Here’s Why This Massachusetts Beach is Likely Closed for the Rest of the Season

Massachusetts is a fantastic place to live and visit. From picturesque Cape Cod beaches to the iconic Boston skyline and west to the beautiful mountains of the Berkshires, Massachusetts truly has something for everyone.

While Massachusetts is one of the most populated states in the U.S. it also sees a significant amount of tourists and visitors annually. According to visitma.com, Massachusetts sees around 26.2 million domestic visitors, and 2.4 million international visitors annually.

Given the number of visitors that flock to Massachusetts annually, tourism is an extremely viable industry, and perhaps no place is more visited in Massachusetts than Cape Cod.

Cape Cod incorporates all of Barnstable County, which is comprised of 15 towns, plus the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands. With almost 600 miles of shoreline, the Cape is one of the most popular beach destinations in New England.

Cape Cod can be dangerous for visitors and one popular beach has announced it will likely be closed for the rest of the season due to safety reasons. The closure isn't due to sharks, swimmer safety, or any of the events you think would normally shut down a beach during the peak summer season. The closure has nothing to do with the water, it has to do with the beach itself and its famous bluffs.

Popular Cape Code Beach Most Likely Closing for the Remainder of the Summer Season

According to the town of Truro, Massachusetts, popular Longnook Beach will likely remain closed due to safety concerns surrounding the erosion of the beaches' bluffs.

Longnook Beach will remain temporarily closed as a safety measure to allow for comprehensive evaluation of the adjacent bluffs in response to concerns about the bluffs’ stability. The evaluation process will involve a thorough examination of the bluffs and beach access. The primary goal of this closure is to ensure the safety of all visitors to Longnook Beach.

If you think it's not that big of a deal, back in the 1970's an 11-year-old boy died after being buried by collapsing sand cliff. Not only did the slide take the life of the child, but many rescuers were nearly lost in the efforts to find him in the nearly 20-foot-deep sand. This is precisely the catastrophe the town is trying to avoid.

While the dynamic conditions mean that some risk is inherent at Longnook Beach, the steepened slope of the coastal bank with areas that are undercut, areas of slumping, and collections of large rocks perched precariously above the footpaths and beach heightened concerns.

According to the Cape Cod Times, the town did try to remedy the condition of the beach in late spring, when they used a 60-foot long arm excavator and a loader to moderate the slope of the coastal bank and establish pathways. The town says this is a longstanding practice to address winter erosion, and while the efforts provided some access, they proved to be no match for the severity of erosion occurring at this location.

As more information becomes available, updates will be published on the town's website, truro-ma.gov.