Ferry to Spectacle Island (Boston Harbor Islands)

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Ferry to Spectacle Island (Boston Harbor Islands)

Photo: NewtonCourt · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

🚂 Train · Boston

5 hours · $$ · Reservation required

age fit
0–1 yr
★ 4.0
1–3 yrs
★ 4.0
3–5 yrs
★ 4.0
5–10 yrs
★ 5.0
  • 🚗
    About 25 min drive
    From Newton · Parking: Board at Long Wharf (by the Blue Line Aquarium station); round-trip ferry about $25 adults, about $17 ages 3–11, free under 3, check the website
  • 🍼
    Stroller-friendly
    Flat surfaces — bring the stroller
  • 🌳
    Little shade
    Great on sunny days · Handles heat · Wind-OK
  • ⏱️
    Typical visit: 5 hours
    Best seasons: Summer

A 20-minute ferry from Long Wharf puts you on an island: Spectacle Island has a lifeguarded beach, 5 miles of gravel trails, and a small hill with a view of the entire Boston skyline, and the beach is covered in sea-smoothed glass and old pottery shards that a 7-year-old can hunt for an hour without getting bored.

💡 Tips
Ferries run May through October, so buy tickets online ahead for weekends; the island has a visitor center, restrooms, and a snack stand, but bring plenty of water and sunscreen, as there is almost no shade. Strollers work on the trails, with a climb up the hill. It is a full-day trip, and a 2-year-old can nap in a tent on the grass.

What this place offers

✓ferry
✓island
✓beach
✓lifeguards
✓hilltop city views
✓sea glass
✓visitor center
✓restrooms

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This weekend's weather in Boston

Forecast at the destination itself (coast and hills often differ from home)

🌦️
Sat 10/17
Drizzle · 40–60°F · 72% rain
☀️
Sun 10/18
Sunny · 38–58°F · 3% rain

Location

Boston, Massachusetts

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