The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a long-standing tradition of taking steps to preserve the environment – for our residents, for future generations, and for you, our visitors. And we’re continually expanding our environmental efforts by taking advantage of new, innovative technologies – many developed in Massachusetts.

When you visit Massachusetts, you’ll see solar arrays and wind turbines – evidence of renewable energy programs at work. You’ll discover our hotels and restaurants are making determined efforts to reduce energy, water, and waste and to provide a healthy environment for guests and employees. Our chefs are teaming up with local farmers to present delicious locally-sourced meals. And the Natural Resources Defense Council recently named Boston as the top green city on the East Coast.

An array of public and private transportation options means you can go car-free in Boston and several other areas of the state. Bike trails and dedicated bike lanes make it easy to pedal around.

And thanks to land and wildlife conservation efforts, you’ll find lots of opportunities to enjoy great landscapes; view wildlife; and hike, bike, and paddle through the countryside, along the coast, and in urban areas.

While you’re here, we’ve got places you can go to see some of our environmental programs in action. Plus fun green activities and tips on what you can do to be a green traveler.

So, here are some ideas to get you started on your next Massachusetts green getaway.

Click here to watch an interview with MOTT's Director of Communications, Lisa Simmons, about "going green" in Massachusetts on Fox 25.

• Going Car-Free
• Green Hotels, Restaurants and Attractions
• State Parks
• Landscapes
• Nature
• Down on the Farm
• Green in Action
• Green is Fun
• How to be a Green Traveler
• Green Links

GOING CAR-FREE

Planning a trip to Massachusetts without a car or want to minimize driving once you’re here? Here’s how.

To Massachusetts:
There’s an extensive network of airports that serve Massachusetts (in-state and in nearby New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire); Amtrak’s high-speed Acela service along the Northeast corridor; and highly-competitive bus service from New York. Amtrak also provides service from Portland, Maine to Boston and from Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo to Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, and Boston.

Around the state:
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, known as the T, operates trolleys, trains, buses, and ferries in the Greater Boston area. The T’s commuter trains go as far as Lowell and Newburyport to the north of Boston; west to Worcester and Fitchburg; and south to Plymouth, Middleborough, and Providence, Rhode Island. Bicycles are allowed on selected buses and trains and all ferries.

Boston is a remarkably compact city. Best travel options: walk, bike, or take the T. Check out the City of Boston’s Boston Bikes program for a free bike map and other bike-friendly programs. For a nominal fee, you can hop on a sturdy bike from New Balance Hubway, Boston's new bike share program. Pick up and drop off bikes throughout the city.

Heading to Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, or Nantucket Island? Take a ferry or plane, then hop on a bus or rent a bike. Details.

More car-free options:

• Take the Salem Ferry (no witches on board) to and from Boston.
• Beat the traffic and take the shortcut from Boston to Provincetown on fast ferries operated by Boston Harbor Cruises and the Bay State Cruise Co. -- both just 90 minutes, dock-to-dock.
• Visiting Concord and Lexington? Get around on the Liberty Ride trolley, which provides hop-on, hop-off service to all the revolutionary and literary sites.
• Explore the coastal communities of Ipswich and Essex by taking the T commuter train to Ipswich, then riding the Ipswich and Essex Explorer bus.
• Almost car-free: Zip Car, the innovative car-sharing service is headquartered in Cambridge and has locations through Boston and Cambridge and at several college campuses across the state.

More transportation information

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GREEN HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND ATTRACTIONS

Many of Massachusetts’ hotels, restaurants, and attractions have developed programs to reduce power, conserve water, and reduce solid waste while maintaining superior service to their guests and visitors.

For a tourism business that has environmental programs in place, its listing will include a link to information on their Web site that explains their green programs.

In addition, some tourism businesses have met one of the national green standards: ENERGY STAR (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), LEED (the U.S. Green Building Council), Green Seal (Green Seal), Green Key Eco-Rating Program (Green Key Global), and Certified Green Restaurants(Green Restaurant Association). To search for a certified hotel, attraction, restaurant, or store, check the Green Certified boxes in the Amenities section when conducting a search.

