Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area | SPECTACLE ISLAND

View of Boston Harbor from Spectacle Island

View of Boston Harbor from Spectacle Island

Spectacle is one of four islands in Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area with ferry service. The ferry departs from Boston’s Long Wharf and typically runs daily from mid-June through Labor Day. Get the latest schedule and ticket prices on the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park website.

For those with their own boats, Spectacle is the only island that has a marina. Slips are taken on a first come, first served basis, and there is no fee. Keep in mind that slips fill up quickly on the weekends. You can always drop off passengers and gear at the dock, then anchor offshore. Moorings (15 of them) are also available and can be reserved in advance for a fee. See the Dockwa reservation web page. The marina and moorings are only available during the standard tourist season (when the ferry is operating). You can also anchor off shore for free, but at your own risk.

Activities on Spectacle Island include hiking, swimming, picnicking, kayaking, and fishing. The island has the best views of the harbor, and it is the only island with a life-guarded swimming beach. There is also a Visitor Center and a food vendor. I spent four hours on the island before running out of things to do, which included having lunch and hiking most of the trails.

Hiking trail on Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor

Hiking trail on Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor

See the following web pages for details on the activities at Spectacle Island:

Spectacle Island Visitor Center

Spectacle Island Food Service

Spectacle Island Hiking Trails

Spectacle Island Marina

Spectacle Island Picnic Areas

Swimming

Spectacle Island (click to enlarge)

Spectacle Island (click to enlarge)

SPECTACLE ISLAND HISTORY

Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor

Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor

Spectacle Island was used for various purposes, including recreation, up until the 1850s when businessman Nahum Ward bought the island and opened a candle factory and horse-rendering plant. He even leased out space to a glue factory. Dead horses and cattle were unloaded by barge, and glue, horsehair, and hides were loaded and shipped back to Boston.

In 1903, a grease extraction facility was opened to process garbage and extract grease that could be used to make soap and glycerin. Most of the remnants were turned into fertilizer, but what wasn’t used was dumped on the island. Spectacle eventually became a Boston landfill that operated until 1959, long after the grease extraction plant shut down in the 1930s. By the time the landfill was closed due to trash leaking into the harbor, the island had been expanded by 37 acres of garbage.

Expansion of Spectacle Island

Expansion of Spectacle Island

The island then sat unused until the Big Dig began, a project to dig an underwater vehicle tunnel between downtown Boston and East Boston. The project created massive amounts of dirt that had to be disposed of. Some of this dirt was used to cap the landfill on Spectacle—as much as 40 feet was piled on—and then the island was landscaped to create a park. To keep the garbage from leaking out the sides, a seawall was constructed around the landfill area of the island. Work began in 1992, and it took five years and 3.7 million cubic feet of dirt to complete the Spectacle Island project.

Today the main activity on the island is to hike to the top of one of two small drumlins—hills of compacted clay and rock that were formed by glaciers—to get the best views of Boston and the harbor. The North Drumlin is the highest point in Boston at 155 feet above sea level. The drumlins always existed, but Big Dig dirt made each of them 60 feet taller. It was the low-lying area in between the two hills, which at the time was barely a connecting sandbar, where most of the garbage was dumped to create the extra land mass (some garbage was eventually dumped on the north part of the island as well).


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Last updated on January 19, 2024
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