Peggotty Beach is a busy, protected beach with a half-mile of coarse, hard-packed sand and relatively warm water. Access from Peggotty Beach Road. Within walking distance is downtown Scituate Harbor with shops, restaurants, and a hotel.

Formerly called Bassing Cove, the beach may derive its name from an obscure reference to Charles Dickens. In Dickens’ 1849 novel David Copperfield, there are two characters with the surname Peggotty: Clara, a nurse and friend of the title character, and her brother, Mr. Peggotty, a lobster fisherman.

No trails, but you can walk along the beach for about a half mile.