Every day during the summer.
Peddocks Island: A 15-minute ride. This is the harbor's second-largest island. The water
shuttle docks at Fort Andrews, a brick Spanish American War-era complex
of 32 buildings on the island's eastern head.
Pick up a map to get a sense of the island's history at the pier information
center and picnic on the rocky beach that forms a narrow neck of land
beyond.
Follow the path along Middle Head. You will be walking near some cottages,
but the land is public, so continue along the path, respecting the cottagers'
privacy. If you still have the energy, continue on by the salt marsh
into the woods on West Head. Stay as long as you can.
The last boat returns to Georges Island.
Last ferry departs from Georges Island for Boston.
Facilities: vault
toilets and picnic tables. No water available.
Grape Island: Approximately an hour's ride from Georges Island. In Hingham Bay, just off Weymouth's Webb Memorial State Park, Grape is an island once known for its raspberries,
as well as grapes. Mowed paths lead to secluded campsites in shady woods
and beaches are a mix of mussels and shells. This was a favored Native American
summer spot for 7,000 years before settlers arrived and you can understand
why.
Pick up a map at the dock and follow the trail past the stone foundation,
past the marsh wildflowers and along the shore to the picnic tables
under the big willow at Sunset Point.
Follow the path with its vista of Bumpkin Island and the Hull shoreline. Short side trails lead to the northern shore. Circle the island once
and cross it through the high grasses in the middle. Pick a spot to
sun, read or snooze.
Catch the last boat to Georges.
Last ferry from Georges back to Boston.
Facilities: vault
toilets and picnic tables. No water available.
Bumpkin Island:
Approximately a 30-minute ride from Georges Island. Like Grape, Bumpkin lies in Hingham
Bay, not far off Hull. Masonry walls and a terrazzo floor recall the
World War I period in which 1,800 men lived here at a naval training
center, and an area of rubble marks the site of a vintage 1900 children's
hospital. Spruce and poplar, salt-spray rose (Rosa rugosa), bayberry,
staghorn sumac have, however, reclaimed this 35-acre island.
Picnic near the pier, overlooking Slate and Grape Islands. Follow the path alongshore, and pick a spot to spend a few hours.
Catch water shuttle back to Georges
Facilities: vault
toilets; no water available.
Look over the above
one-day tours and put together two very different days, for example: The
first day, take the ferry to Georges and Spectacle Islands. The second take a tour out to Boston Light or spend the day on Thompson Island.
Every island grows in size if you camp there. The last water taxi of the day leaves and the day-trippers are gone. Birds and small animals emerge and the light is
amazing.
