King's Beach is a roughly one-mile crescent of sand on the Atlantic where Lynn meets Swampscott, the northern end of DCR's Lynn Shore Reservation. Two stormwater outfalls at the town line push bacteria counts high enough that the beach is posted closed to swimming on most summer days, so check the flag before you get in the water.
What to expect
Parking
Free lot Free, first-come-first-served
Swimming
Allowed water tested by the state
Season
Open year-round; DCR/state Board of Health bacteria sampling and swim-season flagging run daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day
Dogs
Statewide DCR rule: no pets on coastal beaches or in designated swim areas May 1-Sept 15 each year; leashed dogs allowed the rest of the year, unless otherwise posted
Banned now · back SepManaged by
DCR, with the City of Lynn and Town of Swampscott overseeing water-quality remediation under an EPA consent decree
781-485-2803 · WebsiteGetting in
Parking
Free lot
CostFree, first-come-first-served
Lynn Shore Drive on-street parking
Details unconfirmed
Lynn Shore Drive on-street parking
CostFree, first-come-first-served
No metered lots or DCR parking fee on the Lynn side of the reservation
Access points along this beach
Kimball Road sampling point
One of three daily DPH water-quality sampling sites on the beach; local monitors describe water here as typically cleaner than near Eastern Ave
Pierce Street sampling point
Daily DPH sampling site
Eastern Avenue sampling point
Daily DPH sampling site at the Lynn/Swampscott line, closest to the Stacey's Brook outfall and typically the most bacteria-affected of the three
Tides & weather
Tide and sun: NOAA astronomy · forecast: NWS, up to 7 days
Common questions
Is Kings Beach in Lynn open today?
Open, no advisory on record in the latest MA DPH posting (updated 2026-09-13). MA DPH is the authority. Check the status the morning you go.
Is King's Beach safe to swim at?
Check the posted flag before going in. DCR and the state Board of Health test bacteria levels each morning through the summer, and the beach gets posted closed on a majority of days most years because of two stormwater outfalls at the Lynn/Swampscott line.
Is one end of the beach cleaner than the other?
The volunteer group that tracks conditions here says water near Kimball Road and Pierce Street tends to test better than the stretch near Eastern Avenue, where Stacey's Brook drains onto the sand.
Are there restrooms nearby?
No. There's no restroom building anywhere along Lynn Shore Reservation, so plan ahead.
Does parking cost anything?
No. Street parking along Lynn Shore Drive is free; the DCR daily parking fee only kicks in further along the reservation, at Nahant Beach in the town of Nahant.
What rules should I know at Kings Beach?
Local monitoring group advises avoiding swimming within 24 hours of rain, since stormwater runoff drives bacteria spikes, and notes flags can lag real-time conditions by a day or more. Swimming is posted unsafe whenever a daily bacteria sample exceeds 104 colony-forming units per 100mL.
Are dogs allowed at Kings Beach?
Statewide DCR rule: no pets on coastal beaches or in designated swim areas May 1-Sept 15 each year; leashed dogs allowed the rest of the year, unless otherwise posted