A Dog-Friendly Afternoon on the South Shore with Wolly & Jasper

Stodders Neck Park

Two very different shorelines, one October afternoon: a quiet harbor at Stodders Neck in Hingham, framed by oaks just starting to turn, then a mile of mirror-flat sand at Nantasket Beach in Hull at low tide. Wolly and Jasper came along, and both stops were made for them.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cftlyKOFecE?si=mhu-0sCT6oo33EjZ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Stodders Neck, Hingham

This is the softer half of the day: a grassy, 23-acre peninsula where the Back River meets the bay, with an easy, mostly flat 0.7-mile gravel loop. Walk down to the pebble beach and look back through the oak branches. The leaves were going rust and gold at the edges, and through them sat a harbor of moored boats on still, silver water. Behind you is a curve of pink and grey granite boulders with a line of seaweed along the tide line.

It's also a dog park, and it shows. Wolly and Jasper went nose-down along the seaweed, waded in the shallows, then raced each other up the grassy hill. Off-leash is allowed only in the designated areas, so look for the signs.

• 

• 

• 

Nantasket Beach, Hull

I'd go for the light. At low tide, the water pulls back and leaves wide, wet flats that hold the sky like glass, with the houses of Hull stacked on the hill at the far end. Walk the seawall promenade first for the full curve of the beach, then go down onto the sand.

Dogs aren't allowed here from April to mid-September, which makes fall the moment to bring them. Wolly and Jasper dragged their long leads through the tide pools while one gull kept a very close eye on them.

• 

• 

• 

Quick plan

1. Around 3pm: Stodders Neck. Walk the loop, give the dogs the beach and the hill. Plan on 30 to 40 minutes.

2. Around 4pm: Nantasket Beach. It's a short drive to Hull. Time it for an outgoing tide and stay until the light starts to slant.

Know before you go

- Parking: Stodders Neck has a large free lot at 457 Lincoln Street (Route 3A), Hingham. Nantasket is free after the summer season; in summer it's $15 for Massachusetts plates and $40 for out-of-state.

- Dog rules: off-leash only in marked areas at Stodders Neck. No dogs at Nantasket from April to mid-September. Check before you go.

- Shoes: wear something that can get wet. Both shorelines are at their best right at the water's edge.