• Strolling Around Gloucester (MA): While nearby Rockport is often swamped with tourists, the fishing town of Gloucester really delivers the flavor of maritime New England. Walk around the harbor, take a boat tour, and then plunk yourself down at a seafood restaurant with great water views.

  • Getting Back to Nature on Plum Island (MA): The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge offers two varieties of coastal scenery: picturesque salt marshes packed with birds and other animals, and pristine ocean beaches that bear witness to the power of the Atlantic.

  • Biking or Driving the Outer Cape (MA): From Eastham through Wellfleet and Truro, all the way to Provincetown, Cape Cod’s outermost towns offer dazzling ocean vistas and a number of exceptional bike paths, including the Province Lands trail, just outside Provincetown, bordered by spectacular swooping dunes.

  • Heading “Up-Island” on Martha’s Vineyard (MA): Many visitors never venture beyond the ferry port towns of Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, and Edgartown. Too bad, because the scenery gets more spectacular “up-island.” At the western tip of the Vineyard, admire the quaint fishing port of Menemsha, then get that lands-end thrill at the multi-colored sea cliffs of Aquinnah.

  • Cruising Newport’s Ocean Drive (RI): After touring some of the fabulously opulent mansions along Bellevue Avenue, continue by car or bike on shoreline Ocean Avenue. You’re in for views of the dancing Atlantic that truly wow, as you drive or pedal past beaches, members-only yacht clubs, historic estates, and oceanside state parks.

  • Walking the Marginal Way (ME): Don’t be surprised to spy students and instructors from the Ogunquit Summer School of Art painting en plein air as you follow this just-over-a-mile-long, clifftop path overlooking Atlantic Ocean fireworks. From downtown Ogunquit’s Shore Road to Perkins Cove, you’ll not only marvel at dramatic scenes, you’ll be enchanted by the rhythmic sea symphony.

  • Driving the Park Loop Road at Acadia National Park (Mount Desert Island, ME): This is the region’s premier ocean drive. You’ll start high along a ridge with views of Frenchman Bay and the Porcupine Islands, then dip down along the rocky shores to watch the surf crash against the dark rocks. Plan to do this 27-mile loop at least twice to get the most out of it. 

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.