Gray’s Beach Park

Grays Beach Rd, Kingston, MA 02364, USA

781-585-0533

https://kingstonma.myrec.com/info/facilities/details.aspx?FacilityID=14735

Owned By: Town of Kingston

• Directions

Town park and small beach with recently-renovated (2023) playground (Note: still under construction), athletic courts, paved walking loop, picnic area, and seasonal restrooms. Open to the public year-round. Resident and non-resident parking stickers required from April through October.

Features

The park features a playground, a picnic area, numerous benches, a large grassy area with a small stage, basketball and tennis courts, a paved 0.25-mile walking loop, and a sandy beach with a small boardwalk. Train enthusiasts might appreciate watching the MBTA Commuter Rail pass by. Restrooms are open 9am-5pm in season (April-October), and weather permitting.

This is Kingston’s only public beach. To purchase a parking sticker, visit this link.

According to the article “Kingston Business History” by the Kingston Business Association, the Gray’s Beach area was likely a summer encampment for the Wampanoag. This was evidenced by excavations nearby that revealed soil layers and shells. The Patuxet, members of the Wampanoag tribe, made their home in the area now known as Duxbury, Kingston and Plymouth.

Later is was part of Kingston’s shipbuilding industry. The 19th-century Rocky Nook Wharf, owned by Joshua Dela and his son Benjamin, outfitted ships. First ships were constructed upriver, then hauled downstream at high tide by oxen to a cove by Loring Rocks, where their masts were stepped. Outfitting came next: a warehouse on site stocked the goods required to prepare a ship for a sea voyage.

The town purchased the Gray’s Beach property from Paul Delano in 1937, to create a public beach. The WPA undertook the project, which involved filling a swamp, removing marsh grass and rocks, and felling trees. (This was before the Clean Water Act prohibited such activities.) The bath house was constructed in 1950, and Gray’s Beach soon became a popular attraction, with swimming rafts and a concession stand soon to follow. The playground was added in 2002, courtesy of Friends of Gray’s Beach, along with improvements in accessibility, erosion control, and amenities.

Trail Description

A wheelchair-accessible, 0.25-mile walking loop extends around the grassy area and along the edge of the beach.

Habitats and Wildlife

The grassy park, dotted with cedar, pine and maple trees, offers ocean frontage and a broad view of Kingston Bay.