Family Fun Days! Free Activities on the Boston Harbor Islands
Explore Fort Warren, a National Historic Landmark: a granite stronghold built to defend Boston in the 1800's.
It takes just 20 minutes from Boston's Long Wharf to take a ranger-guided tour, fly a Frisbee or enjoy a cobbled beach.
May 2008
The Grape Alarm: First Skirmish in Boston Harbor - Sunday, May 25
Tour
starts on at the Harbor Islands Express Boat, from Long Wharf, to Georges Island
at 10am – 11:30am
July
2008
Paddle Up! Cove Kayaking on Spectacle Island - July 2 – July 6
10am - 4pm
Free Friday Matinees with the Boston Children’s Theatre on Georges Island - Fridays from June 27 through August 29
See what’s playing on stage at Fort Warren. From variety shows, musicals, historical plays and more, these children help bring the island to life!
Free Family Fun Day on Georges Island - Toe Jam Puppet Band: The Pirate Show - Saturday, July 5
Free Family Fun Day on Georges Island- Nature in Action: Jackson Gillman’s One Man Show - Saturday, July 12
Free Family Fun Day on Georges Island - Vintage Base Ball Summer Classic -
Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20
August
2008
Free Family Fun Days on Spectacle Island - Catch the Science Bug with Kim Bent - Saturday, August 16
Civil War Reenactment on Georges Island - August 23
Free Family Fun Day on Georges Island - Vintage Base Ball - August 23 & 24
The 4th Annual Boston Harbor Islands Regatta on Georges Island - Saturday, September 27
Halloween on the Harbor on Georges Island - Saturday, October 25 & Sunday, October 26
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
On-Going Activities on the Boston Harbor Islands
Free Friday Matinees with the Boston Children’s Theatre on Georges Island - Fridays from June 27 through August 29
See what’s playing on stage at Fort Warren. From variety shows, musicals, historical plays and more, these children help bring the island to life!
“Stephens Room” in Ft Warren, Georges Island - June through September
Alexander Hamilton Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy, was arguably the most important prisoner ever held at Fort Warren. Stephens was captured in May 1865 and released in October 1865. Visit the actual casemate room and see what it could have looked like when he was here.
Kids play - Civil War Lawn Games – Fort Warren, Georges Island - June through September
What did children play before the age of television? Try your hand at a game of Hoops, graces, sticks and more!
Go Fly a Kite Sundays on Spectacle Island - June through September
Bring your kite and watch it fly! Create your own kite, materials provided, one kite per child.
America’s Songbook - Sunday Jazz on Spectacle Island - June 22 through September 20
12pm – 4pm
Hear the lively performances from the Visitor’s Porch, David Ehle’s trio playing America’s songbook.
MicroWilderness Explorers on Lovells and Georges Islands - June through September
Tidepooling, Bug Identification, Orienteering. Use buckets, pails, compasses, or nets and explore the island from the ground up!
Get to the Islands
Open seasonally from May to October, the islands are easy to get to. Take the T to the Blue Line Aquarium Stop, walk to the north side of the Marriott, and catch a Harbor Islands Express ferry to Georges Island. From Georges you can board a free water shuttle to one of five other islands.
Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area contains some 34 islands lying within Boston Harbor. The islands range in size from less than one acre to 214 acres and together embrace 1,600 acres of land over an area of 50 square miles. The mission of the park is to make the island system an integral park of the life of the surrounding communities and region, and to protect the islands as a resource of national significance, while improving public knowledge and access for education, recreation, and restful solitude within an urban area.
For more information, visit www.bostonislands.com.
The Boston Harbor Islands offer countless opportunities
for visitors to tour historical sites, observe wildlife, and participate in
recreational activities such as hiking, camping, swimming, and fishing or
perhaps to enjoy a relaxing picnic lunch amid the spectacular scenery. Guided
and self-guided tours are available. Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area contains some 34 islands lying
within Boston Harbor. The islands range in size from less than one acre to 214
acres and together embrace 1,600 acres of land over an area of 50 square miles.
The mission of the park is to make the island system an integral park of the
life of the surrounding communities and region, and to protect the islands as a
resource of national significance, while improving public knowledge and access
for education, recreation, and restful solitude within an urban area. Now the Islands are more accessible than
ever with the introduction of two new high-speed ferries making the trip from
the mainland to Georges Island in 20 minutes!
Islands include: Deer,
Spectacle, Thompson, Peddocks, Georges, Lovells, Great Brewster, Little
Brewster, Bumpkin and Grape. For a Boston Harbor Islands brochure
click here.