Wilderness in Boston

I recently took a trip to see my college friend Z, who lives in Boston, and look what I found? (Well, actually he found them…) Wilderness areas just a short boat ride away from downtown beantown.

That’s Z on the boat with Boston behind him.

Run by the National Parks Service, the 34 Boston Harbor Islands have all sorts of old forts (that you can run around in), and from many of them you can see the city skyline.

Looking at the water from the fort on George’s Island.

From the dock area of Georges Island you can see the city!

Several of the islands offer camping (you have to reserve a spot for your tent), and it’s a pretty easy way to get away from it all and not have to spend gobs of money, like it’s easy to do on Cape Cod, Nantucket, or Martha’s Vineyard. You do get to ride in boats to get there though, which I thought was pretty fun.

Once you arrive at Bumpkin, Peddocks or Grape Island (some of the camping islands) you don’t even have to hike very far, as you and your gear get delivered pretty close to campsites.

Grape Island debarkation

Peddocks Island has another fort to explore (dare you to sleep in the creepy abandoned fort!)

Of course, you can always just go for a day trip and just enjoy the cool waters and rocky beaches of the islands, which is all I managed on my first visit there.

cape, liver, rape, sleep, water

Starre Vartan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick and author of The Eco-Chick Guide to Life (St. Martin's Press). A problogger and oft-quoted green living expert who has been featured in the NYTimes, Elle, Glamour and Whole Living, she is a contributor to The Huffington Post, Inhabitat, and Hearst's The Daily Green, and is currently editor-at-large for Coco Eco Magazine. An active ecofashionista, she has style edited for Plenty magazine and coordinated runway shows. She splits her time between Connecticut and NYC and calls Sydney, Australia her second home, even though it was her first (as that's where she was born and most of her family resides). When not writing, blogging, or researching her next book, she is trailrunning, trying to cook, or snowboarding.

Sorry, nothing found.

One Comment on “Wilderness in Boston”

David

Ah George’s Island…used to spend a lot of time there was a kid. It looks the same 20 years later! I know some of my family still go for a visit every summer, and hopefully sometime I will be able to join them. Thanks for the memories!

08/30/06 » 1:39 pm »