Here's a question, Berkshire County residents: When you're planning a vacation getaway, whether it's somewhere close or a great distance away, is air quality ever something you consider?

If not, perhaps it's time that you should. Let's face it. With steadily increasing air pollution along with all the smoke drifting overhead from the Canadian wildfires, air quality is on a major decline ( and has been for quite a while).

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There's not really much you can do about the air quality where you live and work, so why not take a vacation where the air is cleaner? Whether you're planning a solo sojourn, a romantic odyssey with your partner, or a family getaway, try to travel to where you can BREATHE a whole lot easier.

Recently, the team at MyBioSource conducted a study on which summer vacation hotspots throughout the country have the cleanest air. And guess what, folks? Out of the 120 vacation destinations, FIVE of them are right here in the Commonwealth!

To come up with the results, MyBioSource analyzed the Air Quality Index of each vacation destination over a two-week period from early to mid-July, 2023. According to MyBioSource, here are the top 10 Vacation Hotspots with the Cleanest Air in America:

  1. Hapuna Beach, HI
  2. Poipu Beach, HI
  3. Homer Spit Beach, Alaska
  4. Sandy Beach, AK
  5. Kenai Beach, AK
  6. Kaanapali Beach, HI
  7. North Shore, HI
  8. Long Beach, WA
  9. Waikiki Beach, HI
  10. Carmel Beach, CA

As you can see, both Hawaii and Alaska are pretty well represented, perhaps unsurprisingly. And (though none landed in the top 20) Massachusetts is also well represented with FIVE vacation hotspots in the rankings that have some of the cleanest air in the country:

  • Crane Beach (#21)
  • Nantucket (#30)
  • Cape Cod (#46)
  • Martha's Vineyard (#51)
  • Sandwich (#65)

Nice! It's good to see Massachusetts make such a strong showing. Take a look at the full study results by visiting MyBioSource's website here. In the meantime, get to planning that clean-air getaway--summer's almost over!!!

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