I've had a decades long relationship with northern Essex County, but always being a passenger…read moreinstead of a diver I had some erroneous concepts about borders and boundaries. For instance I thought north of the Gillis Bridge was New Hampshire. Well, after my last visit I not only disabused myself of that misconception as a driver, but as a walker. As drawbridge for automobile traffic it's an average span, but as Elmer's review from 2010 notes, it's a (now) great, but not perfect bridge for pedestrian traffic. There is a small parking lot on the Salisbury side at the Eastern March Trail trailhead which has 1.4 miles of beautiful salt marsh scenery. There is a walkway leading south to the west side of the bridge, under it with several paintings and "Humphrey" a whale made from rebar, then north to the east side of the bridge and the pedestrian walkway. I crossed about 9am in mid-August so there wasn't a ton of automobile traffic on the bridge. That helped with my mild vertigo, but the walkway is only about 4 feet wide and the railing seemed to be about 3 to 3.5 feet high. The plus side is even when it's foggy you get some spectacular views of marinas and harbor. At the south end of the bridge you do the reverse of the north end - north on east side, west under bridge, south on west side which then leads you to the Clipper City Rail trail that has more public art than one could hope for and which terminates at the Newburyport T station. If one is staying in the vicinity of the harbor, one could easily walk to the station and travel into Boston.

There's plenty to see at the Gillis Bridge, which crosses the Merrimack River via US-1 between…read moreNewburyport and Salisbury, Massachusetts. (see photos) While the bridge itself provides good service to vehicular traffic, it's pedestrian access leaves much to be desired. Constructed in 1976, the bridge was named after gas station owner, Andrew Jackson "Bossy" Gillis, who served several (not always consecutive) terms as Mayor of Newburyport from the 1920's to 1960. A network of bike trails converge at the Gillis Bridge. The East Cost Greenway is like the I-95 of bike trails, connecting (at least on paper) the Canadian border at Calais, Maine, with Key West, Florida. In addition, the Old Eastern Marsh Trail, the Newburyport Harborwalk Rail Trail and the Clipper City Rail Trail all connect to the bridge. An upcoming construction project in 2011 on the Salisbury side will add a pathway under the bridge as an alternative to crossing busy 4-lane US-1. Unfortunately, there's only one narrow sidewalk on the Eastern side of the bridge, and walking across the draw span is a little spooky. But there are interesting parks at either side of the Gillis Bridge that are worth visiting. On the Salisbury Side, informative signs tell the history of rail and road bridges at this location on the Merrimack River. An abandoned railroad bridge remains relatively intact, parallel to the Gillis Bridge. It would be nice if someday the rail bridge could be used for the trailway, but it would be expensive to implement because it's swing span would need to be operable. On the Newburyport side, there are lovely little "park areas" along the pathways, with interesting sculpture and other artwork to enjoy. One of the nicest features are the most comfortable park benches I've ever seen! They're sort of like recliners, and have extra little things to put your feet up on and relax while taking in spectacular views of the Merrimack River. Better pedestrian access over the bridge would give it at least another star. But even as it is, the Gillis Bridge is a very nice place to stop and enjoy a bit of Massachusetts history with riparian entertainment.

My now fiancé took me to the lighthouse to propose. It was the most romantic perfect proposal that…read moreI could ever dream of. He booked a dinner session (~5:00 pm-10:30 pm) for a Sunday in May. He had his friend arrive at 5 to set up the decorations (flowers, candles, signs) and our private hostess Pam let her up. We arrived at 6 pm and once we got upstairs, he handed his phone to Pam to record his proposal. After the proposal, we went outside on the balcony where Pam took sunset pictures of us with my ring. We then decided to order from Modern Oak Grill which was absolutely delicious. Pam was able to time out our meal so each course was ~ 20 min apart. She also had drinks in ice staying cold for us. There was also a stereo system that allowed bluetooth capacity so we were able to pair my phone and I could play a spotify playlist. Overall the location was perfect and I could not have asked for anything better. We will definitely be coming back for future anniversaries! Just something to consider: - There are many stairs and a ladder so maybe steer away from heels or long dresses (thankfully I was prewarned to not wear them haha), and if you are afraid of heights, this might not be the best place. - If you want to go out on the balcony you have to crawl through a short door so be warned - If you are tall watch your head! My fiancé is 6'3 and he hit his head a couple times on the chandelier. - there is no bathroom, we used the restaurant next door but by the time we left the lighthouse around 9:30 pm, the restaurant had closed.

Lights views and…read morefood The Newburyport Rear Range Lighthouse was constructed in 1873 and was roughly 32 feet tall. As implied in it's name it is actually one of two lighthouses that sits here on the Merrick River and it's shorter Front Range partner is about a hundred yards away. The twin light ideas was pretty common at one time but proved complicated to use and was abandoned. This light was renovated in 1901 and it's height increased to 53 feet and it continued to serve until it was decommissioned in 1961. Since lighthouses require a lot of money for maintenance someone had the great idea of renting the top of the light out for dinners. It isn't exactly inexpensive but you can reserve dinner at the top of the lighthouse and have the food delivered from one of the area restaurants. Only about four people can squeeze up there at one time and you have to kind of simmer up a small ladder to get to the top but the views, ambiance and uniqueness can't be beat. I like this lighthouse because it is unique, no other looks quite like it. Plus it has another little light only a short distance away and beautiful views of a lovely town and cool river. And if you are willing to drop a couple of hundred bucks you can even have dinner at the top. Doesn't get much cooler than that.