More information about certification

GREEN CERTIFIED BUSINESSES

KEY
L          LEED (through 2008)
ES        ENERGY STAR
GS       Green Seal
GK       Green Key Eco-Rating
CGR    Certified Green Restaurants

LODGING

ATTRACTIONS

RESTAURANTS

STATE PARKS

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation manages one of the largest state parks systems in the country. Its 450,000 acres comprise forests, rural and urban parks, greenways, historic sites and landscapes, seashores, lakes, ponds, reservoirs and watersheds.

Places to go/things to do:

• Cool off and go swimming in lakes, ponds, pools, rivers, even Boston Harbor
• Get physical: hike , bike and mountain bike.
• Get back to nature and camp under the stars in 28 state forests and parks. For a twist on traditional camping, reserve a yurt at Otter River State Forest.
• Paddle on ponds and rivers.
• Explore the Boston Harbor Islands, just a 45-minute ferry ride from downtown Boston.

More things to do in state parks

More bike trails and routes

Private campgrounds

Visiting Boston? Stroll, picnic, and play in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a brand-new one-mile linear park that replaced Boston’s elevated highway.

LANDSCAPES

The great diversity of the Massachusetts landscape ranges from mountain peaks to pristine barrier beaches. The Trustees of Reservations is at the forefront of protecting properties of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value – 100 properties and 25,000 acres to date.

Places to go/things to do:

• Climb to the summit of Monument Mountain in Great Barrington, and you’ll see why it’s been an inspiration to poets, novelists, and painters for almost two centuries.
• Roam the four coastal drumlins, rocky shore, and marshes that comprise World’s End in Hingham. Enjoy spectacular views of Hingham harbor and the Boston skyline.
• Check the tide charts, then walk across the mud flats at low tide to Crowninshield Island in Marblehead. Explore the woods, salt marsh, and tidal pools before the tide laps back in.
• Hike through a dense forest to Royalston Falls whose waters rush through a deep gorge, then plunge 45 feet into a basin.

More places to go

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NATURE

Experience the wonders of nature up close. MassWildlife, the state agency responsible for protecting wildlife, has mapped out 67 prime viewing sites along with viewing tips. Look for the brown binocular road signs indicating the sites.

Mass Audubon protects more than 34,000 acres of ecologically significant land in Massachusetts, and it is a leader in applying green technology to its existing and new buildings. Its sanctuaries represent some of the most spectacular habitats in Massachusetts, ranging from beaches and salt marshes on Cape Cod to woodlands and mountains in the Berkshires.

Places to go/things to do:

• See snowy owls and shore birds at Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport
• Spot rare wildflowers at High Ledges in Shelburne
• Enjoy spectacular views of a salt marsh and a barrier beach at Felix Neck on Martha’s Vineyard
• Keep your eye out for moose, deer, bobcats, while hiking 12 miles of trails at Wachusett Meadow in Princeton. The sanctuary's 1300 foot summit offers excellent hawk watching in the fall.
• Watch swallows catching insects in the meadows at Moose Hill
• More places that focus on flora, fauna, or ecology: The Arnold Arboretum and The Forest Hills Cemetery, both in Jamaica Plain, Boston; The New England Aquarium, Boston; The Harvard Museum of Natural History, and Mount Auburn Cemetery, both in Cambridge; Garden in the Woods, Framingham; Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston; The EcoTarium, Worcester; South Shore Natural Science Center, Norwell; The Polly Hill Arboretum, West Tisbury, Martha’s Vineyard; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Ocean Science Exhibit Center, Woods Hole; Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls.

Find more ways to explore nature in Landscapes and State Parks.

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DOWN ON THE FARM

Massachusetts’ farmers welcome visitors. Here’s how to get a taste of rural life:

• Visit a farm: pick your own fruit, buy a bunch of flowers or some herbs, take a tour of an organic farm, help feed llamas, or treat yourself to homemade ice cream. Don’t want to go home? You can stay on a farm.
• Buy just-picked fruits, vegetables, and flowers from farm stands and farmers’ markets.
• Head for a sugar house as soon as the sap starts to rise, then stop by a sugarhouse restaurant and fill up on pancakes drizzled with the first maple syrup of the season.
• Follow the new Wine and Cheese Trail. Mmmm!
• See community-supported farms at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln and Moose Hill in Sharon.
• Check out all the farm festivals and food events.

