The campground is located right at the base of the Merrimac River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. You are truly at the beach in this campground! If fishing is your gig, bring your surf casting rod and take your chances with the stripers.
We took Friday off from work and headed out mid-morning for the coast. It was a little cool and windy on the way out but it was still a beautiful ride. We took route 10 from Southwick to Route 91 in Northampton. We followed 91 to Route 2 up in Greenfield and took 2 east.
The western end of route 2 offers a few beautiful things to look at along the way. You have the French King's Bridge, the Mill River, and a few parks and recreation areas along the way.
We followed route 2 out to Route 495 and headed north. We took exit 55 off of 495 onto 110 and followed 110 east to Route 1A. The campground is just a few miles further up on the right.
On Saturday, we jumped on the bikes and headed up 1A north and ran the coast for a while. This takes you through Hampton Beach (great shopping on the strip), on up into North Hampton, and in to Rye. There's some breathtaking views and some beautiful houses along this route. Watch the video above if you'd like to see a little of what we did. It's a little grainy but I hope to update that shortly.
We ran up to Rye Harbor where we stopped and made reservations for a whale watch. I was a little skeptical about doing another one of these as we'd tried one several years back out of Hampton Beach and ended up on a miserable trip with little success.
I had hoped to purchase some lobsters and steamers for dinner at Rye Harbor as there's a small shack called the Lobster Pound that normally sells these things fresh. Unfortunately, they were closed.
We turned back and started heading back towards the campground. As we were passing the docks near Hampton Beach, we noticed another shack selling fresh seafood. We turned back and grabbed our lobsters and steamers for dinner. What an amazing meal we had that evening!
The following day, Chris and I took the kids out on the whale watch while my brother-in-law and sister-in-law went for another ride up 1A. They followed 1A all the way up to York Beach in ME. They had a blast!
We packed up on Monday and started the trek back home. The temperature's were perfect! After we got about 30 miles inland, we pulled off the jackets and were riding in short sleeves! We followed the same route back home but stopped at the Wagon Wheel around Greenfield along the way. The food was a bit slow to get but it was a great meal!
If you're ever looking for a weekend trip, give this one a try!