Newburyport/Plum Island.

NewburyPort is so underused... these pictures are off my phone along a bike ride I took from Newburyport along a Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and so close by! Take a weekend day trip and feel as if you've spent a weekend in the Cape (if not better).

"The island is separated - barely - from the mainland by the Parker River; the northern tip is at the mouth of the Merrimac River. Most of Plum Island (the southern part) is the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, but the northern portion is densely settled with both year-round and seasonal residents. The architecture is an almost unbelievable jumble of old beach cottages, comfortable saltboxes, standard residential homes, intriguing modest little treasures, and oceanfront trophy houses.

Virtually the entire oceanfront is beautiful public beach, although much of it is accessible only by foot. There are boardwalks in the Refuge that take you through the dunes and out onto the beach; these are great for sightseeing or birdwatching or just calming down." -http://www.plum-island.com