Can't-lose destinations

The Phoenix picks eight of New England's best seaside spots

OGUNQUIT BEACH

"Ogunquit" is the Abernathy Indian word for "beautiful place by the sea," and we Pilgrims aren't about to argue. This jewel in the southern Maine coastline features three and a half miles of white, sandy beach, and crashing waves that are ideal for boogie-boarding and bodysurfing. Parking is a merciful eight bucks a day, and for a pit stop, we recommend sampling the lobster roll at nearby Huckleberry's (207-646-2525) or zipping into Perkins Cove, a bustling harbor village packed with restaurants, gift shops, and art galleries.

CRANE BEACH

Crane Beach, located in Ipswich, is one of New England's largest and most picturesque public beaches, with more than four miles of soft white sand. If you tire of swimming and sunbathing, the 1352-acre Crane Reservation -- nesting grounds for numerous seafowl, including the threatened piping plover -- is great for bird-watching. There is a free parking lot. Admission to the beach is $5 per car, $2 on foot. For more information, call (978) 356-4351.

GOOD HARBOR BEACH

Located in the Bass Rocks section of East Gloucester, this mile-long beach faces the open ocean. Just off shore is Thatchers Island, a small, uninhabited island that can be accessed at low tide (make sure to return before the tide rises, or you'll be stuck for about 10 hours). Depending on the ocean storms or lack thereof, the water can be placid or full of enormous waves. (Note: flotation devices are not allowed.) But there are always waves big enough for a little bodysurfing. Parking is $10 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. Call (978) 283-1601.

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Also in the Phoenix's beach special

5 beach jerks
Our editors pick the best beach videos for the sunburned
Two beaches for the sand-hater within
Martha's Vineyard: The world's most expensive beach
One intrepid reporter finds out he's not so "clothed minded" at at Nudefest '99
There's lots happening on the bay side of the ocean
An environmental advocate discusses how humans help and hurt the beach

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SINGING BEACH

Named after the sound the fine sand makes when you walk on it, this half-mile-long beach is framed by rugged, rocky outcroppings. Although there is only resident parking at the beach, there's a public parking lot in nearby Manchester-by-the-Sea that charges $8 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. Admission to the beach itself is free except on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, when it is $1. Call (978) 526-2040.

DUXBURY BEACH

Everyone goes rah-rah for the Cape and the Islands, but where's the love for the South Shore? There's plenty of excellent beaching just below Boston, not the least of which is at Duxbury Beach, a thin, handsome stretch of coast that extends more than five miles from Marshfield to Plymouth. On a clear day, you can see across Cape Cod Bay to P-town. Parking is $8 a day, and there are concession stands and bathroom facilities.

CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE

Founded in the early '60s by the Kennedy administration, the Cape Cod National Seashore consists of a string of beaches running the 30-odd miles between Provincetown and Chatham. Most of the CCNS beaches are on the ocean side of the Cape. The exception is Great Island, in Wellfleet, which is on the bay side, meaning the water's warmer and calmer, with more critters. Race Point and Herring Cove Beaches -- located just outside Provincetown, on the "knuckle" of the Cape -- are prime spots for nature-watching. If your taste runs more to human nature, Herring Cove has an unofficial clothing-optional section. (An official no-nudity policy is often overlooked by bathers and officials alike.) Herring Cove is also the only National Seashore beach that has food vendors.

More family-oriented is Marconi Beach, which boasts a large parking lot (all CCNS parking lots cost $7 for a day's parking, $20 for a season pass). Beachgoers tend to cluster around the lifeguard posts, but if you're more into tranquillity than safety, simply walk a hundred yards in either direction and settle down, with the mammoth dunes behind you and a scattering of surfers tackling the waves in front of you. When you're done, make your way to the nearby Beachcomber (on Ocean View Drive; call 508-349-6055) for open-air cocktails and intimate conversation with the aforementioned surfers.

Also popular with surfers is Coast Guard Beach. The parking lot is located so far from the beach that you have to take a shuttle, but that's okay -- maybe that's why this beach is usually quieter than the others. You can also get to Coast Guard by riding along the Nauset Marsh bike path, which offers some lovely views of its own.

If you're into views, you must try Nauset Light Beach. With Nauset Light standing sentinel, and lily-white seagulls soaring about, this is a truly lovely spot -- though the constant clicking of cameras can get distracting.

For directions, call CCNS at (508) 255-3421.

GOOSEWING BEACH

If you're in a rural mood, drive to Rhode Island's Little Compton, making sure to stop at the Commons Lunch downtown (401-635-4388) for johnnycakes made from Gray's cornmeal (if it's breakfast time) or lobster rolls (if it's lunch). Goosewing Beach, however, should be your ultimate destination. Reach it by parking at South Shore Beach (401-635-4400), then trudging across the pebbly shore to the relative seclusion of Goosewing, which also has a reputation as the best place in Rhode Island to find heart-shaped rocks.

WATCH HILL

The caught-in-time Victorian resort of Watch Hill is tucked into a cove of Little Narragansett Bay. The shops and boutiques are fun to poke around in, and kids love the Flying Horse Carousel, the only surviving such carousel in the country, whose 20 hand-carved horses are suspended from a center pole so they swing out instead of going up and down. A popular stopping point for drinks, dinner, or dessert is the Olympia Tea Room, with wooden booths and a few sought-after west-facing tables where you can watch the sun set over the cozy harbor (74 Bay Street, 401-348-8211). For a more hard-earned sunset, hike out a mile, along the dunes and oceanfront, to the pleasures of Napatree Point, where dozens of sea birds glide nonchalantly before the disappearing sun.