Boston Harbor Islands National Recreational Area

In the Summer of 2019, we took a two week road trip north through and around New England seeing all the National Parks and Historical Monuments & Sites there is to see and collecting all the stamps possible in the process. This was the one thing we weren't able to do while in Boston. I look forward to going back for a day to do the full tour of all the Islands. You can get one of the stamps from the main Boston NHP visitor center.

Upon returning to Boston in June of 2023, I was able to carve out a day to try and visit all three islands of the Boston Harbor Tour. Short story - I didn't make it to all three, but did visit Spectacle Island. To learn how to do this tour correctly from my mistakes, scroll to the bottom.

Spectacle Island

One of several islands in the harbor that you can hope a boat to in order to hike and discover. This was once a giant "dump" for the city of Boston that was later taken over by the National Park service and converted into a site for wildlife to grow and reduce pollution in the harbor itself.

Touring the Islands!

There are three main islands to visit when trying to fully tour Boston Harbor Islands National & State Park. There's a correct way to pull this maneuver in a single day and then there's the way I tried which was completely incorrect.

If you have the time to spend 2-3 days just bouncing from island to island and take in all the hikes, then it really doesn't matter what order you choose to take this adventure. Just book your ferry passes through City Experiences.com in any order you choose and enjoy!

For a single day adventure , there are three islands you wan to try and visit:
1) Peddocks Island
2) Georges Island
3) Spectacle Island

My original plan was top hope the first ferry out to Peddocks Island out of Hingham Ferry Terminal (28 Shipyard Drive, Hingham, MA) which is located south east of the Long Wharf area and Boston City Proper. I would take the ferry out, hit the visitor center, take a short scenic hike/walk in on the area, hop back on the ferry and back to Hingham.

Then I would have to drive quickly up to Long Wharf in Boston City Proper where I can catch the ferry rides to George's and Spectacle Islands. I booked Spectacle Islands as the first island to visit where the ferry would take me out the island, give me about 30 minutes to briefly tour the island (and get the stamps), then back to Long Wharf. Then I would hop on a different ferry that would take out and back to George's Island.

Turns out that is the WRONG way to plan the trip. I think it can still be done with the first tour out to Peddocks from Hingham, but then the next thing you want to do is Spectacle Island, and Georges Island last. Based on June, 2023 ferry times, I would have been able to hit all three in a single day finishing up back at Long wharf about 5:30pm.

Because I booked Spectacle island BEFORE Georges Island it became impossible to hit them both before I had to meet the family at Cheers that evening before taking in a game at Fenway. I also bailed on Peddocks island because I couldn't rely on an Uber to get me from Hingham to Long Wharf in time to catch the ferry to Spectacle Island.

So what's the solution? You should still tour Peddock's Island first, then schedule your trip to George's island giving yourself a solid 45 minutes to 1 hour of travel time from Hingham to Long Wharf to catch the ferry to George's Island. Cap it all off with an out and back to Spectacle Island and you should be able to do it in a day.

Please note that this is all based on June, 2023 options. The touring options may have completely changed by time you are taking on this trip, so be sure to check Harbor Cruises site for the latest news!

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