The commuter rail runs seven days a week between Boston and various towns in the greater Boston area—including those along the North Shore, such as Salem and other quaint, coastal towns.
Recently, a professor suggested exploring Newburyport—the final stop on the Newburyport and Rockport line of the commuter rail. I had a friend visiting from home at the beginning of spring break, so we packed a backpack and headed out for the day!
We made it to the North Station 15 minutes before our 10 a.m. train. A round-trip ticket costs about $24 and can be purchased and accessed through the MBTA mTicket app. We went on a Monday, but on weekends, tickets are only $10.
The ride was just over an hour, and we reached the Newburyport stop around 11:10 a.m. From there, it was a 20-minute walk into town along the Clipper City Rail Trail. This is a paved bike and pedestrian path which connects the train station to the waterfront. It was flat, quiet, and nearly impossible to miss.
The waterfront is beautiful, and another pedestrian walkway follows alongside—even complete with a few swinging benches! We stopped at Port City Sandwich Company, picked up lunch for later, then continued along the waterfront and headed for Riverside Cycle.
We were lucky with a warm day in early March, so we rented bikes for $35 each. Fun fact: We were their first rentals of the year! The staff was excited and even featured us on their Instagram.
We left the shop and biked to Plum Island, which features beaches and wildlife just a few (flat) miles away from downtown. We went to the North Point and admired the Plum Island lighthouse, then walked on the beach and took in the view. While biking, we passed a tiny airport and the landmark “Pink House”—which was demolished the very next day!
After our beach walk, we ate our lunch by the lighthouse and soaked in the sun before getting back on the bikes for more exploring and heading back into town to return them. There is definitely more we could have explored on Plum Island, including a 20-mile bike loop (ours was closer to 10), other beaches, and, in the summer months, a couple of shops and restaurants!
We returned the bikes and decided to explore downtown Newburyport. There are several blocks of picturesque shops and restaurants. We had a lot of fun browsing in places like “Partridge in a Bear Tree.” Downtown also had homemade fudge and several ice cream stores.
After a successful day, we walked back to the train station and caught the 5 p.m. train back to Boston’s North Station.
I would 100% recommend checking out Newburyport for an easy day trip off campus!
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