Pam was amazing! She made our stay wonderful. The view was…read moregorgeous and it was fun watching the boats and water

Fires lights and…read morecoasts The town of Newburyport has a long ship building and nautical history, mostly because of it's location right on the Merrimack River. The river empties in to the sea and is wide enough for some large ships to go into Newburyport. Unfortunately the river can also be very treacherous. Lots of huge storms, fog and currants turns the lovely river into a real killer at times. Many ships have been lost trying to get into Newburyport. So the good people of the town decided that something had to be done to make it safe. At first huge bonfires were lit to help guide the way up the river but that proved less than satisfactory. So in 1873 a lighthouse was construction at the point where the river narrows into the town. In fact two lighthouses were built. Having two lights was once thought to make things easier for ships to judge angles and distances but frequently proved to just makes things more complicated. The idea was to have a small one in front and then a taller one in the back to contrast the first light. With the fog and other variables it never worked quite as well as advertised and the idea soon fell out of use. The front range lighthouse in Newburyport is small, only about 25 feet tall and right next to the river. It originally had a 6th order Fresnel Lens that was later removed. It served it's purpose of guiding ships into the town until it was deactivated in 1961. It still is a very cool looking little light but is frequently neglected and ignored because of the looming presence of the much taller rear range light just a few hundred feet away. The light is now part of the Coast Guard Station and is blocked off by a fence. But nice views can be had if you go right down to the river and peer around the fence. Don't try to actually go on the CG property, I learned the hard way that they don't like that. It's a little light but one that did it's lighthouse duties for decades. Survived all kinds of storms and everything else nature could throw at it. It's no longer is active but still a cool part of the maritime history of Newburyport.

To be honest - I think I love this bridge the most because of its color. It's blue. It's a happy…read moreshade of blue. That and I'm usually heading to Salisbury beach and I know to exit as soon as I cross the bridge.

Yes, I review bridges on Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/collection/abcC5X49U7tk5Zl1kqfzEw…read more We took I-95 from Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine and back. There were a couple bridges we had to cross along that stretch: (1) this bridge, the John Greenleaf Whittier Bridge, which crosses the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and (2) the Piscataqua River Bridge, which crosses the Piscataqua River and the New Hampshire-Maine border: https://www.yelp.com/biz/piscataqua-river-bridge-portsmouth The Whittier Bridge is newer, wider, and nicer than the Piscataqua River Bridge, but it's shorter. The current version of the Whittier Bridge opened in 2017; Piscataqua, 1972. It's four lanes in either direction (eight lanes total); Piscataqua, three/six. The Whittier Bridge has a walking and biking trail, the William Lloyd Garrison Trail, that runs alongside it; Piscataqua does not. The Whittier Bridge is only about a quarter-mile long compared to the Piscataqua River Bridge which is closer to a mile (about 0.85 miles). The Whittier Bridge felt safe. It had picturesque views of the river and trees, and the network arch design of the bridge looked nice. Good signage too. There was light traffic in both directions when we drove through on a Thursday afternoon and a Sunday morning. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) and William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) were both abolitionists from Massachusetts. Whittier was a poet and Garrison was a journalist.

We paid for a steam boat but bc some company bought the steam boat for the night, they crammed us…read moreon the boat from jaws. Same price. If they say challenger, don't book. It's a tiny boat with limited seating. It looks like a fishing boat.

Top notch experience! They are very well organized from the instructions you receive after…read moreregistering to the check-in process and parking for $5 for the duration of your trip. It was great that it was a live narration rather than a recording. So many interesting facts along the way. We took the shoals island tour that included 1 hour at Star Island. The option to take a 1/2 hour tour or explore on your own for about an hour was available. Plenty of time to look around. Snacks and drinks available in boats are affordable or you can bring your own snacks. Overall a great experience.

3.9-mile loop surrounds the beautiful coastal city of Newburyport. I start the trail at the marina…read morefollowing the old railroad path, until reaching the yacht club, and follow behind the residential neighborhood until I reach Parker Street. I do the entire loop. I only have to be on the road for short distance with my bike. There is so much to see that you will want to stop and rest and take it all in. I especially love the trail art sculptures, murals, planters, and the views from the Harborwalk on the Merrimack. The gardens attract so many birds and monarch butterflies. The residents maintain the butterfly garden who DONATE all the plants, mulch, and artwork to this amazing garden. The residents even provide birdseed for the birdfeeders. The murals along the abutment wall on Route one underpass are incredible and love the "native fish". The path is wide enough (6 foot) to allow the bike riders, walkers, runners, and dog walkers room to pass. Don't forget the indigenous edible wild garden along the trail blueberries, cranberries, rosehips, and strawberries to name a few.