Salisbury MA Area Info

Thanks to its location directly at the mouth of the Merrimack River, Salisbury developed around fishing, boatbuilding and the railroad. The town was incorporated in 1640, and the first beachfront house went up in 1865. Soon after that, people began flocking to the shore for relaxation and salt air, which most people – especially city-dwellers – considered a health tonic.  

 

Salisbury Beach really hit its stride as a summer resort early in the 20^th century, with grand hotels, amusement parks, seafood eateries, and concert halls featuring national acts. Although that heyday eventually slowed, Salisbury Beach is booming again, with new development, including upscale restaurants and condominiums. Live music is back, too, and the town even sponsors free concerts and fireworks every Saturday night in summer.

 

There’s so much more to Salisbury than just the beach. It has a classic New England green at the town center, and there are small farms, close residential neighborhoods, forest land, and marinas. The town’s most unique section, Rings Island, has a bit of Nantucket flavor with historic homes and views of the river, marshland and downtown Newburyport.

 

All year long, people enjoy Salisbury Beach State Reservation, the most-visited state park in Massachusetts, for its four miles of sandy beach along the river and ocean. The facilities there include a very popular campground, a playground, showers, ample parking (4,000 cars) and a boat ramp.

 

Salisbury sits on the north shore of the Merrimack River’s mouth, approximately 42 miles northeast of Boston. The town is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Merrimack River and Newburyport, and to the west by Amesbury. It is the northernmost town on the Massachusetts coast, with New Hampshire immediately to the north.