Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Massachusetts, United States

4Maurene_K 5:00 PM Aug 29, 2022

FALL 2021 VISIT - VISITOR CENTER WAS CLOSED BUT GROUNDS OPEN
On several visits to Newburyport, I’ve visited the Parker River NWR and its visitor center. I really like the video. It's a must-see for first-timers. On this visit, I would have liked to watch the video about the refuge again, but the visitor center building was closed due to COVID; however, the grounds open. I walked and looked around for about 30 minutes. There were no signs of any birds at that time, but being outside in the fresh air in a natural area was worth the visit, and I enjoyed it. This coming fall, I plan to revisit and also go to the main part of the refuge during migration time. I rate my experience for this visit at 4.0. The reason for the delay in submitting this review was due to a months-long loss of my ability to post photos with my reviews. If you found this review useful, please click HELPFUL.

4SD5 5:00 PM Aug 1, 2020

Plan your visit
My husband and I went here in hopes of getting our steps in for the day. I made the assumption there were plenty of walking trails. We joined a short line of cars to enter the park for $5. There is a lesser fee for walkers and bike riders. We didn’t have a map or any sense of where we were heading. There were signs at the entrance that stated the Sandy Point beach lot was full and there was no parking. We asked at the entry kiosk about other ways to see the refuge and were given a parking lot recommendation. We were just looking for a place to walk so the beach wasn’t a priority for us. We first stopped at the Pine Tree trail which was the recommended lot 5. It was a .3 mile walk and didn’t satisfy our walking needs. We did see the beach to gaze at here but could not go on it. That was fine with us. The refuge trail was closed which I knew in advance. The Hellcat trail was also closed as it’s under construction. This I didn’t know. I looked on the website but never got a feel for what I was going to be able to see. I expected plenty of access points for walking. We spent time in and out of the car looking for walkways and small parking lots that were full. We found a spot in a lot that wasn’t the closest lot to the beach an decided to walk down to the beach to see the Sandy Point hot spot. We came across cars lined up waiting for parking spots to open up in the very small beach lot. Some wait 45 min to 2 hours idling in their cars hoping for someone to leave. The beach spots fill up early. If you get one you can enjoy a nice private spot on the beach. We took a quick look at the beach, didn’t see anywhere else to go and headed back to our car and out of the refuge. The road the refuge is on is a single, long, winding road that ends at the beach but there is no sidewalk. It turns into a gravel road well before arriving at the beach. Cars traveling on it create a bit of a dust up making it unpleasant for walkers and those riding bikes. I would turnaround before the road turns to gravel if walking or on a bike. Plan better than I did. Bird watchers and those looking to get on the beach early will appreciate this spot in the summer.