Outdoor Activities: Overview

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You bask in the sun. You're at ease with sand between your toes. The sound of rolling waves is music to your ears. You're a lover of all things beach — and you'll feel right at home in Massachusetts.

So where do you begin? That depends on where in the Bay State you happen to find yourself. In the Boston area, visit Revere Beach, America's first public beach. North of Boston, head to Crane Beach in Ipswich, one of the most picturesque swimming beaches in all of New England, or swim though history at Walden Pond in Concord, where Henry David Thoreau once lived. South of Boston, grab your surfboard and ride the waves at Nantasket Beach in Hull and Nauset Beach on Cape Cod. And to the west, fresh water abounds on Bell Pond in Worcester and Lake Mattawa in Orange.

Quick Hits

Do like the locals and visit L Street Beach in Boston...Go bird watching North of Boston at Parker River Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island...Visit Race Point Beach, on the very tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown...Head south to Duxbury Beach, Horseneck Beach Reservation or Surfside Beach in Nantucket.