Hurricane Erin battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes on Wednesday. While Erin won’t make landfall in New England, forecasters said it could regain strength and once again become a major hurricane, Category 3 or greater, on its trek north.

As of Monday morning, there were 54 beaches closed across the Bay State, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s interactive beach water quality dashboard. Nearly all of those bodies of water are closed due to harmful bacteria levels, the dashboard indicated.

On Tuesday, 54 beaches across the state are still closed, 37 of them due to high levels of bacteria in the water, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Several factors, including stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff, sanitary sewer overflows, leaking sewer pipes and wildlife or animal waste, can cause this.

Heading into this weekend, 33 Massachusetts beaches are closed. Here's the full list. The following MA beaches, listed by town, are closed as of Thursday, July 24: Ashland: Hopkinton Reservoir Upper Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom) Cook's Brook (Bacterial Exceedance) Winchendon: Lake Dennison State Park at North Camp Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

Hurricane Erin far off the Massachusetts coast will still spark ‘life-threatening swimming and surfing conditions’

Although fewer beaches are closed across Massachusetts on Thursday than compared with Wednesday, dozens are still closed to the public.

Last year, the state reported the third highest rate ever of beaches testing positive for dangerous levels of bacteria.

This short but worthwhile drive around an underrated corner of the Bay State offers stops at pretty seaside towns, stunning beaches, and seafood options.