Last week my dad was on vacation so we all decided what a great time to go to the beach. We decided to try a beach close to Captain’s Quarters in Falmouth because my parents were staying there for a few nights. Captain’s Quarters is located right across the street from Falmouth Heights Beach but we couldn’t go there because there is no wheelchair access. My roommate, Josh, our friends, Tony, Amanda, Ric and I all headed to Falmouth to meet my parents at Surf Drive Beach, another beautiful Falmouth Town Beach.
Parking at Surf Drive Beach is $10/day for non-residents as opposed to $20 at Old Silver Beach another Falmouth Town Beach. It was a big cost savings since we had 3 vehicles to park. The parking lot is paved which makes for easy wheeling. This beach is much less crowded than Old Silver Beach too. The Ellen T. Mitchell Bathhouse which is office for the Falmouth Beach Administration is located at this beach. I brought my own Beach Wheelchair. Loaner Beach Wheelchairs are available upon request. I recommend you call to reserve one if you’re planning on coming to this beach. Lifeguards are on duty at this beach.
There are 3 handicap parking spaces in the parking lot; 1 space located in front of the bathhouse; and 2 more located in front of a wheelchair accessible Mobi-Mat RecPath that leads to the beach. I’ve heard about this kind of mat but never saw one before. It’s great for it provides wheelchair access on terrain that is difficult to wheel on. A Snack Bar, Restrooms, Changing Room and Picnic Tables are located here as well.
Wheelchair access to this beach is very easy for the beach is located right in front of the parking lot with no slopes or hills to wheel down. The water is warm and calm and the sand is soft, fine and easy to wheel on if you’re in a beach wheelchair. In the center of the beach is a small inlet surrounded by rocks; it is a nice place for beach goers to swim for the rocks prevent big waves.
Surf Drive Beach is a very clean beach! There are plenty of modern day garbage disposals that have covers so seagulls can’t get in to them. Dogs are allowed on this beach but they must be leached and Mutt Mits are available for dog owners to pick up after their dogs. There is a great view of Martha’s Vineyard from this beach. I also enjoyed watching the Seagulls and another kind of seabird sitting on wooden perches and rocks in the ocean. We also saw some beautiful sail boats sailing by.
We had a lot of FUN building sand houses, burying Tony in the sand, sunning and cooling off in the cool ocean water.
This beach has an accessible Snack Bar, Restroom, Changing Room Stall and two Outdoor Showers; access is easy with a paved sidwalk. The Snack Bar is wheelchair accessible with the counter being a little high but within my reach. The Picnic Tables here are NOT wheelchair accessible for the benches are permanently attached leaving no room for me to sit. I liked the accessible picnic table at Old Silver Beach in which the end of the table extends leaving room for a person in a wheelchair to sit. I’m surprised the Town of Falmouth didn’t place one here as well.
The Restrooms are wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant with a larger handicap stall and 2 accessible sinks; the pipes under the accessible sink are not covered but they don’t need to be since the water is not hot. The only problem is the paper towel dispenser above the sink is not in my reach. A larger wheelchair accessible Changing Room Stall is located in the bathhouse as well. The Outdoor Showers are accessible and easy for me to reach the knobs to turn on the water. I really enjoyed sitting under the shower to wash off the sand before heading home as you can see in the video above.
The only sad part of the day was that Amanda lost her engagement ring in the sand. I felt so bad because she took it off and put it in her pocket while she helped apply suntan lotion on me and Josh. A very nice woman employee who works in the bathhouse was so very kind that she brought her metal detector to the beach the next day to search for Amanda’s ring. Sadly it was not found.
I give Surf Drive Beach in Falmouth FOUR STARS for wheelchair accessibility. In order to earn the Fifth Star, they would simply need to place a wheelchair accessible picnic table at this beach; and lower the paper towel dispenser located above the sink to an accessible height. The woman employee who kindly searched for Amanda’s ring deserves FIVE STARS PLUS for her sensitivity and kindness!