Only taxpayers and residents of Plymouth and their guests with proper beach stickers shall be allowed with vehicles on Plymouth Beach north of Manter's Point. All vehicles entering public parks shall have proper stickers or pay the daily entry fee set by the Select Board.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Plymouth 4-16-1974 ATM by Art. 58; amended in its entirety 5-20-2006 ATM by Art. 33 (Ch. 30 of the 1999 Code). Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 10-18-2025 ATM by Art. 10]
No motorcycles, minibikes or minicars or all-terrain vehicles shall be allowed on any public beach or in any park at any time except on designated travelways set, maintained and monitored by the Energy and Environmental Department, Parks and Forestry Division, and Police Department. No horses shall be allowed on any public beach or in any public park picnic area between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Walking or driving is restricted to designated trails and/or roads only. No person shall walk, drive any vehicle or ride a horse on the sand dunes or grassy areas or over any other type of vegetation on all public beaches.
[Amended 10-18-2025 ATM by Art. 10]
A.
Dumping (the deposit or leaving of household or commercial trash) is prohibited. Littering (the leaving of all other trash except in designated Town receptacles) is also prohibited.
No vehicle shall be allowed to pass on the east side of Plymouth Beach south of the crossover between Memorial Day and Labor Day, except in the case of an emergency or the established rights of Plymouth fishermen. No vehicles are allowed to drive along White Horse Beach except in the case of an emergency or the established rights of Plymouth fishermen or at designated boat launch areas.
No vehicles, other than those owned by the property owner, shall be parked on private property on any Plymouth Beach or parked without the written consent of that property owner.
No vehicle shall exceed a speed of 10 miles per hour while driving on any portion of any public beach or park.
All vehicles driven on Plymouth Beach north of Manter's Point shall be four-wheel-drive vehicles.
[Amended 10-18-2025 ATM by Art. 10]
Overnight camping within any Town beach or park is prohibited without a permit issued by the Parks Division, based on policies approved by the Select Board. Overnight camping on Plymouth Long Beach shall be restricted to Plymouth residents and Plymouth taxpayers and their guests, but only by a permit issued by the Energy and Environmental Department based on policies approved by the Select Board.
Glass containers of any kind are prohibited from all public beaches and parks.
[Amended 10-21-2017 by Art. 20]
Cooking fires contained in grills is permitted, but only in designated park and beach areas, based on policies approved by Select Board. Coal hibachis and/or grills are prohibited from public beaches, parks, public spaces.
[Amended 4-2-2011 ATM by Art. 43; 10-18-2025 ATM by Art. 10]
No open fires (fires not contained in grills, hibachis or similar devices) will be allowed on any public beach or park without permits from both the Energy and Environmental Department and Plymouth Fire Department. No open fires will be allowed on a private beach unless the consent of the landowner is documented to the satisfaction of and without permit issued by the Fire Department.
All persons using the public beaches and parks do so at their own risk.
The operator of a stuck vehicle is responsible for filling in ruts and holes caused by said vehicle and for removing all related debris from any beach or park.
Riding on the fenders, tailgate, roof or any other unenclosed exterior portion of any vehicle is prohibited.
Limitations may be placed by the Director of Public Works, the Police Chief or the Environmental Technician and their designees on the number of vehicles allowed on any beach or park at any one time or on the location of allowed parking.
Parked vehicles shall keep the pedestrian and vehicular rights-of-way open at all times.
No hunting or firearms are allowed within any park or beach except for properly licensed hunters on Town beaches during the migratory waterfowl open hunting season.
Town beaches and parks are open from dawn to dusk. Exceptions may be made by policies approved by the Select Board. Except for private property owners on Plymouth Beach their guests, or fishermen who are residents or taxpayers of Plymouth or overnight campers with the required permit, Plymouth Beach and its parking lot shall be closed to all vehicles between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.
No person shall block any road or any pedestrian or vehicular trail by means of sporting equipment/games, four-wheel-drive vehicles, campers or other vehicles, or tents which would impede the normal flow of beach or park traffic.
[Amended 10-18-2025 ATM by Art. 10]
B.
Any person who violates § 129-4 or 129-8 of this chapter shall, for the first violation thereof, be fined $100. Any person who violates § 129-4 or 129-8 of this chapter shall, for the second and all subsequent violations thereof within a 12-month period, be fined $100 for each violation and shall have his or her privilege of operating a motor vehicle in beaches and parks suspended for one year.
C.
In addition to the foregoing:
(1)
The owner of any vehicle operated in violation of either § 129-4 or 129-8, whether said vehicle was operated at the time of said violation by the owner thereof or by another person acting under the authority of or with the consent of the owner thereof, shall be given written notice of every violation of § 129-4 or 129-8 involving said owner's vehicle. The privilege of said owner to have any vehicle of his or hers operated on beaches and in parks shall be suspended, canceled, revoked or declared forfeited for one year whenever said vehicle shall have been operated in violation of either § 129-4 or 129-8 for a second time within a period of 12 consecutive months.
(2)
Any person who operates a motor vehicle on beaches or in parks without a current, effective permit for said vehicle or after his or her personal privilege to operate a vehicle on Plymouth Beach has been suspended, canceled, revoked or forfeited, without renewal thereof, shall be subject to arrest for trespass pursuant to MGL c. 266, § 120, as amended.
All vehicles adjacent to the snow fence, vegetated areas or dune areas must parallel park no less than 15 feet from the frontal dune, unless the area is otherwise designated.
A.
No person shall bathe or swim in the waters of Plymouth Beach, White Horse Beach or any coastal waters adjacent thereto or any ponds which are under the jurisdiction of the Town of Plymouth during such time as the lifeguard on duty at said beach determines conditions to be hazardous to the health, safety and welfare of swimmers and bathers. Upon posting of warning signs by the lifeguard on duty or oral notice from the lifeguard that conditions are deemed hazardous, all persons shall exit the water until it is determined that the hazardous condition has abated.
B.
Violations of this section shall be punishable by a fine of $50 for each offense.
