Manx Club

Due to environmental, and excessive restrictive policies my local Race point beach has become not worth visiting. For 24 years the beach was pet (dog) friendly: until now. pets are prohibited. 2 years ago most of the 5 miles of beach was eroded away from super storms. It opened this year with only one mile open for 3000 vehicles. Monday it was reduced to 100 feet, and no dogs allowed. Sally our Dune Buggy Dog is not satisfied to stay home.That's a small area for 3000 vehicles. I am looking for other beach areas in the New England area. Any suggestions welcomed.
Thanks
Lastmanx

Is it still open to human use, walking?

yes, but it is very soft and exhausting to walk in. for every 2 steps forward you advance 1. Every other beach on cape cod can be walked on. For the $150.00 permit fee you would want to drive further than you can walk. only 2 other beaches on cape cod allow driving, both have separate similar permit fees. Racepoint beach in Provincetown also has many seals and sharks.

UPDATE: The oversand route is completely closed to vehicles, pets, and people. more info at cape cod national seashore web site. Still looking for other drivable beaches, thanks.

lastmanx wrote:UPDATE: The oversand route is completely closed to vehicles, pets, and people. more info at cape cod national seashore web site. Still looking for other drivable beaches, thanks.

So if its access is not allowed, then who-what is the beach protected for? natural erosion is a cycle of life, the environment is ever changing.

Unfortunately it is a sign of the times. There is very little "free access" to the beaches along the NC coast any more. Probably the longest stretch in NC is in the Outer Banks, but even there the local government is trying for a money grab in charging for parking on the beach during the holiday seasons. Right now only residence of that county and home owners get a free pass. This is most likely the first step in coming up with a permit system for access to the beach.

Near me the last free beach access has now converted to permit only and only if you are "actively fishing".

I've tried to get some of our local buggy people to understand that they need to support and partner with organizations outside of their interests. There is a group in the Outer Banks call the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) which is mostly comprised of surf fisher people (not dune buggies). They have a pretty strong group and are constantly challenging local and federal authorities to keep the beaches open. Unfortunately some people can't see the forest for the trees on this one.

As more and more people are forced into smaller areas, the problems that the restrictions are trying to prevent will be realized, and then that access will be shut down.

Time to start enjoying your buggy on the pavement... before that's taken away too.

Bud

Mike the beach is open for the Piping Plover. a federal protected endangered bird species. it is a small size bird of the tern family. as nests are found the area is roped off and sign posted, to keep pets and people away. they feel the small bird will be run over. pets (dogs) could damage eggs and chicks. when many nests appear the entire beach is shut down always from June until September. 28 years ago when I started driving the beach in a Deserter GT dunebuggy small roped off areas were all that was shut down. the policy works as for the past 5


years the beach is closed to oversand use due to plover population growth. Bud there has always been a fee and requirements to meet. please see their website. 2 wheel drive vehicles have been baned since 2001. vehicles must be 4 wheel drive. Hence why i'm the lastmanx on racepoint beach. yes most of the beach was wiped away 2 years ago. all these reasons are why I am looking for a new beach. I have no interest in the outer banks, due to its distance away and its hard packed surface. I would also not bring my boat to the water; but then just go swimming. any help from club members would be welcomed. thank you.

lastmanx wrote:Bud there has always been a fee and requirements to meet. please see their website. 2 wheel drive vehicles have been baned since 2001. vehicles must be 4 wheel drive. Hence why i'm the lastmanx on racepoint beach. yes most of the beach was wiped away 2 years ago. all these reasons are why I am looking for a new beach. I have no interest in the outer banks, due to its distance away and its hard packed surface. I would also not bring my boat to the water; but then just go swimming. any help from club members would be welcomed. thank you.

Sorry, I wasn't suggesting that you go to the OBX or anywhere else along the coast. My point was that the closures/restrictions are happening everywhere. A sign of the times. I'm a conservationist, as much as the next person, but I believe there can be and should be co-habitation (so to speak). Seems to be easy to ban and restrict access to the beaches by motor vehicles but home development continues to chew up coastal lands at an alarming rate.

Just for the record, the beaches along the NC coast are no different from where you are. The "hard pack" you are referring to is along the water line (or the area from low tide line to high tide line). The rest is powdery/fine sand, course sand, etc. or a combination of both.

Here's some comparison to your picture and the beach near me (that's now restricted to active fishing). You'll note the hard pack near the water line and the fine "sugar sand" further up on the beach





Good luck with your search.
Bud

I'm wondering if this is some sort of concerted effort to close vehicular beach access nation-wide. We are having similar issues on the 'left' coast...

https://kmph.com/news/local/experts-bel ... -few-years
https://calcoastnews.com/2018/04/oceano ... n-reports/
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/loca ... 13769.html

It use to be that the government would try to strike a balance between public access and area conservation. But lately, its turned into area conservation at all costs...

July 2, 2019 Oceano Dunes (Pismo Beach) Public Scoping Meeting Notice
https://saoprceqap001.blob.core.windows ... 3Hut22kYh0

Sorry Bud, I don't see the similarities. from the edge of pavement to the waterline at Racepoint it is soft, requiring 8 psi or lower to traverse. I understand the "reasoning" behind the closures, which is why I'm looking for other beaches. I can and have visited Racepoint in September and October and have survived through many hurricanes and storms, but would rather visit in summer weather.

yes 5150bossman, similar actions have been occurring at Racepoint. I did not mean to imply they were new. As a result of years of closures for vehicles and surf caster fishermen; the fish stock has thrived attracting seals; which attract sharks; which attack people. it has become a news item as authorities try to come up with new ideas to ward off sharks. the simple solution is to reopen the oversand route to vehicles and fishing as the federal park was first intended. but that would be too easy, so its unlikely to happen.

Never mind. The summer is over so the beach is open for 1 mile. but the hurricanes are coming. been there done that I'll probably add a battery cut off switch, and paint stripes on my buggy. RACE CAR!? oh yea.

Sorry to hear the buggy season is over in your area with no improvement on the beach access. Hopefully the Hurricane season is not to severe.

Mike the buggy season is not over just the hot summer season. I have a top and side curtains and use the buggy to the end of October. As luck would have it every time I go in September or October a hurricane arrives the same time, the top can handle the wind and rain, it has for 18 years, but my wife won't put up with it anymore. You can't be on the beach in hurricane weather, as waves would over take your buggy, and the beach access is temporarily closed until the hurricane passes. thanks for the sympathy thoughts. I will continue going to car shows and winning trophies, and still enjoy driving my Manx.

lastmanx wrote: and still enjoy driving my Manx.

And that's the key part right there! to me it's more about the journey, Enjoy it while you can!