Dogs on Rockport beaches: Front, Back, Cape Hedge and Pebble, off-season only

Rockport gives you a choice the other towns do not: leash, or direct voice control. Voice control is a standard, not a permission slip. It means the dog turns on one call with a jogger passing, a gull lifting or another dog approaching, and holds a sit while the leash goes back on. If that is not true today, the leash is the honest choice.

Rockport's beaches are short and bounded by granite, and the granite is wet, barnacled and slick at the tide line. Keep the running on the sand. Pebble Beach is what its name says, and rounded stones are hard on pads and tempting to chew; watch a dog that picks things up. Salt water is the same as everywhere on Cape Ann: a dog that drinks it is sick later, so carry fresh water, and rinse legs and belly before the car. In winter, check pads for cracks and salt burn after the walk back through town on treated sidewalks.

Long Beach is shared with Gloucester and follows two ordinances, one per half; it has its own page. Halibut Point State Park at the northern tip of Rockport requires leashes and is the walk Rockport dogs take on a summer morning when the beaches are closed. Our Rockport dog license page covers what the town asks of owners once they are off the sand.

Across the line, Gloucester opens Good Harbor to dogs on even dates from October 1 to March 31 and Wingaersheek on odd dates from October 1 to April 30, so between the two towns a Cape Ann dog has sand from mid-September to the end of May. The Cape Ann dog beach calendar puts those dates and Rockport's in one table.