Crane Beach

Crane Beach is one of the finest beaches on the U.S. East Coast. It has clean water and miles of golden sand backed by beautiful countryside. Part of the Crane Estate, the beach is managed by the Trustees of Reservations and is known for conservation as well. It has more than five miles of marked trails through the coastal sand dunes, and it is an important nesting site for the piping plover. The center piece of the estate is Castle Hill, an imposing early 20th century mansion.

The sand at Crane beach often has a layer of purple sand on top of it, which is garnet sand that travels from the White mountains by way of streams and rivers. In the spring and summer, the wind blows eroded white quartz, which adds white to the sand. If you look at a cross section of the sand dunes, you can see layers of white, golden, and purple in the sand.