Long Beach Vehicle Access

Approximately 150 vehicles can currently be accommodated over the Crossover, and since most of the tern chicks on the northern portion of the beach have fledged, vehicle access will increase in the coming days. Updates will be posted on the Long Beach Information page.  

The last of the least tern chicks along Ryder Way have fledged, so the night-time restrictions on vehicle access along the road have been lifted. Ryder Way, the Day Parking Area, Fishermen’s Turnaround, Landing Lot and designated parking areas along the road are available until the usual closing time of 9:00pm (Plymouth bylaws §30-20). 

Extreme Tides Closures

Above average and extreme tides will continue to affect vehicle access to some extent each day at the Crossover through August 28. Each morning, the Natural Resources Officer will assess tide height, weather conditions and beach topography to determine the timing and extent of tide closures. Vehicles may need to leave some or all of the areas over the Crossover. Typically, tide closures last about 1 ½ hours before and after high tide, so remember to check the tides before heading out to the beach during that time period.  

 The 2024 NOAA tide calendar (PDF) for Plymouth is available to download or print. 

Post-Labor Day Crossover Vehicle Access

Other than during temporary tide closures, the Crossover will be open the normal hours of 9:00am to 7:00pm daily through Labor Day on Monday, September 2. Usually, the Crossover closes after Labor Day because vehicle access over the Crossover is permitted only when sufficient staff are present. The Plymouth Long Beach Management Plan includes a staffing requirement so that the Town can ensure compliance with the state and federal laws that protect endangered species habitat and coastal wetland resources. However, there are enough of the seasonal staff available to  open the Crossover for two additional weekends, on September 7 and 8 and September 14 and 15. The Crossover hours will be reduced for those weekends and will be open from 9:00am to 4:30pm, and Long Beach 4x4 Stickers will be required for access past Manter’s Point on those two additional weekends. The Crossover gate will be closed on weekdays after Labor Day, and will be closed for the season after September 15, but Ryder Way will remain open, and parking will be available in the parking lots and designated areas along the road.

Seasonal Dog Restrictions

As Labor Day approaches, please remember that the seasonal ban on dogs on the Town properties north of the Day Parking Area extends through September 30. Leashed dogs are allowed at the Plymouth Beach parking lot and on the beach and road up to the Day Parking Area. The Natural Resources staff will be present to enforce this restriction, including when the Crossover is closed, as required by the MA Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. Please continue to comply with the seasonal ban through September 30, and with the leash law year-round.  More information about the seasonal dog restrictions is available at the Seasonal Dog Restrictions at Long Beach page.

Long Beach Bird Nesting Activity

There were 49 pairs of piping plovers at Long Beach this year, and a record-breaking 74 chicks fledged – 14 more than the next highest year (2022)! There were also 182 pairs of least terns and 38 pairs of common terns, both with fair productivity. 

In addition to plovers and terns, there were also 4 pairs of ospreys with nests, including a new location on one of the channel markers near the point. They had a pretty good year with 6 chicks fledged. A variety of species including horned larks, willets, tree swallows, bank swallows, common grackles, song sparrows, mourning doves and others also nested on Long Beach this season.    

Habitat Conservation Plan Implementation

The Town participated in the Massachusetts Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for Piping Plover again this season and also implemented a Conservation & Management Permit (CMP) for least terns. Implementing these permits greatly improved vehicle access throughout the season by allowing vehicles to pass by unfledged plover chicks from 8 different nests and unfledged least tern chicks in two small sub-colonies next to Ryder Way. The southernmost plover brood was located between the first cottage and the Fishermen’s Turnaround, 3 broods were located between the Fishermen’s Turnaround and the Day Parking Area, 3 broods were between Day Parking and the Crossover, and 1 brood was on the harborside near the end of the road.   

Piping plovers are utilizing habitat over the whole length of the beach, so without these permits in place, vehicle access along the road would have been restricted significantly for 89 days this summer, including a 33-day closure after the first cottage with only a couple hundred feet of vehicle access. Instead, vehicles were able to access the entire length of the road throughout the summer. The Crossover opened 40 days earlier than otherwise would have been possible. Because of the requirements of the HCP and CMP permits, vehicle access during implementation was limited to hours between 9:00am and 7:00pm. These permits also require intensive monitoring of both plover and tern chicks that is carried out by the Natural Resources staff while the road is open for vehicle access.

More Information

More information about the Crossover and Long Beach can be found on the Long Beach Information page.

Information about other Town beaches and ponds can be found on the Beach & Pond Information page.