Spectacle Island is an island in Boston Harbor, situated some 4 miles (6.4 km) offshore of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island has a varied history, and today is a public park, forming part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is served throughout the year by ferries from Boston, and on weekends and summer weekdays by a shuttle boat to and from the other surrounding islands. What a perfect way to spend a weekend with your handicap van rentals in Boston!

A little history

starting around 600 AD This continued till around 1615, when European diseases killed virtually all of the native population. Europeans began use of the island in the 1630s, first as a source of firewood, then as a smallpox quarantine. From the 1730s, the island housed farmsteads and picnickers. When the Big Dig began work in Boston in 1992, some of the excavated dirt and clay was used to resurface the island. The island was covered and built up by dirt, capped with two feet of clay, and covered with two to five feet of topsoil. Thousands of trees were planted, and paths, buildings, and a dock were built. The island opened to the public in June, 2006, for use as a recreational area with hiking trails, a beach, and a marina with boat slips for visitors. It also has a cafe and visitors center

What it`s all about

Travel with your handicap van rentals in Boston, just 15 minutes from downtown Boston to Spectacle Island. Here you will be able to find something suitable for all travelers including activities such as hiking, swimming, boating, and eco learning. Stop in at a “green” visitor center with exhibits about the history and evolution of the island. Go swimming on a sandy beach (one of the few on the islands) supervised by trained lifeguards. Take in panoramic views of the harbor and city from the tallest hill on the Boston Harbor Islands. Spectacle Island has toilet facilities and drinking water. Its marina makes it a popular destination for boaters, who use the island as a starting place for other island exploration. And you will also find several groups that use Spectacle Island as a great place to host events. What more could you ask for when you travel with your handicap van rentals in Boston to Spectacle Island.

Boston Harbor Islands

After visiting Spectacle Island with your handicap van rentals in Boston take a side trip to one of the surrounding Boston Harbor Islands. This 17 island state park is part of the 34 island Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area. They are a wonderful natural resource, only 45 minutes by ferry from downtown Boston. Seventeen of the islands are managed the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Six of the 17 islands, and Webb State Park, a 36 acre peninsula in Weymouth, are staffed and open for public use daily during the summer and weekends in the spring and fall. Visitors to the park enjoy shell and slate beaches, easy hiking paths, old hay fields gone wild with bayberry, raspberry and elderberry, and old roadways to historic foundations and forts. Shade is found at picnic sites, trailside benches, and on wooded trails. There are many historic and scenic harbor vistas such as Dorchester, Quincy, Hull and Hingham Bays, the Blue Hills, Boston's skyline, 34 islands, and outward to Massachusetts Bay. This is a perfect side trip with your handicap van rentals in Boston.

Before you go...

For more information when you travel with your handicap van rentals in Boston to Spectacle Island check out their official website at www.bostonislands.org/