Home
Cape Ann dogs
Dogs on Plum Island and Newburyport beaches: where and when

Plum Island

Dogs on Plum Island and Newburyport beaches: where and when

Plum Island looks like one long beach, but the sand belongs to a city, a town, a federal refuge and a state reservation, and the dog rule changes each time the owner does. This page takes the four in turn, adds the shorebird closures that override every calendar, and ends with where a Newburyport dog can spend the summer months instead.

Book a free evaluation See pricing

A Jack Russell terrier and a merle Australian shepherd splash side by side through shallow water.

Last reviewed October 9, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · rules checked for fall 2026

The rule

Four managers, four rules: know whose sand you are standing on

The rule on Plum Island depends on which stretch you are on, so start with the table. Newburyport's animal control office sets the rule for the city's beach. Newbury's dog bylaw covers the town's public beach, which the town maps as running east from the rear lot lines of 2 to 26 Northern Boulevard. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service runs the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, and the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation runs Sandy Point, 77 acres at the southern tip.

Two of the four never take dogs. The other two close their sand to dogs for the summer, Newbury only during the day, and of those two only Newburyport publishes an off-season leash rule, a firm one: never off leash. If you are unsure which jurisdiction a parking spot puts you in, the safe assumption is the stricter rule, and the people to ask are the city or town animal control officer rather than a beach app.

Stretch of Plum Island	Manager	Dog rule at the time of writing
Newburyport beach	City of Newburyport	No dogs, even leashed, May 15 to September 15; leashed only the rest of the year
Newbury public beach	Town of Newbury	No dogs May 15 to September 15, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM; $50 per offense
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	No dogs, horses or other domestic animals, all year; assistance dogs excepted
Sandy Point State Reservation	Mass. DCR	No dogs allowed

The refuge

The Parker River refuge is closed to dogs every day, leash or no leash

The refuge's rules list dogs, horses and other domestic animals as prohibited, and the only exception is for seeing-eye dogs and other animals that assist people with physical impairments. The ban is not seasonal, so a quiet January morning is no different from a July weekend. Off the designated areas the dunes are closed to everyone, beach access is only by the marked boardwalks and lots, and the animal ban covers the refuge as a whole, so no beach, trail or lot on it is open to a dog.

The refuge's address is 6 Plum Island Turnpike in Newburyport, it is open sunrise to sunset, and it closes to cars when its lots fill on busy summer days. From April 1 to early August most of the refuge beach shuts to people as well, to protect nesting piping plovers, terns and other shorebirds, with volunteer plover wardens watching the closed areas. At the end of the refuge road, Sandy Point is on DCR's list of places where dogs are not allowed.

Refuge: no dogs on any part of it, in any month
Only exception: dogs that assist people with disabilities
Most of the refuge beach closes to people from April 1 to early August
Sandy Point State Reservation, past the refuge: no dogs

The town beaches

Newburyport and Newbury both close their beaches to dogs from May 15 to September 15

Newburyport's rule is the stricter of the two. The city's animal control page says no dogs, even on a leash, are allowed on its beach from May 15 to September 15; for the rest of the year dogs may be there on a leash and are never allowed off it. Before a visit the city wants your dog licensed with your own municipality, current on rabies, wearing ID tags and comfortable around people, dogs and wildlife, and it asks you to carry a leash, waste bags, fresh water and some shade on hot days.

Newbury's bylaw, section 56-5, keeps dogs off any part of the town's public beach from May 15 to September 15 between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM, with a $50 fine per offense. The town's beach page explains why: piping plovers and least terns nest on Plum Island, the town monitors them with Mass Audubon, and in 2021 Mass Audubon counted more than 400 dogs on the beach, some of them chasing plovers. The bylaw text sets no leash rule for the other hours, so ask the town's animal control officer before planning an evening walk in summer.

Newburyport: no dogs May 15 to September 15, leashed the rest of the year
Newburyport: never off leash on the beach, in any month
Newbury: no dogs May 15 to September 15, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Newbury: $50 per offense under bylaw section 56-5

Plovers and tides

Nesting fences, seals and the wrack line decide where an off-season walk can go

Even in the months when a town beach takes dogs, the birds set the edges. The refuge says its "area closed" signs close a spot to all public use, not just to vehicles, and Newbury reminds owners that plovers nest all over Plum Island, private beach included. Newburyport asks owners to keep dogs away from nesting birds, from seals and other marine animals, and from any injured or stranded wildlife. A dog on a short leash at the water's edge, well clear of the dunes, meets all three requests.

