Plum Island & Newburyport River Town

A 4,700-acre refuge occupying most of Plum Island — the 9-mile barrier island at the Merrimack River's mouth, with 6 miles of open Atlantic beach and one of the most important migratory bird stopover sites on the Atlantic coast. The shorebird flats in late July and August concentrate 30+ species of sandpipers and plovers; snowy owls use the island in winter. The beach is open for swimming from the Sandy Point parking area at the island's south end.

A Newburyport restaurant on Inn Street, serving Portuguese and Mediterranean-influenced New England cuisine in a handsome brick-and-wood room. The bacalhau croquettes, the wood-roasted clams, and the house-made pastas using local squid and New England shellfish are the kitchen's consistent strengths. The wine list emphasizes the Alentejo and Douro alongside New England small producers.

The 3-block commercial corridor on State and Pleasant streets preserves the Federal-era commercial architecture intact from the rebuilding that followed the 1811 fire — uniform brick facades, granite storefronts, and counting house windows above the street-level shops. The Custom House Maritime Museum in the 1835 Custom House documents Newburyport's 18th-century role as the most prosperous port in Massachusetts outside Boston.

A 1.5-mile promenade along the Merrimack River, with views across to the Plum Island light and the chain ferry that has crossed to the island since 1637. The Waterfront Park's public dock is used by whale watch vessels operating to Stellwagen Bank, 30 miles offshore — the most productive whale watching ground on the East Coast.