Swimming

Dyed-in-the wool New Englanders will call any nearby ocean or lake dip refreshing.  Depending how far north you venture, however, you could be in for one of those bone-chilling experiences where you run in for three seconds, scream, watch your ankles turn blue, and run out. To truly find warmth, head south to the shallow slopes of the Long Island Sound. The beach at Silver Sands State Park is small compared to other Connecticut state parks like Hammonasset or Sherwood Island, but alas more remote.  It’s also far more affordable than many of the private town beaches in this part of Connecticut. A long boardwalk leads from the parking lot across a marsh (good for bird watching, but not great if you’re carrying food, sand toys, and Junior). Take Exit 34 off I-95 to Route 1 east and turn right on Pumpkin Delight to the coast.
 

Last week, I spent a couple nights on the southern Maine coastal town of Ogunquit, only a 90-minute drive from Boston. The town is known for its Cliff Walk and long expanse of beach, but one of the highlights of our trip was floating on the Ogunquit River. Several hours before low tide, crowds start to make their way down to the river, boogie boards, tubes, and rafts in tow. The strong current of the river carries people into the Atlantic on the town’s natural version of a lazy river. We didn’t have any beach toys, so my wife and I simply floated on our backs. The water was cool, yet warmer than the Maine ocean waters. We held hands and laughed as we floated swiftly around the bend of the beach, watching the clouds float above us. It was over far too quickly and I heartily concurred with 6 year-old boy next to me who shouted “Again!” when his ride was over.

This week, I’m going to focus on some of my favorite ways to get wild and wet in North America.
 

I like to arrive at Longnook Beach in Truro in the early morning when the fog still casts a hazy glaze over the water. I walk down the sand path to the soft white beach, joined by surfers and dog walkers. Then I take my first glance back at the towering tan and red-colored dunes, realizing instantly why JFK wanted this landscape to be preserved as a National Seashore. Looking to the left as the beach curves toward Provincetown, the dunes meld with sand, sea, and sky, as if the land is going to plummet into the water. Listen to the waves, watch the surfers glide atop the ocean, walk the beach to find an errant lobster trap run ashore, and savor the scene before families start to pour in around 11 am.
 

Last summer, I wrote a story for The Boston Globe on my ten favorite swimming holes on Cape Cod and never received so much mail. Hate mail, that is, from locals who were irate that I would divulge their favorite pond. Considering there are more than 300 ponds on the Cape, almost one swimming hole per day of the year, I was shocked that locals had such a devout loyalty to one particular locale. There are more than a dozen freshwater swimming holes on the Cape that I would happily take a dip, with much warmer waters than the nearby ocean. In Wellfleet, three ponds are connected by narrow water passages cut through the land called sluiceways. These were supposedly created by Native Americans to catch herring during their seasonal run. Rent canoes at Jack’s Boat Rental on Gull Pond and continue onward into Higgins and serene Williams Pond. This is the place where Henry David Thoreau met a Wellfleet oysterman he would write about in his book, Cape Cod. It’s also where architect and furniture designer Marcel Breur built his house on the shores, camouflaged by the trees. One swim here and you’ll return often, much to the dismay of locals.

Directions: Take Route 6 into Wellfleet and turn right onto Gross Hill Road. A sharp left onto Gull Pond Road and Schoolhouse Hill Road will lead you to the parking lot.