The rest is ordinary beach sense. Salt water makes a dog sick if it drinks enough, so bring fresh water as the city suggests. Ticks are active on the marsh and dune edges from April to November, so check ears, armpits and between the toes before the drive home. Anything washed up along the wrack line, from fishing line to a dead gull, is better passed than investigated.

01
Check the date: from May 15 to September 15 both town beaches are off limits during the day
02
Check which town you are parking in, because the rule follows the sand
03
Pack a leash, waste bags, fresh water and some shade
04
Read the signs at the path; an area-closed sign applies to people and dogs alike
05
Give seals, stranded animals and roped nesting areas a wide berth
06
Rinse off the salt and do a tick check before the car

A chocolate Labrador standing in a splash pool in the Dogtown play yard in Gloucester

How Dogtown fits

From May 15 to September 15, a Gloucester daycare day stands in for Plum Island

Cape Ann will not fill the gap on the sand, because Gloucester's own beaches are closed to dogs in summer too: Good Harbor from April 1 to September 30, and Wingaersheek, Plum Cove and Cressy's from May 1 to September 30, according to the city. What Dogtown offers in those months is a matched playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs on the turf yard at 210 Eastern Ave, with splash pools and shade, for $42 a full day or $33 a half day.

Newburyport and Newbury are both outside the Pup Van towns, so ask us about pick-up before you plan around it; our Newburyport page has the route and the visits that make sense from that far north. Every daycare dog starts with a free weekday-morning evaluation. After an off-season walk on the island, a bath at Dogtown runs from $55 for a dog up to 25 pounds to $95 for an extra-large long coat, and grooming needs no evaluation.

At Dogtown

For the months Plum Island is closed to dogs

Matched playgroups in Gloucester while the beaches rest, and a bath priced by size after an off-season walk.

Husky standing on the turf play yard at Dogtown, looking at the camera

Dog DaycareFrom $33 · Explore

Groomer blow-drying a red goldendoodle in front of the Dogtown Grooming sign

Dog GroomingFrom $55 · Explore

Every price on one page

Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Are dogs allowed at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge?

No. The refuge's rules prohibit dogs, horses and other domestic animals in every season, with an exception only for dogs that assist people with disabilities. Sandy Point State Reservation, at the end of the refuge road, does not allow dogs either. For a leashed off-season walk on Plum Island, use the Newburyport or Newbury town beach instead.

Can I walk my dog on Plum Island in the summer?

Not on the beaches during the day. Newburyport bars dogs, even leashed, from May 15 to September 15, and Newbury bars them from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM over the same dates. The refuge and Sandy Point are closed to dogs all year. Newbury's bylaw is silent on the other hours, so ask the town before an early or late walk.

Can my dog go off leash on Plum Island in winter?

Not on Newburyport's beach, where the city says dogs are never allowed off leash, in any month. Newbury's bylaw sets its summer hours but no leash rule for the rest of the year, so ask the town's animal control officer. The refuge and Sandy Point are closed to dogs whatever the season.

Why do Plum Island beaches close to dogs in spring?

To protect nesting shorebirds. The refuge closes most of its beach from April 1 to early August for piping plovers, terns and other species, and Newbury says plovers and least terns nest along the island, private beach included. Dogs that chase or flush the birds can cost a season's nests, so the closures override any calendar.

Does the Pup Van pick up in Newburyport or Newbury?

Both are outside the Pup Van towns, where the $10 each-way rate applies only in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea. Ask us about pick-up for your street before you book. Daycare, overnight stays and grooming at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester are open to dogs from anywhere on the North Shore.

Beach closed for the summer? Playgroup open.

Book a free weekday-morning evaluation and your dog can spend the Plum Island closure in a matched playgroup in Gloucester.

Book online Customer inquiry Call 978 491-5922

01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up

New customers FIRST15 15% off your first daycare visit · use at checkout

Play & stay

Grooming

Learn & grow

Dogtown