Massachusetts, United States — Towns & Travel Guide

What is Massachusetts known for?

Massachusetts is known as the Bay State, a New England corner of the United States shaped by the three great bays along its Atlantic coast. The sea runs through it. Its shores drew the Pilgrims to Provincetown long ago, and travellers still come for Boston, the outer beaches, and the offshore ground of Martha's Vineyard in the open Atlantic Ocean.

Vineyards work the milder islands.

Where is Massachusetts?

Massachusetts lies in New England, a small state of the United States set on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine. The sea marks its east. The Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine wash a deeply cut coastline of three great bays, capes, and offshore islands, chief among them Martha's Vineyard.

Inland, the ground rises west. New York forms the western boundary, with Vermont and New Hampshire to the north and Connecticut and Rhode Island along the southern edge. Boston stands on the bays. The harbour city gathers the coast at the head of its bays, while Provincetown marks the far outer tip of the shoreline and the milder islands lie out in the open Atlantic Ocean.

Vineyards take to the islands. The land is small but varied. From the outer beaches of the Atlantic Ocean to the hills that rise toward New York, the state of Massachusetts folds a long coast, three broad bays, and a wooded interior into the compact ground of New England.

Its three bays gave the Bay State its name, and the Gulf of Maine curves along the northern shore.

What is Massachusetts like?

Massachusetts holds the old character of New England, a small state of the United States whose life has always turned toward the sea. The Bay State earned its name. Its three bays and long Atlantic coast drew the Pilgrims ashore at Provincetown, and that early landing still marks the identity of the region.

Boston sets the tone. The harbour city gives the state its urban and cultural weight, a New England centre of learning and old maritime trade on the Atlantic Ocean. Out on the water, life changes.

The islands, chief among them Martha's Vineyard, keep a slower seasonal rhythm of beaches, fishing, and vineyards that sets them apart from the mainland of Massachusetts. The sea binds it all. From Provincetown to Boston, the state keeps its face to the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the three bays of the mainland and out among the offshore islands of New England, the culture of Massachusetts stays tied to fishing, sailing, and the long story of arrival on these shores of the United States. The bays shape everything. Vineyards ripen on the milder islands.

What is the history of Massachusetts?

Massachusetts entered the United States in 1788, one of the founding members of the young republic. Its roots reach back to the Pilgrims. They came ashore near Provincetown on the outer coast, and from those early landings on the bays grew the colony that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with Boston rising as its chief port on the Atlantic Ocean.

That founding still frames the state.

What is the climate of Massachusetts?

Massachusetts has a temperate climate cooled by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine along its coast. Snow and hard cold settle over Massachusetts through the winter. The sea holds the seasons in check along the three bays and out on the islands like Martha's Vineyard, where the water keeps the milder edge, while the inland ground toward New York turns sharper in winter.

Summers stay warm and humid.

How do you get to Massachusetts?

Massachusetts is reached mainly through Boston, the harbour city at the head of its bays on the Atlantic Ocean. Roads run out from the coast. From Boston, land routes cross west toward New York and north into New Hampshire and Vermont, while ferries carry travellers out to the islands, chief among them Martha's Vineyard, in the open Atlantic Ocean.

Beyond that, travel is by water.