Nice, fairly clean beach with a playground. Great place to bring children.

Pretty great spot. Super chill and the water is very nice to swim in. Beautiful view as well. Bring a snack and a nice drink to hang out and meet some cool dogs too. Beach has a good amount of space around for hanging out

Lots of crowding, yet such a beautiful place. Lots of music competing with parties on the weekends. Best time to go in summer is 6 p.m. or after. Water is very warm, clean, and easy to hop into this time of year (July + August.) The beach and water is sandy

Its a great location to come with the family. There are restrooms ( porta potties). There is a section of a beach that has sand and that is barricaded off about 25 feet out so little kids can swim safely. There are other sections out side of the roped off area that you can set up at and swim.There are table that you can use and bbq if you would like. They are under the trees and are set in an open area off the beach. People set up hammocks and chairs and can play music. There are trash cans around and if you do bring food or drink please use them and be respectful of the grounds.Before entering the beach there is a playground area with all standard playground slides, swings and climbing obstacles.Its a fun place to come with the family or with friends. The only reason i did not 5 star was because there is no food or beverages here or near by for sale. So you must bring all food and drinks with you. There was an ice cream truck that came by but besides that there is nothing else.

Awesome great time with family and enjoyed a lot. Clean water and many familys were there. We found ice cream van thats Great too.

Its a great spot for kids, dont have to worry about sharks or rip currents, not too relaxing for those without kids if you dont have headphones, even on a weekday. I will come back again maybe 9 am see what that is like. I sat and swam at the part of the beach that says no swimming and plenty of others were also swimming.

Kids friendly. Have a 4 yr old and he could play all the way to where the ropes are with no issue. Had a 15 yr old and she enjoyed it as well.

At the height of summer this place was packed so densely (cant practice social distancing) it wasnt enjoyable. No one wearing masks, many loud parties with music. The water was disgusting, floating Band-Aids to oily substances. We did take a kayak from there out further on the lake and it was nice.

Usually a large crowd here and parking to water can be a bit of a walk when the lot fills. Also not enough room to swim on the actual cleaner beach area. But if you want to dip your body, picnic, sun bask, or nature walk this is a good spot.

Happy birthday mateo

I go there for open water swimming. Easy free parking, bathrooms and beautiful sunset.

Love it so peaceful.no crowds. No huge families. No load music peaceful.

Pleasant place for swimming. Shame about all the people crowded together without masks as if there were not a global pandemic. :( I just swam a ways out so I didnt have to be around people, and stayed masked on land.

Unsafe conditions- people gather in huge numbers without socially distancing or varying masks, share food and drinks. The beach is tiny and overcrowded, even on week nights at 8.00pm.. I used to love the place before the coronavirus but right now its just not safe.

Did the Sharon Triathlon here, nice clean lake.

Great place to go for a day the only thing is people dont practice social distance with the pandemic

Clean water. Ideal place to learn and practice swimming.

Swimming lake with beach. Picnic tables and playground

Easy free parking, the beach was nice. I assume this place can get crowded very easily

A gem nested in Winchester. Stunning beautiful sun set. Great place to run, bike,walk, play, swim, or simply sit on a bench to enjoy the scenery.

Ive been coming here for nearly 20 years! Clean quiet beach, ample free parking and roped of lake for safety.

Best place to have a barbecue with family and friends! But the parking lot its small, you must to arrive early.

Its a nice place, sometime crowdy but its fine. Its noisy on the weekends. Its a good place to kayak or paddle board

One of my favs but be prepared for people. But with Corona this will all change which sucks because the beach is small enough to start with

Private spots throughout the lake, stunning views with kayakers and sail boats. Perfect day to spend in the water.

Beautiful hideaway right in Arlington. Well kept lawn and picnic areas.

Really nice area. Parking just next to the children’s play area. Nearby beach. Large park. Portable toilets, no showers. Only gas grills allowed, no charcoal grills.

Lots of kids with little supervisor. Otherwise nice place.

Amazing urban Beach and park.On the edge of greatness.

Good place to being your kids, clear water.

It rained but i was at shannon beach with the love of my life- Shannon :)

Wasn’t any place to swim without your feet touching the ground

An awesome place for swimming

Hmmm moderate place but you can’t call it a beach!

Warm water, a lot of people, great for a kayaks, paddleboard.

