Best North Shore MA Beaches in MA for Engagement Session

If you are looking for the perfect beach location for your engagement or couples session, then you have come to the right place! Boston’s North Shore MA beaches are a great location for your engagement session! 

Beach at Plum Island, Newburyport MA

If you are looking for a beach session for your engagement session, look no further than Plum Island in Newburyport! There are some trails that go through the long beach grass, and some rocks along the shore, so you can get a little more of a variety in the scenery. 

• Pros: 
• Cons: Bring all of the bug spray and watch out for the Greenheads. 
• Best time of day: Plum Island is best at sunrise, to capture the golden hour over the water. 

Salem Willows, Salem MA

Salem Willows is a popular park in Salem with beautiful willow trees, and an arcade that is open April-October. There are other shops and businesses at the Willows, including Holy Cow Ice Cream. So if you want to have a picnic, arcade, ice cream, & sunset beach walk for your engagement session, this is the perfect location for you. 

• Pros: 
• Cons: This beach is on the harbor side, so it overlooks Beverly across the water. It does tend to get pretty busy during the summer with families bringing their kids. 
• Best Time of Day: Sunrise or Sunset
• Parking: Metered parking lot or pay through the Passport App April – October.

Half Moon Beach, Gloucester MA

This beach is just down the hill at Stage Fort Park. You walk down some steps to get there and it is very private and secluded from the rest of the park, making it perfect for your engagement session because you don’t have to worry as much about on lookers 

• Pros: Off the beaten path, so tends to be less crowded
• Cons: The beach is pretty small, but there are a variety of other locations in the park (including a flower garden in season) to take some beautiful photos. 
• Best Time of Day: Sunrise
• Parking: Paid Parking for Non-Residents Memorial Day – Labor Day through the Blinkay parking registration app.

Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester MA

This beach is best at low tide when you can explore and play along the rocks. It looks like there is a fee for parking Memorial Day – Labor Day, so we should be good. 

• Pro:
• Con: 
• Best Time of Day: Sunrise
• Parking: Paid Parking for Non-Residents Memorial Day – Labor Day through the Blinkay parking registration app.

Signing Beach, Manchester-by-the-Sea

This beach has the pictures sand, and rocky shores. It looks like parking for non-residents is in specifically marked spots Ocotber 15 – April 15th. Then June 17th – Labor is paid parking for non residents. So there should be no parking fee. 

• Pro: Dogs allowed October 15th – April 15th.
• Con: $30 parking fee for non-residents June 17 – Labor Day
• Best Time of Day: Sunrise, and before June because of the summer crowds
• Parking: October 15 – April 15 – Non-resident parking in designated spots only. April 15 – June 20 the parking is for residents of Manchester-by-the-Sea only with a resident parking sticker. June 17-Labor Day Non resident parking permitted with $30 fee Monday through Friday.

Book Your North Shore Engagement Session Photographer

Still looking to book your North Shore Engagement Session? Reach out today for pricing and availability!