Seabrook Beach

About

I lived the winter of 2000-2001 right on the beach in a seasonal house. Cheap house rentals are all over the place from about Labor Day to Memorial Day. The surf on a winter Nor'easter can be epic here, just bring your gloves and booties and cojones. It'll be you, a few seagulls, and an ocean full of really nice surf. Hit the bars after your surf up on Hampton Beach for some hot chowder and cold beer. There are a lot of really great people up in this area. Just be nice to the local bubbas, they tend to dislike the surfing type.

Atmosphere:
You walk down a narrow boardwalk set directly into the sand dunes. Up over the dunes, the beach spreads out before you. On the left, to the north, is the south piece of the Hampton River jetty (itself, part of Seabrook). To the right, you can see all the way down to the pavillion on Salisbury Beach and all the way out to Gloucester at the very tip of Cape Ann. This is a really beautiful area, even without any sizeable surf. Towards the jetty to the north, a sandbar tends to form that breaks a nice mini-point at low tide, look for it to work around 2-3 feet up to chest high. The sandbars can be a pain at low tide, coming out of nowhere and giving you a good dose of sand in the crack. All in all this place is a great beach to take your buddies to to put some dings in their shiny new boards without pissing anyone off.

Additional Info:
This place can really be a great wave on the right day. It is a miles long sandy beachbreak extending all the way down to Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts (An even better break). You've gotta know someone to park anywhere near the beach, but if it's off-season, no one really pays attention. For hurricane season, you have to sneak in later in the day to avoid crowds / guards. Check it out on your way up to the other breaks. Good for beginners as it lacks the appeal of The Wall and Rye Rocks.