Its sandy Beach just by a different name

Not to many places to go swimming at this place unless you like to be close to others

Beautiful lake in a quiet area even though its only a few miles north of Boston

It was very crowded and I couldnt find anyone wearing a mask. There were large groups of people all together. There was a lot of loud music. And people were littering everywhere.

Small but family friendly and nice.

The beach is small which is a positive or negative depending on what youre looking for. I personally love that it isnt a huge beach because its easier to keep eyes on your own children. No open flames/grilling here but if you pack a lunch its a great place to spend the day. There is a (pretty small) roped off area for swimming. No lifeguard on duty.

Best local beach for me. FREE PARKING Water is warm, sand is soft. There is some shaded areas as well as sun. Picnic tables & playground. I always have a great beach day with my baby when I visit

Great for swimming. Can get very crowded though.

This beach is nice, albeit small. The swimming area is marked off with ropes and is a very, very, small area which doesnt go much deeper than 4 ft. There are signs that say adults can swim outside the ropes, but i didnt see anyone doing so. The sand is nice as well as the picnic-y area. Parking is super confusing and there are sign everywhere that say no parking right next to other signs that say parking allowed so i never actually figured out if we were parked legally, but we didnt get a ticket so who knows.

One of my favorite destination to go to for paddle boarding on nice calm water. The view is very scenic esp from the water with beautiful water lilies in many spots and the surrounding is just lovely. I esp like that it is so close for me.

The water is very heavy

Fun and family oriented

Beach is crowded and small. The water is murky and has lots of leaves and sticks. The parking is difficult but for a local watering hole itll do

Its a great quiet place all year round. I just wish that the people that go there in the summer, WOULD PICK UP AFTER THEMSELVES. THEY GO AND TRASH THE PLACE, TRASH EVERYWHERE. AND THEY DONT CARE. I WONDER IF THEIR HOMES LOOK LIKE THE WAY THEY LEAVE THIS GREAT RECREATIONAL AREA.THEY THROW TRASH/GRILLS/GLASS BOTTLES INTO BUSHES, THE WATER AND NO ONE DOES ANYTHING TO STOP IT. WELL ITS HIGH TIME SOMEONE PUTS AN END TO ALL THOSE DISRESPECTFUL SCUM.

Nice place to swim or hangout

Small and peaceful

Gets crowded and people have no regards for families there but place is beautiful.

I give it two stars because it lacks order, people play very loud music, they drink alcohol, they smoke and nobody controls that ... the place is not so beautiful and the lake is dirty and with bacteria it is not good for children ... there is too much mess.

Free and open from sunrise to sunset. Nice place to go with an early rising toddler. Some ducks, geese and people make it a little dirty, so I recommend going in the morning after its cleaned!

Beautiful place!!

It says Shannon beach but its more like Shannons sandbox considering the bacteria level is always too high to go swimming. Its pretty disappointing. Other than that theres a playground and nice sitting area.

Nice, though space its limited

Super cool

I just love this place! I can bring my kids and the dog (which is nearly impossible on every beach during season)We also like to bring inflatables sometimes and it’s totally okay. Parking is free and there is always space. Nice playground too! For me, it’s the perfect beach to be!

There is a beautiful place. Is great to take cool pictures.

A nice sandy beach and clean water to cool off in

So sad. Cant swim here this weekend because of all the bad bacteria in the water. Fecal matter, etc. Stop peeing in the water, people! It doesnt help keep the lakes cool and clean.

Very nice for families and lots of room for dogs. Picnics. Play area for kids highly recommend it

Its okay small no bathroom

Pretty beach on lake. Lots of cute ducks to see.

Nice place to be with your family and friends. Happy 4th of July to everyone.

Great place

Beautiful place for swimming, play soccer, and play ground for kids. Not cost bring your food or grill gas only. Not lifeguard, but nice place. Good place for a part of the day or the entire day without paying any amount. Parking is free for about 40 cars or more...

Nice, clean beach.

Nice place to relax and enjoy your day with the family or can be used for meditation because you can find very good spots with high quality positive energy and clean atmosphere to conect to your soul

Nice place to hang out for the summer, excellent parking and food across the road

Its a great place to walk the dog & let him swim.However, a lot of people go here to enjoy the water & woods as well. Unfortunately, many people leave messes when they are done. They should pick up after themselves & they dont. It ruins the space for the rest of us.

Decent beach thats kind of hidden back out of site.

