Looking for something different at the beach? There’s one north of Boston where the sand sings

WBZ

By Chris Tanaka

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    MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA, Massachusetts (WBZ) — If you’re looking for something a little different at the beach with just a few weeks left of summer, how about one that sings?

Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea

Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts is known for the 2016 Oscar-winning movie of the same name. It’s also known locally for Singing Beach.

“It is Singing Beach because the sand does sing. So, it may not sing every day, just like the rest of us, I guess, but it does make a singing sound as you walk across it,” Cheryl Marshall, the town’s Director of Parks and Recreation, told WBZ-TV.

What makes sand sing?

According to the state’s website, the sound is caused by grains of sand having a particular size, shape and mineral composition. It also has to be dry. Here’s the explanation:

Some beaches make unusual noises when you walk on them. These sounds, known as singing, barking, or whistling, may be caused by an abundance of similarly sized, nearly spherical grains of quartz sand on the beach (without much dust or organic matter between the grains). Walking over this material is thought to cause a vibration as the layers of sand grains slide over each other. You are more apt to hear singing sand on the dry upper portion of the beach because these grains don’t stick together like wet sand. Interested in hearing this for yourself? Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea is actually named for this phenomenon.

“Honestly, when it’s quiet, it’s heaven. It really is,” said Marshall.

“I walk a couple miles a day on this beach and (it’s) usually always singing,” said lifeguard Aislin Wallick.

“It’s more of a squeak I would say than a singing,” resident Rachel Steeg told WBZ.

We couldn’t get it to sing. It rained the night before, so the leftover moisture in the sand may have had an effect. Fortunately, there’s YouTube. You can see and listen for yourself here.

How to get to Singing Beach

You can try for yourself, but don’t bother driving. The parking lot is small and is for town residents only on the weekend. They do reserve about 40 spots for out of town guests Monday through Friday. It costs $30. Your best bet is on the Rockport line of the MBTA’s Commuter Rail. The beach is walkable from the Manchester stop. But be warned, there is a $10 walk-on fee at the beach.

It may cost you, but locals say it’s worth it.

“It’s very peaceful, calm waters, very relaxing here,” said Wallick.

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