A "Plum" day for a ride

Plum Island's salt marshes

Date: Sept 5, 2008
Time: Early afternoon
Length: about 4 hours
Place: Parker River National Refuge, Plum Island, MA
Distance: 12 miles round trip
Grade: A
Notes: The storms of Hurricane's Hannah and Ike may be looming, but today was a day for the record books, and a perfect day for a beachside bike ride.

So we loaded up the bikes and headed for Parker River National Refuge, which is the official name of Plum Island, a six-mile long strand of beach and salt marsh located just south of Newburyport, MA.

The beaches of the refuge are accessed by a two-lane road that stretches the length of island. This road served as the bike trail for our ride today. It passes designated parking and observation areas, where boardwalks lead to open beach areas and observation platforms. The paved road gives way to gravel near the half way point, and ends at the state-run Sandy Point Beach.


Plants and vegetation along the beach access road


We didn't plan on spending time at the beach, but that's what happened when we reached the end of the refuge access road. After an hour of sunshine and wading in the water, we hit the gravel road for the ride back to our car. Along the way, we stopped at a couple of the various observation platforms, and took some obligatory pics of each other all geared up in our bike wear.


Lisa enjoys the view during a quick stop


All in all, it was a great day for a ride, and a great ride for the day.