In the two months since calendars crowded with activities and appointments were wiped clean by the coronavirus pandemic, many have headed outdoors for exercise and emotional well-being. In March and April, two months when beach and park attendance typically is sparse in Connecticut, crowds flocked to these locations. Spiking attendance forced some closures at the most popular, and crowded, parks.

Now Memorial Day weekend is upon us and the virus threat not yet behind us. With warmer temperatures sure to soon send even more isolation-weary residents outdoors, local and state officials are grappling with making decisions about how to open beaches while striving to ensure public health. This is happening even as the picture of what safe beach-going in the age of coronavirus looks like has not yet come into focus. As such, it’s likely mistakes will be made as officials search for the correct balance between public access and public health and safety.

There have been missteps, for example, in Florida and southern California, where warmer temperatures send crowds to beaches much earlier in the season than in Connecticut. There, residents already have dealt with wildly fluctuating beach closings and openings, along with a disparity of regulations and protocols. Some beaches that were off-limits at the height of stay-at-home directives, were then fully opened only to shortly thereafter again have access severely limited when beachgoers ignored public safety protocols calling for social distancing. Meanwhile, beachgoers in some Florida locations are now prohibited from spreading blankets and unfolding chairs. Officials hope to limit time spent — and thus, the crowds — on the sand.

In Connecticut, we know officials are planning and considering a wide variety of issues involved in preparing for the prime beach season: everything from cleaning protocols to keeping lifeguards safe and healthy. We know state and local officials aspire to smooth operations for beaches and parks. But given the uncharted territory, there are bound to be missteps here as we’ve witnessed in other states. In anticipation of this, we ask that beachgoers, even when summer heat makes tempers flare, to be as flexible and forgiving as possible this season.

While we know there are no easy answers for beach oversight as we head into a summer like no other, we believe smart beach-going should not mean prohibiting non-residents from seeking some shoreline respite. This issue was settled by the courts years ago. We ask East Lyme officials, and other communities who decided on such restrictions, to reverse course.

Perhaps a fairer method to control crowds might be to institute the type of odd-even license plate restrictions put in place during the 1973 oil crisis. Beaches could open to those with even numbered license plates (or the first half of the alphabet) on specified days and to those with odd-numbered plates on the opposite days.

The alcohol prohibition currently common at many beaches should be extended to all this season. Alcohol consumption increases the probability for disputes and carelessness, asking for trouble at a time when tempers already are likely to be frayed.

Directives put in place in some jurisdictions that open beaches only to walkers and swimmers, as opposed to sitters and loungers, might be well-meaning, but we believe such rules discriminate against those with health issues that limit mobility. It would also be tough to enforce. We cannot support this manner of crowd control.

As officials seek to create a roadmap for the 2020 beach season, we applaud their efforts. Careful planning will mean the beaches will welcome visitors, even as the number of visitors must be limited and facilities and services dialed back.

Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal in August 1853: “Nature is doing her best each moment to make us well. She exists for no other end.”

There is little doubt we all need the healing forces of nature, including in the form of sand, sun, and surf, more than ever this summer.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.