking from May 15 to Labor Day. Fee is $15/day for MA residents and $40/day for non-state residents. Easiest way to pay is using the YODEL app. If you come multiple times a year as a MA resident, buy an annual parking pass for $60 or a lifetime senior (62+) pass for $10. You can buy these online on the DCR website.
Facilities and Bathrooms
DCR facilities at Nantasket Beach are FULLY OPEN AS OF MEMORIAL DAY. This includes the David Cook Comfort Station (north end of beach), Comfort Station (next to Paragon Carousel) and Triviloi Bath House (south end of beach). The Mary Jeannette Murray Bathhouse is OPEN YEAR ROUND with indoor bathroom facilities.
Accessibility
Nantasket Beach is accessible by ramps spread along the reservation. DCR staff work to clear these paths for accessibility, but storms, high tides and cobble makes it difficult to keep all ramps clear at all times. Beach wheelchairs available upon request by reaching out the DCR.
Parking Information:
The interactive map below shows the main public parking areas in and around the Nantasket Beach Reservation. Click on a particular lot for additional information about fees, enforcement, etc. (Best viewed on a computer, not mobile phone; use two fingers to shift map if viewing on mobile phone.)
Friends of Nantasket Beach At A Glance:
The Friends of Nantasket Beach is an organized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Hull, MA.
We seek to partner with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the custodians of Nantasket Beach, as well as other government agencies, on Beach projects and events. We are a collection of volunteers committed to the preservation and improvement of the Nantasket Beach Reservation. We have no full-time staff and are completely volunteer supported and funded.
The goals of the Friends of Nantasket Beach are to:
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develop and promote programming and events;
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improve accessibility;
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increase awareness of current and proposed activities;
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enhance recreational activities;
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develop ideas for lifestyle and environmental promotion; as well as to
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enhance dining activities and explore alternate transportation options.
Work to Date...
The Friends of Nantasket Beach organized during the COVID-19 pandemic with multiple Zoom calls and virtual meetings. We hosted several public virtual meetings for community input and ideas in order to develop the goals and mission. We also successfully applied for 501c3 tax exempt status and organized a membership drive. In recent summers, we successfully obtained funding from the Save The Harbor/Save The Bay and DCR Better Beaches Fund to host different free beach events and to market the organization across the South Shore. Additionally, we have conducted several meetings with locally elected leaders as well as DCR staff. We intend to build off a strong working relationship with DCR staff to supplement their work with information about beach activities and maintenance, as well as identifying key projects for improvements to the beach which can be done through the DCR's matching fund program and other revenue stream. Ultimately, by building a strong constituency of Friends of Nantasket Beach through a broad and deep membership, we feel that we can make continue to improve the great Nantasket Beach Reservation!
Become a member today!
Our goals are to create a group to focus on Nantasket Beach Reservation as we develop and promote programming and events, improve accessibility, increase awareness of current and proposed activities, enhance recreational activities, develop ideas for lifestyle and environmental promotion as well as to enhance dining activities and explore alternate transportation options. It is a big list of goals which
we can only do with your support.
History of Nantasket Beach
The name "Nantasket" is derived from Wampanoag and means "at the strait" "low-tide place" or "where tides meet" as Hull is a peninsula. Nantasket was settled not long after Plymouth Colony and before Massachusetts Bay. Roger Conant was in the area after leaving the Plymouth Colony and before going to Cape Ann in 1625. Until Hull was incorporated in 1644, English settlers referred to the whole local region as "Nantasket Peninsula."
In 1825, Paul Warrick established "The Sportsman Hotel" on Nantasket Avenue. Later, more hotels were built and steamboats made three trips a day between Nantasket Beach and Boston in the 1840s. In 1905, an amusement area called Paragon Park was built adjacent to the beach. A carousel built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in 1928 was included. The park was closed in 1984, but the historic Paragon Carousel, Paragon Park Museum and Paragon Boardwalk amusement area continue to operate seasonally.
Today, the Nantasket Beach Reservation is owned and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Thousands of visitors each year enjoy visiting, especially in the summertime, for the long stretch of sandy beaches.
“In the country we never see a horizon; here it is so ample that the good clouds are never crowded for room, but float vast and multitudinous . . . "
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (letter from Nantasket Beach, July 8, 1841)
Leadership
The Friends is a group of local volunteers who care about Nantasket Beach. We have no full-time staff.
Here's a little information about our current Board Members:
Jason McCann
President
Jason is a resident of Hull Village with his husband. He is also Hull's representative on the Metropolitan Beaches Commission. He is also one of the founders of both the Save The Ferry coalition and Hull Pride. He previously served on Hull's Planning Board and Community Preservation Committee.
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Jim Pitrolo
Treasurer
Jim has lived in Hull since January of 2016. He is a retired former business owner and government employee and is also involved with Nantasket-Hull Rotary and Hull-Nantasket Chamber of Commerce and member of the town’s Economic Development Committee.
Steven Greenberg
Policy Director
Steven has been involved in a wide variety of civic organizations for more than 50 years. Now retired from leadership positions in non-profit organizations, he lives in the Appelstein family house at 23 T Street, Hull MA, which his family has owned since 1937. He recently served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia.
Olivia Holbrook
Conservation and Communications Director
Olivia has been a resident of Hull since the summer of 2020, but has grown up going to Nantasket Beach since she was little. She is an environmental engineering student at North Carolina State University with an interest in coastal engineering.
Paul Newman
Board Member
Contact / Volunteer
Message us at friendsofnantasketbeach@gmail.com.
The Friends of Nantasket Beach is completely volunteer run and supported.
Want to help us out? Fill out our volunteer registration form.
See our Financial Policies and Procedures.