South Coast Massachusetts

I grew up in the South Coast of Massachusetts so I thought I put some key info out there for you. The key attractions in the South Coast are the beaches of Dartmouth & Westport, boating, seafood, historic New Bedford, battleship cove and Azorian Portuguese food & culture.

Favorite Restaurants

• Farm & Coast (Padanaram Village, Dartmouth) is my favorite spot for breakfast and coffee. I especially love their breakfast burrito and breakfast sandwich.
• Little Moss (Padanaram Village, Dartmouth) is my favorite restaurant for fine dining. Only a few tables inside and a few outside. Small and changing menu.
• The Back Eddy (Westport) - quality restaurant with a place to dock your boat. Right next to Horseneck Beach.
• The Black Whale (New Bedford) - great all around casual fine dining restaurant with views of the harbor. Specializes in seafood but lots of great stuff. Same owner as Joe’s Original (good mid-priced place), Cisco Brewery (haven’t tried yet), Cultivator Shoals (haven’t tried yet), and Sail Loft(recent addition in Padanaram).

Favorite Services

• Harelick Dental Associates (Fairhaven) has the best dentists in the Greater New Bedford area including one that is amazing at computer guided implants and one of the best aesthetic dentists on the South Coast.

Favorite Beaches

• Round Hill (Dartmouth) - best all around beach for a family on the South Coast. Great soft white sand and relatively calm. Unfortunately you need a Dartmouth resident sticker to get there by car. However, you don’t need a sticker if you come by bicycle (though expect to be cycling for multiple miles before you find legal parking).
• Horseneck (Westport) - Decent beach and huge. Great if you like to take long walks. If you have a boat or cross over a private beach on a long walk there is a great section at the mouth of the Westport river. Note that the beach is prone to rip currents so not the best for families with young children.

Geography

The South Coast stretches from the Rhode Island Border to the Cape Cod Canal. Stretching along the entire coast is route 6 (a service highway) and I-195 (an interstate). The coastal municipalities starting from the Rhode Island Border are: Somerset, Swansea, Fall River, Westport, Dartmouth, New Bedford, Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Marion, Wareham and a sliver of Borne (most of Borne is on the cape but there is a bit on the mainland). All of these coastal municipalities sit on Buzzards Bay. Inland there are a few towns that also sometimes get lumped into the South Coast including Acushnet, Berkley, Freetown, and Rochester given their close proximity. Also, Tiverton, RI and Little Compton, RI also are sometimes included as they are part of the same landmass as the South Coast of Massachusetts even though they are part of Rhode Island and only directly connect to the rest of Rhode Island by a bridge. New Bedford and Fall River are cities and the rest are towns.

Keep tuned. More to come.