Shrinking Beaches of My Youth

I’ve walked Ocean City’s boardwalk since the 1970s, and over the years I’ve noticed the beaches slowly shrinking. Hurricane Erin stripped sand in hours, but the larger story is natural beach erosion, a process that has been shaping this coastline for hundreds of thousands of years. Waves, tides, currents, and storms constantly move sand along the shore—a process called longshore drift. Sand naturally migrates from some areas to others, causing beaches to narrow in places while expanding elsewhere. This isn’t about global climate change; it’s a slow, natural rhythm of the coastline that predates humans.

I remember seeing one beach off the boardwalk a few years ago that was virtually gone. I was so shocked and saddened—what had been a wide stretch of sand for generations was reduced to a narrow strip, barely enough for a walk along the water. It was a stark reminder that nature always has the final say.

Over decades, the city has tried to fight nature with dredging, sand replenishment, and dune reinforcement. Sand is pumped from offshore or transported from other areas to rebuild what was lost, while the bay is dredged to maintain channels. Despite these efforts, erosion often outpaces human intervention. Some of the sand drifts down the coast, some sinks into deeper waters, and some is redistributed inland by wind. It’s a cycle that existed long before humans, and will continue long after.

Scientific studies show that barrier islands like Ocean City are especially vulnerable to this slow reshaping. Storms accelerate the process, but even calm years see the shoreline retreating. Engineers have learned that “hard fixes” like bulkheads or seawalls often worsen erosion elsewhere, which is why beach nourishment and dune restoration are preferred methods—even if temporary.

Watching this as someone who has spent decades here is humbling. The beaches hold memories, but they are never static. Nature moves sand on its own timeline, and our best work is understanding and adapting to these changes. We can’t stop the cycles, but we can respect them—replenishing where we can, protecting dunes, and remembering that the coastline is a living, shifting landscape.

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