FEATURE HARBOR ISLANDS
WORDS BY ETHAN GILSDORF
PRISTINE PARK
Get off the tourist track and explore the hidden treasures of the Boston Harbor Islands.
“Well I love that dirty water. Oh, Boston, you’re my home,” sang The Standells on their 1966 hit “Dirty Water,” back when Boston’s shores and waterways were a dreaded, polluted embarrassment to the city. But ever since the clean-up effort—which began back in the ’80s, when Boston stopped dumping raw sludge into Massachusetts Bay and opened a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility on Deer Island—the harbor has breathed a sigh of relief. Clams can now be legally harvested from some of the beaches. Even porpoises and harbor seals have made a comeback. What was one of the filthiest harbors in America is now one of the cleanest.
The dramatic recovery has put new focus on the Boston Harbor Islands, a unique 1,600-acre “partnership park” with federal status, managed cooperatively by local, state and federal agencies. Created in 1996, but still relatively unknown to visitors and locals alike, the 34-island playground offers a dramatic seaside setting for a range of activities—hiking, in-line skating, bird watching, fishing, camping, kayaking, sunbathing and swimming—all within a short ferry ride from downtown. What the Harbor Islands lack in Martha’s Vineyard-style bars or boutiques, they more than make up for in natural beauty. If you’re feeling like a land-locked tourist trapped in the city grid, and overwhelmed by Red Sox memorabilia, why not make time for Boston’s tranquil island life?
Little Brewster Island
Wander these isles and you can’t help but tread on history. Grassy pathways, rocky shorelines and spongy sandspits lead to lighthouses, ruined forts and abandoned summer cottages. Largely uninhabited today, over the years these islands have seen Native American settlements, Revolutionary War skirmishes, Confederate, World War I and World War II POW prisons, shipwrecks, hangings and Cold War missile bases.
With a combination of cultural, historical and natural attractions, Peddocks Island is probably the best overall destination. With five miles of waterfront—the longest of any island—Peddocks is actually a series of five “drumlins,” or sandy glacial deposits, connected by sandbars, or “tombolos.” Native Americans first lived here, followed by colonist farmers from 1634, patriot militiamen, Portuguese fishers and Spanish-American War soldiers.
The island is perfect for aimless wandering. To find Peddocks’ more unblemished shores, depart Fort Andrews westward along the road past the summer cottages. Here, scenic hiking trails cut through the essentially uninhabited west end of the island. Crossing a freshwater marsh and forests, you’ll be rewarded by the secluded beaches of West Head and Prince Head.
Spectacle Island
It’s hard to imagine pitching a tent within sight of Boston’s skyline, but the islands make it possible. If the city heat gets too much, campers can stuff their gear into a backpack, take the subway (aka “the T”) to the Aquarium stop and hop on a ferry to Grape and Bumpkin Islands, which provide the best roughing-it camping experience. Some choose to paddle sea kayaks to these rustic islands, which are only a couple of miles from shore and tucked under the protective arm of Hull at the southernmost end of the park.
The site of a Revolutionary War skirmish, Grape has remained escaped any large-scale construction. Bumpkin, however, is strewn with ruins. Today, both islands are covered with raspberries, blackberries, bayberries and the fuzzy-stemmed staghorn sumac (used to brew a drink called sumac-ade). On Bumpkin, look for gnarled apple and pear trees, remnants of the island’s previous agrarian life; on Grape, you might spot a coyote or deer. If you bring a kayak, cruise the varied shoreline with an eye out for mussels, sea birds and the goose-like brant.
This article features images
from Boston Harbor Islands
by Sherman Morss Jr, a
beautiful and intimate
documentation of these
New England landmarks.
Published by Commonwealth
Editions, $14.95.
The park service has connected the docks to the dozen primitive campsites by cutting paths through the brush—although Bumpkin does have a few crumbled paved roads. Campers and picnickers must abide by the “carry-in, carry-out” policy, meaning they must haul in food and water and leave no trash behind. There are no showers, fresh water, electricity or telephones. Self-composting Clevis Multrum toilets are the only comforts. On both islands, beach fires (below the high-tide line) are allowed.
Overgrown Bumpkin and Grape are very peaceful. Indeed, over-nighting on either feels a bit like being shipwrecked. Well, not quite—at low tide, the eastern sandspit of Bumpkin almost reaches Sunset Point in Hull. A brave wade across the channel leads to the junk food and penny arcade atmosphere of Nantasket Beach.
For a more far-flung outpost, try a trip to Little Brewster; at ten miles from the waterfront, it’s one of park’s eastern-most islands. The three-acre clump of rock is best known for being the site of Boston Light, a National Historic Landmark lighthouse. This was not only the first light station established in the US—in 1716, some 30 years before any other—but is now the only staffed lighthouse in America. The keeper happens to be female—also a national first.
Wind-swept and remote, Little Brewster is also a romantic spot. Other than climbing the 76 stairs to the top of the lighthouse, and taking in the 102-feet-above-sea-level view of the other Brewsters (Great, Middle and Outer), there’s not much else to do—other than snuggle with your date. Lovers will have ample time to chat on the ferry, find a grassy hollow, break out the picnic, perhaps do a little sunbathing, rock-hopping or tide-pool exploring and take a nap before the trip back.
Boston Landmarks Orchestra,
Georges Island
Several of the Boston Harbor Islands aren’t even technically islands anymore, as they have been connected to the mainland by bridges or causeways. Just east of Logan Airport, accessible from the town of Winthrop, are five miles of paved pathways set amid the sci-fi sludge digesters of 60-acre Deer Island. A few miles south of Boston lie Hough’s Neck in Quincy and Nut Island, offering 1.6 miles of trails and the idyllic conservation area of Hingham’s Worlds End, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as a 251-acre peninsula of protected meadow and tree-lined carriage paths with views of Boston’s skyscrapers.
None of the islands is longer than two miles end-to-end, making it easy to walk around any of them in an afternoon. Taking a boat, making landfall and disembarking—it’s hard not to feel like an explorer. In fact, the 34 islands lay scattered like lost treasure right in Boston’s front yard.
AirTran Airways provides daily, low-fare flights to Boston. Visit www.airtran.com for more details.
BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS: INFO
Taking lichen inventory,
Middle Brewster Island
Visit the Boston Harbor Islands Discovery Center in the Moakley Courthouse at Fan Pier for brochures and guidebooks, speak with park rangers at 617-223-8666 (or at the kiosks on the Boston waterfront), or see www.bostonislands.org for maps, ferry schedules and special program information.
Take a bike, bus or car to access the land-linked islands like Worlds End, Deer and Nut. To reach the bona fide islands like Grape, Bumpkin and Peddocks, hop on a ferry from Boston Harbor at Long Wharf. It takes 45 minutes to arrive at Georges Island; from there, inter-island shuttles serve the other islands (an additional 15 to 45 minutes, depending on your final destination.) Given the ferry schedules, it’s realistic to visit two islands in a single day. Low season with limited service runs mid-May to mid-June; and mid-September to mid-October. High season with hourly departures from June 25 to mid-September. To get to Little Brewster, take a special ferry leaving from Columbia Point at UMass Boston/JFK Library or the waterfront’s Fan Pier.
Sea kayakers can launch from a variety of points: Hingham Harbor, Windmill Point in Hull and Pleasure Bay on Boston’s Castle Island. Sea-worthy equipment (not open canoes) and coastal paddling experience are essential. Rent from Charles River Canoe & Kayak (www.ski-paddle. com), one of the park’s official partners, or sign up for one of their organized excursions.
© Getty