Hampton Beach State Park (Main Beach)Hampton, NH

Snorkel & dive this coast→

Finding the pulse of the reef...

This week

snorkel & freedive read

Best day this week: Sunday, 12–6 PM. Still an early read.

Today8 AM–2 PMpassed
Tueno window
Wed10 AM–2 PM
Thu10 AM–3 PM
Fri11 AM–4 PM
Satall dayearly
Sun12–6 PMearly

Next 12 hours

High 69° · Low 50°

Partly cloudy now, rain moving in around 9 AM.

Now57°5 mphUV 01%

12 AM58°5 mphUV 04%

1 AM56°21 mphUV 07%

2 AM54°19 mphUV 019%

3 AM52°17 mphUV 019%

4 AM51°16 mphUV 019%

5 AM50°15 mphUV 020%

6 AM50°14 mphUV 026%

7 AM50°12 mphUV 021%

8 AM51°12 mphUV 020%

9 AM51°12 mphUV 028%

10 AM52°11 mphUV 040%

Conditions

On the water right now

Visibility, water, current, and wind. The in-water read.

Visibility

Decent

Calm wind · Recent / incoming rain

Water

59°

5–7 mm + hood

Current

0.1 kt

slack

Surge

7.05s

minimal

Wind

5 mph

cross NE

Visibility is an estimate — wind, rain, tide & water alerts.

The spot

What this place is

The things that stay true when the weather changes.

Getting in: Shore access, walk in off the sand
Getting through the gate: No gate or fee to reach the sand itself; the park says Main Beach is always open for recreation unless posted otherwise, though the same page notes gates may be closed off season and off hours. The only charge is the metered parking above: $1 an hour in April and October, $3 an hour from May 1 to September 30, and free from November through March, enforced 8 a.m. to midnight every day including holidays. A displayed disabled placard parks free at any meter. NH State Beach Patrol lifeguards are on duty May 1 to September 30: full 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. coverage from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and shorter 10:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. hours on either side of that stretch. Outside the guarded season the beach itself stays open but unsupervised, and the bathhouses go unstaffed.
Parking: Metered on-street parking along Ocean Boulevard (Route 1A), both traditional coin meters and multi-space pay-and-display stations charging the same rate; keep the receipt on the dashboard at a pay station.
Protection: A New Hampshire state park administered by the state's Division of Parks and Recreation, part of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
On site: restrooms, rinse showers, lifeguard on duty
Watch for: Rip currents are, per the state beach patrol, one of the primary hazards on this stretch of coast. They show up as darker, choppier water with a visible outward current. If caught, float and swim parallel to shore instead of fighting straight back to the beach, and swim near the lifeguard stand in season, Bacteria advisories: NH DES's Beach Inspection Program monitors public beaches for fecal bacteria from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and its Healthy Swimming Mapper posts current coastal beach advisories, linked from the park's own page

Where do you park at Hampton Beach State Park (Main Beach), NH?

Metered on-street parking along Ocean Boulevard (Route 1A), both traditional coin meters and multi-space pay-and-display stations charging the same rate; keep the receipt on the dashboard at a pay station.

Checked 2026-08-27. Sources: NH State Parks: Hampton Beach State Park (Main Beach), NH State Parks: Seacoast Metered Parking Operating Hours and Rates, NH State Parks: Entry and Parking Fees, NH State Beach Patrol, NH State Beach Patrol: Lifeguard and Rinse Station Locations, NH State Beach Patrol: Rip Currents, NH DES: Healthy Swimming Mapper.

Tides & Sky

The pull and the light

When the water moves, and how bright the night.

TidesHampton Harbor

High

1:38 PM

9.098ft

Low

8:19 PM

-0.013ft

Tide is incoming·Next high tide 1h 49m

Moon & Sun

Waxing Crescent

Moonrise 10:19 AM

Moonset 7:19 PM

Sunrise 6:54 AM

Sunset 6:07 PM

Daylight: 11h 13m · UV 5 Moderate

7-Day Outlook

Today69/50°

Tue58/50°

Wed73/57°

Thu60/50°

Fri64/50°

Sat52/34°

Sun49/28°

Life

Who's out there right now

The reef keeps its own calendar.

High Activity26 species observed

Fish

9 species

---

Spotted Hake×3

Northern Puffer×3

Striped Bass×4

Turtles

2 species

---

Loggerhead Sea Turtle×3

Spotted Turtle×6

Birds

shoreline---15 species

Dunlin · Ruddy Turnstone · Red-throated Loon · Eastern Phoebe · Great Black-backed Gull +10 more

via iNaturalist · Updated just now

Regulations

What's biting, what's protected

Take only what the season allows.

We've only loaded detailed seasons & limits for South Florida so far. For New Hampshire, check the official source before you fish:

New Hampshire saltwater regulations

Official source: NH Fish & Game· opens the agency site

Hampton Beach State Park (Main Beach)Hampton, NH

Hampton Beach State Park (Main Beach)Hampton, NH

On the water right nowi

What this place is

Where do you park at Hampton Beach State Park (Main Beach), NH?

The pull and the lighti

TidesHampton Harbor

Moon & Sun

7-Day Outlook

Who's out there right nowi

Fish

Turtles

Birds

What's biting, what's protectedi

Get your fins.

On the water right now

The pull and the light

Who's out there right now

What's biting, what's protected