Hampton Beach State Park Beach Grading Begins May 7

05/07/2020

While the seacoast beaches continue to be closed, the annual grading of Hampton Beach is scheduled to begin on Thursday May 7.

The grading must be done to prepare for when the beach does open, even if that is much later this year. Beach grading is an important annual process to re-nourish the beach as we come out of the winter months. The grading removes the depressions in the sand from winter storms that cause rip currents, removes the artificial dunes, prepares the beach for trash raking, and levels the beach to provide for ADA access and generally easier access to the water.

There are three important reasons for the grading:

Rip Currents: Rip currents are caused by depressions/channels in the sand that are made extreme from strong tide cycles, particularly over the winter months when the ocean conditions are rough. The beach grading allows us to move sand from the beach down to the tide line, where the water then pulls the sand through those channels, thus filling them in with sand. The result is a reduction or elimination of rip currents.
ADA Accessibility: We have four locations on the main beach with ADA compliant ramps leading to the shore for people with limitations to access the beach. The sand underneath the ramps must be graded to a specific pitch and leveled out. The grading also knocks down the steep “berm” that forms close to the shore allowing easier access to the water.
Prepare for trash removal: The protective artificial dunes that are built in the late fall to protect the boardwalk, roads, and buildings will need to be leveled in order to run the beach rake in certain areas of the beach for trash removal.

The beach grading process is expected to take three to four days to complete.