Driving Tour

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With a map and a willingness for trial and error, orient yourself approaching town on Route 114 (Pleasant Street).  It eventually intersects with Washington Street, the historic main street winding from uptown through Old Town, where the most notable landmarks are located.

Get to the start of one-way Front Street to drive along the harbor and out to the views from Fort Sewall, the 1742 fortification at the mouth of the harbor, where during the War of 1812 the frigate Constitution found shelter from the pursuing British.

Another good view is from Old Burial Hill off Orne Street, one of the oldest graveyards (1638) in New England; a plaque notes that 600 Revolutionary heroes and several early pastors are interred at the top of the hill, the highest point in town. Return to Pleasant Street and head west to Ocean Avenue, the access route to Marblehead Neck.

At the causeway is Devereux Beach, a sandy strand for sunning and swimming. The other side of the causeway overlooks Marblehead Harbor with all its moored pleasure craft and affords vistas of Old Town and Marblehead Neck.

Turn left on Harbor Avenue and then Foster Avenue and pass the posh Eastern and Corinthian yacht clubs and lovely homes beside the harbor.

At the tip of the neck is Chandler Hovey Park, where protected benches on the rocks are good vantage points to see Marblehead Light and the passing boats.

Continue around to Ocean Avenue with a stop at the alley leading to Castle Rock (one of the many public access points to the water throughout Marblehead). The rock may be of less interest than the multi-million-dollar castle residence beside.

More palatial homes face the ocean on the way to the Audubon Bird Sanctuary, unmarked but reached off Risley Road.

Head back to the causeway and where Ocean Avenue intersects with Harbor Avenue you’ll be greeted by a stunning view of the Boston skyline across the water.