Massachusetts fairs you can reach without a car
Of the 97 fairs and festivals we track, 24 have an MBTA station or regional bus stop within 2 miles. They’re grouped below by the station or operator you’d actually travel on.
How to read the distances. Where we’ve confirmed a venue’s exact location we give a real walking time (15 events so far). Where we only know the town, we show a straight-line distance from the town centre and label it an estimate. The venue could be further out.
A few events are marked as running across several venues instead of showing a distance. Those are festivals spread over a whole downtown or a parade route, where we know exactly where they happen but a single walking time would be misleading rather than just imprecise. Their venue lists are on the event pages.
Timetables shown on event pages are published schedules, not live predictions. Always confirm with the operator before you travel, and check the last departure if you’re staying late.
By MBTA station
9 events across 7 stations.
North Leominster2
- Leominster Farmers MarketJun 6 – Oct 3
Leominster · Central Massachusetts · 28 min walk (1.4 mi, consider a ride) from North Leominster
Leominster · Central Massachusetts · 1.4 mi from North Leominster (town-centre estimate)
Salem2
Peabody · Northeast Massachusetts · 4 venues near Salem
- Salem Haunted HappeningsOct 1–31
Salem · Northeast Massachusetts · 4 venues near Salem
Brockton1
- Brockton Farmers MarketJun 5 – Oct 30
Brockton · Southeastern Massachusetts · 4 min walk from Brockton
Fitchburg1
- Fitchburg Farmers MarketJun 4 – Oct 10
Fitchburg · Central Massachusetts · 14 min walk from Fitchburg
Long Wharf (North) - Gate 5A1
- Boston Arts FestivalSep 12–13
Boston · Greater Boston · 3 min walk from Long Wharf (North) - Gate 5A
Newburyport1
- Oysterfest In The PortSep 26
Newburyport · Northeast Massachusetts · 22 min walk from Newburyport
Rockport1
- Rockport Celtic FestivalSep 1–30
Rockport · Northeast Massachusetts · 2 venues near Rockport
By regional transit authority
Beyond Greater Boston, these events sit near a regional bus stop. Only events without a nearby MBTA station are listed here, so nothing appears twice.
Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority4
GATRA
- Plymouth Farmers MarketMay 14 – Oct 29
Plymouth · Southeastern Massachusetts · 1 min walk from Plymouth
- King Richard’s FaireAug 29 – Oct 25
Carver · Southeastern Massachusetts · 31 min walk (1.6 mi, consider a ride) from Lourdes
Plymouth · Southeastern Massachusetts · 3 venues near Plymouth Center
Plymouth · Southeastern Massachusetts · 2 min walk from Plymouth Plantation
Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority4
CCRTA
- Eastham Windmill WeekendSep 11–13
Eastham · Cape Cod & the Islands · 1 min walk from Eastham Town Hall/Superette
Harwich · Cape Cod & the Islands · 1 min walk from Harwich Community Center/High School
- SandwichfestOct 3
Sandwich · Cape Cod & the Islands · 7 min walk from Sandwich Town Hall
- Wellfleet OysterFestOct 17–18
Wellfleet · Cape Cod & the Islands · 0.1 mi from Wellfleet Center (Bank Street) (town-centre estimate)
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority3
BRTA
- Franklin County FairSep 10–13
Greenfield · Western Massachusetts · 12 min walk from JWO Transit Center Greenfield
- Ashfield Fall FestivalOct 10–11
Ashfield · Western Massachusetts · 0.9 mi from Ashfield Center (E) (town-centre estimate)
Stockbridge · Western Massachusetts · 23 min walk from Glendale Post Office
Montachusett Regional Transit Authority2
MART
- Sterling FairSep 11–13
Sterling · Central Massachusetts · 0.2 mi from Sterling (town-centre estimate)
- North Quabbin Garlic & Arts FestivalSep 26–27
Orange · Western Massachusetts · 0.1 mi from Orange Center/Main St (Eastbound) (town-centre estimate)
Pioneer Valley Transit Authority2
PVTA
- The Big E (Eastern States Exposition)Sep 18 – Oct 4
West Springfield · Western Massachusetts · 2 min walk from Exposition / Memorial
- Belchertown FairSep 25–27
Belchertown · Western Massachusetts · 1 min walk from Belchertown Common
Drive-only events
6 events have no station or bus stop within 2 miles. That is genuinely the case for a lot of rural agricultural fairs and the islands. We’d rather say so than invent a connection. Plan to drive, carpool, or check for a local shuttle.
- Sturbridge Farmers Market · Sturbridge
- Benson's Pond Cranberry Harvest Festival · Middleboro
- Old Deerfield Fall Arts & Crafts Festival · Deerfield
- Rehoboth Agricultural Fair · Rehoboth
- Topsfield Fair · Topsfield
- Holiday Craft Fair - North Attleboro High School · North Attleboro
Where these numbers come from
Stations come from the MBTA’s own V3 API; regional bus stops come from each authority’s published GTFS feed (currently PVTA, WRTA, GATRA and SRTA). Distances are straight-line from the best location we hold for each event, which is why we distinguish a confirmed venue from a town-centre estimate. Live timetables, service alerts and reported road work are fetched per-event on the event’s own page and always carry the time they were fetched.