Recently, we took a day trip to Newburyport with our two kids as well as my parents. Some would call it a day trip, but we like to call it an adventure day (it’s all about the marketing!). We love to pile everyone in the car and take off to another town for the day. It’s such a fun way to explore the area we live in and at the end of the day, it feels like you’ve taken a mini vacation.
After deciding that we would like the car ride to be about an hour and we would love to be near some water, Newburyport came up as a great option. We spent a bit of Saturday morning doing rough planning. My mom, my son, and I have significant food allergies so most of our research involved finding some restaurant options that would be feasible for all of us. After that, everyone put on sunscreen, packed up some snacks and water, and we headed out! The ride was up 495 to 95 easy enough, though we did hit some traffic. But a quick round of the license plate game kept the mood light.
Kicking Off the Day
Our first stop was Riverwalk Brewing Co. for some lunch. We were seated in a spacious, mulched outdoor area filled with picnic tables (and nice big umbrellas for shade!). We ordered some beers and pretzels as we perused the rest of the menu. Between us all, we tried their sandwiches, hot dogs, pizzas, and salads. All of it was tasty and just what we needed to get started on our day.
Since the brewery was more for the grown-ups, we made sure our next stop was more kid-focused. It was a quick drive over to Moseley Woods. After parking, a brief walk brings you to swings, slides, and climbing structures. There is a giant concrete dinosaur to explore too! Something about this playground being amongst the tall pines made it feel a bit magical.
Even after the kid’s cheeks turned rosy from running up the stairs for the slides roughly 100 times, it was still hard to pull them away! The promise of a great water view was the convincing factor. We walked behind the covered pavilion space and found our way down to the banks of the Merrimack River. We cooled down here a bit, looked at the bright blue-colored Whittier Bridge that carries 95 over the river, and enjoyed seeing boats cruise by before heading back to the car for our next stop.
Getting to Downtown
After we had our fill of exploring in the woods, we headed to downtown Newburyport. There are a few public parking lots and a parking garage available. It took us a few minutes to find a spot, but it was doable.
We strolled down the waterfront boardwalk and found a great place to sit. We people-watched and boat-watched for quite some time while the kids had a quick snack. A loud horn sounded and soon our kids were thrilled to see the bridge that carries Rt 1 traffic over the river going up to allow a tall sailboat to pass through.
Strolling around the downtown area, we found a cute shop called The Candy Man where the kids each picked out a treat and enjoyed watching the small train go around the ceiling of the store!
We ended the day with a delicious meal at The Black Cow. I enjoyed some fresh sushi while others sampled the burgers, pasta, and soup. The service was great, the view from the deck seating was lovely, and the food and drink were perfect. Another note, we have many food allergies in our crew and they were very accommodating and made sure we all felt safe with our meal selections.
More to See
We loved visiting Newburyport for the day and know that there are so many wonderful spots we didn’t visit this time. We definitely want to explore Maudslay State Park on our next visit here. I love leaving something else to do for a reason to return in the future. What should we add to our list for our next trip to Newburyport?
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