Very good

I honestly dont understand why this beach has such a high star rating. Dont get me wrong, its a nice recreational place for the area but far from a beach and better ones not that far. Its just a small patch of land that has a bit of sand on the river/pond. Its very congested and overwhelming at times actually. Everyone is stepping all over everyone elses things because theres no room for many people, especially peak times. Whenever I come here, which is not very often anymore, I get an uncomfortable weird vibe and typically I am a happy go lucky, get along with everyone type person. I just feel out of place and like leaving my things around while Im swimming will not be safe. The area is pretty clean though which is nice. There is plenty of space on the grass to hang out though. You can also grill here but signs say no charcoal, which as I write this a family is using charcoal and its clear to see why they dont want it used. Most of the people/families nearby ended up moving or leaving altogether because the smoke from the charcoal is so intense and billowing so much and far. People are coughing like crazy too. I dont see any park rangers around either, except someone who looks like a lifeguard in the shack on the beach (another sign says no lifeguard on duty so Im not positive what his role is). There is a giant playground for the kids that has plenty of activities to keep kiddos entertained. There is another large area of grass closer to the free parking lot where many people have large gatherings and parties. This place has potential but overall if you plan to swim, especially if you have small children who you need to watch closely, Id suggest coming early to guarantee a spot on the sand. The water though itself is beautiful and very clean. More than I can say about many other similar places. Parking here is free but a hit or a miss because its a smaller lot, so it fills up fast. Check it out for yourself, make your own assumptions but Ive noticed more and more over the years I feel uncomfortable coming here. I feel like anyone from the girl next door, to a pedafile will come here. I think this will be the last time I come here for a while. My fiance agrees it has a weird vibe these days.

It’s gone down hill last few yrs. We used to go there a lot when we 1st moved to Winchester 12yrs ago. It used to be a nice peaceful clean place to go. We went last weekend & as soon as we got down to the beach we saw the red no swimming signs on the life guard stands, several cones set up along the water w/signs that read no swimming then 2 separate life guards came over to tell us there was no swimming due to the danger from high levels of bacteria & chemicals. We had packed a picnic lunch so we decided to stay & just play in the sand with our nephew. The lifeguards gave up trying to keep people out of the water because nobody was listening, the water was full of kids. People had full size speakers blasting music was so loud we couldn’t hear each other talk. The sand was full of cigarettes & other trash. It was disgusting!

Clean water fun place to bbq and picnic

Really nice place, excellent to take the kids and have a family pic nic

Not the best day for it, but a great place on the right day. Has portable toilets, beach, life guard, roped off swimming area, sand, grass, tables, grass areas, trails.

Great beach for kids but no bathrooms. Only nasty portapotties.

Great park area amenities and parking space.

Pretty great spot.

Awesome place

Kids playing in the water, adults doing BBQ, youngsters playing volleyball in the outskirts... okay, this place is pretty nice :D

Love and visit any beach in the area

Beautiful!

Been going here since I was a kid.. watch the water quality, been great for the most part, but was turned away twice for excessive pollen in the water.. but a great area for kids to explore and a great park to play all the time.. parking isnt as bad as it looks

Pros: close to the city, easy parking, free swimming, shady spotsCons: a little trashy/dirty, can be very crowded and people tend to blare music so it can get loud.Good for an hour or so but wouldnt spend more time than that unless its on a weekday or offseason

Nice place to visit for a quick swim

Nice clean beach. Water tested daily during the season. Lifeguard on duty from 10am. Great for OWS in early morning. Never crowded except during holiday weekends. Nice playground. Free parking. No bathrooms but reasonably clean portajohns.

We went here for a picnic one evening but the police came and asked us to leave. Apparently you’re not allowed to be here after sundown. It wasn’t even dark when we got kicked out.

Very dirty water

I went up in the late afternoon and its not as crowded. Walked a bit and sat down. I thought it was pretty good.

Nice free place to swim with a good playground. It gets wicked crowded on the weekend. Its an easy walk from the train station.

I been going to Sandy Beach since I was a kid, I continuity go there cause its just an awesome and nice place, I take my girlfriend there just to relax and have the kids enjoy playing and swimming... Sandy Beach is a spot where u can just enjoy and appreciate a nice day...

Nice

I lived in medford my whole life and I always called it sandy beach

Amazing small beach, great for kids. Shallow water, actual sand and porter potties nearby...

Limited convenience.

It’s an unbelievable asset. You can’t beat free. It’s like you went off to NH and you are so close to Somerville. I am always surprised that it isn’t more crowded.