The Town of Sandwich has several park/beach areas for residents’ use. Users should display their facility use sticker on their vehicle.
- Town Beach at 533 Squam Lakerd
- Bear Camp Beach - 313 Bearcamp Pond Road
- The Pot Hole Swim Area, on the Cold River, 418 North Sandwich
- Beede’s Falls, Sandwich Notch
ORDINANCE RELATIVE TO THE USE OF TOWN SWIMMING AREAS
Be it ordained by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Sandwich, NH, an ordinance regulating the use of the Town beaches as follows:
All vehicles must clearly display either a current facility permit sticker or a guest pass at any of the following Town Facilities: Squam Lake Beach and Boat Ramp*, Bearcamp Pond Beach, the Pothole, and Beede Falls in the Sandwich Notch.
Each facility may have site specific rules and prohibitions which are not expressly stated in this document.
The Selectmen are authorized to grant special permission for visitors and their vehicles to access the Town Beach. The Selectmen will consult with the Sandwich Police Department and Parks & Recreation Director prior to granting special permissions (i.e. permissions for swim lessons, beach yoga, events etc). Special permission requests must be submitted to the Parks & Recreation Director at least 30 days in advance.
Access to swim areas: Access to Town Beaches will be from the roadway entries only. No access from boats, watercraft, or swimming into the designated areas, or onto shore, is permitted.
Children under the age of 12 must always be supervised by an adult in their party.
Glass bottles are not allowed at any Swimming area property.
Swimming: Swimmers do so at their own risk. Areas approved for swimming are clearly identified. Patrons will not enter the water for swimming outside of these areas when staff are on duty. *Exceptions will be made for distances swimmers who have a visible attached floatation device (swim balloon, rescue tube, etc.). Neither pets nor watercraft are allowed within the designated swimming areas or on town beaches.
1. Wearable floatation devices are allowed per the following requirements:- Wearer may not remove devices once in the water.
- Wearer must be accompanied by adult when in water over their head.
3. The swimming area may be partly or entirely closed to the public during swim lessons.
4. Children must wear a bathing suit or swim diaper at all times.
5. Swim only within the roped area at Squam Beach.
Town Beach Dock Area: The dock and boat launch/recovery area must remain clear for boat traffic. Wading, taking pets into the water, or other activities not required for launching or recovering of boats are prohibited. To prevent impeding orderly launching and recovery, boats may not be left tied to the dock for more than 15 minutes.
* Please Note: Only vehicles with a facility permit sticker may use the Town Boat Ramp; guest passes cannot be used.
Bearcamp Pond Beach: Boats may only be launched and recovered from the designated boat area.
Town Beach Raft: Rough play on the raft or swimming below the raft is prohibited. Watercraft will not drop off or pick up persons at the raft and must stay clear minimum twenty-five feet (25’) of the raft and designated swim area.
The following conduct is prohibited:
- No vehicles without Town Facility Permit Sticker and/or Guest Pass.
- No alcoholic beverages.
- No dogs or pets allowed on the beaches; Beede Falls is the only exception.
- This does not prohibit service animals from any facility.
- No camping.
- No overnight parking.
- No fires or grilling.
- Smoking is prohibited at all beach facilities.
- No hoofed animals at Swim Areas or walking trails.
- No docking or launching boats, or other watercraft at Swim areas.
All Town beaches close at 10:00 P.M.
There shall be no solicitation or commercial activity on Town Beach property without the approval of the Board of Selectmen
All trash must be taken home with you.
Exemptions to these rules:
- Maintenance activities authorized by the Town.
- Public safety (police and fire-rescue) activities.
- Recreation activities authorized by the Town.
- Concession activities authorized by the Town.
ENFORCEMENT:
An agent or agents of the Board of Selectmen shall be authorized per RSA 231: 132-a, Il to issue notice of a parking violation and fine. Any person violating the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined seventy-five dollars ($75) payable within fourteen (14) days to the Town Clerk/Tax Collector. If the fine is not paid within fourteen days, the fine amount doubles. Appeal of an issuance of a parking violation or fine may be made to the Police Chief or to the Board of Selectmen. Failure to pay the fine shall result in the issuance of a summons to appear in District Court. Any person found guilty of violating the provision of this ordinance shall be guilty of a violation and could be fined up to five hundred dollars ($500).
This ordinance shall be in effect upon its passage and shall remain in effect until amended or rescinded.
QUESTIONS AND/OR CLARIFICATIONS RELATED TO THIS POLICY
All questions and/or clarifications of this policy and its related content should be addressed to the Board of Selectmen, who shall be responsible for the administration, revision, interpretation, and application of this policy.