After the rain clears out of Massachusetts, you may be ready to spend the weekend at the beach.
However, if you're planning a weekend beach trip, you'll want to avoid the beaches closed due to unsafe swimming water. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) states that swimming in the water at these closed beaches poses a threat of illness due to high levels of bacteria. Symptoms of water-borne illness can range from nausea and vomiting to a sore throat and fever, or even rashes and infections.
Heading into this weekend, 41 Massachusetts beaches are closed. Here's the full list.
What beaches in Massachusetts are currently closed due to bacteria?
The following MA beaches, listed by town, are closed as of Thursday, July 31:
Amherset: Puffers Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Ashland: Hopkinton Reservoir Upper Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Barnstable: Keyes Beach at Sea Street (Bacterial Exceedance)
Beverly: Brackenbury (Bacterial Exceedance)
Brewster: Upper Mill Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Chelmsford: Freeman Lake (Bacterial Exceedance, Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Clarksburg: Mauserts Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Danvers: Sandy Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Dartmouth: Moses Smith Creek (Bacterial Exceedance)
Framingham:
Learned Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Waushakum Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Georgetown: American Legion Park (Bacterial Exceedance)
Holden: Eagle Lake (Bacterial Exceedance)
Ipswich: Sandy Point – Plum Island (Bacterial Exceedance)
Mashpee:
Santuit Pond at Byrants Neck (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Santuit Pond at Town Landing (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Methuen: Forest Lake – Swimming Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Middleborough: Camp Yomechas (Bacterial Exceedance)
North Attleborough: Falls Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)
Oxford: Carbuncle Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Pittsfield: Lulu Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Provincetown: Winston Ave. (Bacterial Exceedance)
Salem:
Children's Island – Back (Bacterial Exceedance)
Ocean Avenue (Bacterial Exceedance)
Southwick: South Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Springfield: Camp Wilder (Bacterial Exceedance)
Swampscott: Kings (Bacterial Exceedance)
Templeton:
Beamans Pond – Campground (Bacterial Exceedance)
Beamans Pond – Day Use (Bacterial Exceedance)
Townsend: Pearl Hill Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Upton: Upton Town Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Wareham: Shangri-La (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Westfield:
Hampton Ponds – Kingsley Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Hampton Ponds – Lamberts Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
Wilmington:
Wilmington Town Beach at Center (Bacterial Exceedance)
Wilmington Town Beach at Right (Bacterial Exceedance)
Winchendon:
Lake Dennison State Park at Day Use Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Lake Dennison State Park at North Camp Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
Winthrop:
Donovans (Bacterial Exceedance)
Halford (Bacterial Exceedance)
Most beaches are closed due to bacterial exceedance, meaning the levels of bacteria in the water are higher than the limits set by the MDPH.
Those in the "other" category can be closed due to a variety of chemical or physical hazards, such as riptides and poor visibility.
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Walden Pond closed for the summer
Another popular beach is closed for the summer, but not due to bacteria.
According to an announcement from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on May 30, the main beach at Walden Pond in Concord will be closed for the season as the site undergoes construction. Red Cross Beach, another beach at Walden Pond, will still be open for the summer, but with no lifeguards present and limited parking availability.
Over the summer, Walden Pond will be getting a new $6.1 million bathhouse, according to the DCR. The new single-story, 2,700 square-foot building will replace the current two-story bathhouse from 1947, which is not ADA compliant. This project will bring Walden Pond State Reservation's facility up to federal and state accessibility requirements.
More: Popular MA beach to stay closed all summer due to construction. Here's where
When will beaches in Massachusetts reopen?
According to the MDPH website, beaches can only re-open when their bacteria levels are back within the safe range, so there is no set amount of time for a closure.
The status of a closed beach can be checked on the website's water quality dashboard, which is updated at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. daily.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Which Massachusetts beaches are closed this weekend? Here's a list
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