By Adriana Campos
While temperatures continue to climb, students’ thoughts may turn to cooling down. When surrounding your bed with fans, taking extra long, cold showers and risking midday wades through the Reflection Pool just aren’t enough to relieve you from the sweltering heat, tie on your new summer Speedo and catch a T ride to some hot places to cool down, righ outside of Boston.
You only need T fare and an adventurous spirit to reach some beaches outside the Boston area. Although you won’t find gnarly waves here in New England, the warm sand, cool water and company of a few friends always make for a fun and satisfying day at the beach.
Revere Beach is one of the most frequented summer getaways for Bostonians. Only steps away from the Revere Beach stop on the Blue Line, it’s close enough to spend a day without worrying about taking up much traveling time. To quell your hunger, look no further than Kelley’s Roast Beef, an outdoor eatery famous for its roast beef sandwiches.
Carson Beach is accessible enough, with parking lots adjacent to its bathhouse and the convenience of the Red Line JFK/UMass stop just across Day Boulevard.
A low-key but relaxing place to swim and tan, Carson Beach boasts sand, walkways and benches as well as water fountains and foot-rinsing faucets, showers, changing rooms and public restrooms. Other activities include kayaking, volleyball and other beach games.
Hampton Beach in New Hampshire can be reached via Route 95 North and hosts fireworks every Wednesday night beginning May 28. It also offers 80 free outdoor concerts. One of the must-attend events is The Seafood Festival, from Sept. 8 – 10, one of Hampton Beach’s most praised celebrations, featuring more than 60 arts and crafts dealers, weekend-long entertainment and of course plenty of lobster, shrimp, clams and desserts for a weekend pass price of only $6.
If you prefer to splash in chlorine, check out the outdoor Mirabella Pool at the Nazzaro Center in the North End. You can register to use the pool during open swim hours during the week for $15 and sign up for swimming lessons or water aerobics classes for free once you are enrolled as a member.
The Mirabella Pool exit leads right to Puopolo Park, a great place to lie on the grass and dry off.
Don’t forget the Barletta Natatorium in the Cabot Cage offers free general swim hours to any Northeastern student after May 9.
