the beach today
Crane Estate, Ipswich

Crane
Beach

North Shore Time

One of New England's finest -- five miles of white dune sand on the Castle Hill Crane Estate, blue-flag certified, with horseshoe crabs, shorebirds and the grand mansion on the hill.

Today on the Sand

loading live data…

Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Crane Beach

Ipswich, Crane Estate

Blue-flag, 5 miles

Plum Island

8 mi north, Parker River NWR

Wildlife refuge, birding

Wingaersheek

Gloucester, 12 mi south

Tidal flats, families

Good Harbor

Gloucester, 15 mi south

Salt Island, Atlantic

Singing Beach

Manchester, 18 mi south

Quartz sand sings

Coffins Beach

Annisquam, 2 mi south

Quieter, locals know it

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Ipswich Town

10 min west

Clam shacks and the 1634 Choate Bridge -- oldest stone arch bridge in the US

Essex

20 min west

Antique shops and Woodman's -- where the fried clam was invented in 1916

Rockport

30 min east

Artists colony, Motif No. 1 and the Headlands trail above the sea

Newburyport

25 min north

Federal-era waterfront, great restaurants and the Parker River wildlife refuge trailhead

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Crane Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Crane Beach, the water is 65°F, surf is running 2–3 ft and the air is 65°F but feels like 70°F. Wind is 0 mph from the SW and the UV index peaks at 5 (moderate) today. Today’s tides: High 4:13 AM, Low 10:10 AM, High 4:23 PM, Low 10:51 PM. Dogs are not allowed right now. Allowed again from October 1.