GREEN IN ACTION

See renewable and energy conservation programs at work!

See wind power at work
Wind turbines are now becoming a common sight in Massachusetts. Here are some that are easy to visit.

• The town of Hull on the South Shore is a national leader in coastal wind energy development. It has two large-scale turbines plus a residential-size turbine at the Weir River Estuary Nature Center. The 1.8 megawatt Hull 2 is the largest in the state. The 164-feet Hull 1 stands at the tip of Hull; the most spectacular view is from a Boston Harbor Islands ferry.
• Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock generates one third of all its electricity needs from Zephyr, a 253-foot-tall, 1.5 megawatt turbine on the side of the mountain. Tours are conducted May through mid-October; advance reservations are required.
• On Cape Cod, Hyannis Country Garden has a 100 kilowatt turbine that produces 92% of the electricity for the garden center.
• For wind power on a smaller scale, head to Red Apple Farm in Phillipston. Check out the 50-foot, 15 kilowatt turbine, then stay to pick your own fruit, take a fall hay ride, and visit the chickens and the rabbits.

See solar power at work

• Mass Audubon has installed solar arrays at 10 of its wildlife sanctuaries, solar thermal systems at 4 of its sanctuaries, and 13 additional solar systems are being installed in 2010. Many of the sanctuaries' nature centers have self-guided tours. Visit Drumlin Farm in Lincoln and you’ll see how it generates electricity from the sun and re-uses rain water to irrigate its gardens. Plus, see a fun, sun-powered kinetic sculpture. Take a self-guided tour of the LEED-certified Nature Center at Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary. Mass Audubon also has lots of great events about sustainability.
• The City of Brockton converted a disused industrial site into the nation's largest solar energy plant in New England. At the Brockton Brightfield you can learn about how photovoltaic solar energy works, view real-time data on the electricity being generated at the site, and touch a solar panel. Brockton Brightfield generates enought power for 70 homes.

See a Green roof grow

• Green roofs are covered in low-maintenance plants; they reduce water run-off, save energy, and improve air quality. You can see a Green roof at the Boston Children's Museum, Massachusetts’ first Green museum and the recipient of LEED Gold certification. You'll also see Green features throughout the museum.

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GREEN IS FUN

• Check out the New England Aquarium's Blue Impact video and see how global warming is affecting Right Whales, sea turtles, sea jellies, even the water levels in Boston harbor.
• In the spring, see river herring begin their annual trek up coastal streams and rivers via man-made fish ladders.
• Celebrate all things Green at the annual Boston GreenFest: family activities, information, demonstrations, music, food, and more. Takes place mid-August every year.
• Learn about how turbines transform wind into green energy at the Museum of Science's Catching the Wind exhibit. And track energy production in the Museum's own Wind Lab, a group of nine wind turbines mounted on the Museum roof.
• Head out to Stellwagen Bank on a whale watch cruise and learn all about these magnificent creatures and their marine habitats from on-board naturalists.

HOW TO BE A GREEN TRAVELER

Before you leave home:

• Change your thermostat to reduce heat/AC use; lower the setting on your hot water heater; unplug chargers, TVs, and other electronics.
• Bring a bag to recycle containers en route.
• Consider alternatives to driving: train, bus, and plane.
• If you’re driving, follow these eco tips.
• Pack reusable water containers – avoid the high environmental cost of one-use plastic bottles.
• Bring good walking shoes – it’s the healthy way to get around.

During your Massachusetts getaway:

• Choose hotels and restaurants that have environmental programs in place.
• Participate in hotels’ Green programs: follow the towel re-use programs; use recycle bins; turn off heat, air conditioning, and lights when leaving your room; bring your own toiletries; use recycle containers.
• Get out of your car. Walk, bike, and take advantage of Massachusetts’ extensive public and private transportation network.

GREEN LINKS

• Cape and Islands Go Green Guide

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