Niles Beach is the Wachusett Mountain of diving. I've been there in desperation, when I had to, absolutely had to dive, and there were 5 footers at Back Beach, OGB, Pebble, Folly, Plum, Loblolly, Stage Fort Park, etc. Frankly, I would not dive Niles Beach again if it were the only place left to dive on earth. You've been warned.

Niles beach is a long sandy stretch with a western exposure that is sheltered from almost every and any weather situation by Gloucester Harbor. One can, and I did (in August 1998,) safely and easily dive it in the midst of an off shore hurricane. If you choose to do so, you will find a mud and sand bottom, mostly covered with an opaque matte of algae and green hair weed. There are some stretches of eel grass as well. One interesting feature of the topography at Niles Beach is that, because there is not a single solitary rock to be found, lobsters, if any, bury themselves in the mud. If you see a pair of claws sticking out of a hole here, you can just stick your hand through the muddy bottom, feel down for the carapace, and pull the bug right up. You kind of feel like Superman, punching through a wall to collar the bad guys. Otherwise, one word of caution - diving here is so boring that divers have been known to fall asleep and accidently lose their regulators.

If you are a scuba instructor, and you have students who must be certified in the midst of a storm, you will consider taking them to Niles Beach. Unless you know that they were "born to dive" think twice about this - I don't think anyone would ever dive a second time if they thought Niles Beach was typical of what they would experience in New England!

On the other hand, I have encountered a few people who claim to love Niles Beach. These people usually have a thing for macro-photography and tell me that the eel grass at Niles is loaded with life. Frankly, I've seen more interesting life in my bathtub (but let's not go there) and some people tell me that sea urchin is a taste treat. To each his own… that's what makes horse racing, vive la difference, whatever... one less car at a decent dive spot if you choose Niles.

To get to Niles Beach (if you really, really want to) take 128 through Grant and Blackburn Circles, and proceed straight through the light at 127. At the next set of lights, take a Right onto Bass Avenue, and then your first Left onto East Main Street. Niles Beach is about a mile and a half up the road. The parking lot is for residents only - but on lousy weather days, no one seems to care.