Plum Island is a 6-mile long barrier beach that extends south of Newburyport. Most of it makes up the Parker River Wildlife Refuge, which is visited seasonally by nearly 300 bird species.

This walk is a nice introduction to the extraordinary diversity of the Plum Island scenery. You will walk both on the beach and on the main Refuge road, which offers wonderful views on the Plum Island River marshes and the Broad Sound.

Leave your car on parking lot 1 on your left after the Refuge entrance. Walk up the boardwalk at the far end of the lot to access the beach. Start walking south (on your right) on the beach. You will first see a beach access road and another boardwalk a bit more than 0.5 mile after your departure point. After about 1 mile on the beach, you will see another boardwalk that connects back to the main road. Take it across the dunes to arrive back at the main road. Turn right on the road to retrace your steps and walk back to your car. Allow about 2 hours for the walk at a leisure pace.

Once back at the parking lot, you can also take your car to explore the Refuge further. One nice stop is parking lot 4. There, you’ll find an observation tower – climb it up to get a feel for Plum Island’s lay of the land. Then, walk back on the main road for about 100 yards to explore Hellcat Swamp Trail, which extends on both sides of the road. There is a photography blind at the end of the trail that will have children and adults alike excited!

You can also drive further south to the tip of the island. From that point you will drive on a gravel road, so drive safely and watch for pedestrians and bikers. Sandy Point State Reservation is the end of the road, at the tip of the island. There is another observation tower there which offers a nice view on Broad Sound, protected from the ocean by Plum Island. You can also access the beach, though you may find more people there than elsewhere on the beach. Drive back the way you came on the Refuge road. If you are back when the sun starts to set, stop again at the observation at the parking lot 4 and enjoy the silence – most visitors will have probably left by then. Watch for deer, which appear often along the road between there and parking lot 2 in the evening.