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The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands is an all volunteer membership organization whose mission is to inspire stewardship and respect for the islands through educational and interpretive programs. The organization encourages public use of the islands, balanced with the need to protect their fragile ecosystem and historic environment. Our group of spirited volunteers has worked on behalf of islands for 46 years!
The Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands is an independent organization founded in 1979 that is now affiliated with Boston Harbor Now. |
JOIN - RENEW - DONATE TO THE FRIENDS OF THE BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS
Upcoming Events with national parks of boston
- Hike with a Ranger on Spectacle Island
Friday, September 26, 2025, 11:30 AM–12:45 PM, FREE
Join a park ranger for a 45-minute guided hike up the North or South Drumlin. - TGIF (Thank Goodness I’m Fishing)
Friday, September 26, 2025, 2:00 PM–4:00 PM, FREE
Cast aside your worries and learn the basics and pleasures of fishing with a ranger on Spectacle Island! Registration required.
- Hike with a Ranger on Spectacle Island
Saturday, September 27, 2025, 11:30 AM–12:45 PM, FREE
Join a park ranger for a 45-minute guided hike up the North or South Drumlin. - Art in the Park – Spectacle Island
Saturday, September 27, 2025, 11:30 AM–3:00 PM, FREE
Unleash your creativity with a variety of art activities designed to enrich your island experience. All ages and abilities welcome. - Seaside Salutations – Spectacle Island
Saturday, September 27, 2025, 3:00 PM–5:00 PM
Greetings from Spectacle Island! Stop by the Visitor Center to decorate a postcard and send someone special a note. When you’re ready, grab a postage stamp from a park ranger and drop your postcard in our Sail Mailbox.
- Hike with a Ranger on Spectacle Island
Sunday, September 28, 2025, 11:30 AM–12:45 PM, FREE
Join a park ranger for a 45-minute guided hike up the North or South Drumlin. - Sunday Funday
Sunday, September 28, 2025, 11:30 AM–3:00 PM, FREE
Embrace the season and your time on the islands with great games and activities. Enjoy volleyball, badminton, lawn games, and kite flying for endless fun!
See the Boston Harbor Islands Calendar for events in October.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
- Stewardship Saturdays
Saturday, September 27th, Grape Island
Saturday, October 11th, Land's End
Saturday, October 25th, Land's End
Spend a day with park stewards and MA Department of Conservation & Recreation for a day of landscape and ecosystem management! Registration is required for this event. See "Day as a Park Steward" for what it's like!
- Visitor Services – Multiple Sites
Bunker Hill Monument & Museum/Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor Services Assistant
Faneuil Hall Visitor Services and Events Assistant
In all locations, volunteers will be responsible for answering questions from the public and providing verbal and printed information as needed; providing visitors with clear instructions on how to plan their trip to Boston; informing visitors about programs and events; facilitating programs and events and giving general park orientation.
Visiting the islandsCamping on Peddocks Island runs through October 13th. Book reservations online. Beginning in September Ferry Service to Peddocks Island runs only Thursday – Sunday from the Hingham Shipyard through October 13th. Tickets must be purchased online. Walkup tickets are not sold in Hingham.
Visit the Park website for the latest ferry schedules and calendar of free programs and events. |
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The 2025 ferry schedule is available
Ferry service changes to the Fall schedule beginning September 4th and runs until October 13.
A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891
FBHI volunteer authors at book launch, June 2023.
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A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891. This book is the result of intense work by FBHI volunteers, led by Stephanie Schorow, author of East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Islands.
From the back cover: In 1891, four intrepid women from Lowell, Massachusetts, sailed to a remote island in Boston Harbor for a 17-day escape from New England and prim and proper society. Calling themselves the Scribe, the Aristocrat, the Acrobat and the Autocrat, the women stayed in a cottage on Great Brewster Island, reveling in the chance to shed their identities of wife, mother and daughter. Relive their sojourn through their remarkable journal – which is in the collection of Harvard University – filled with observations, illustrations, photography and poetry. Order from History Press here OR GO TO YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE. To book an illustrated lecture on this amazing book, email sschorow@comcast.net |
You’ll find the article "Chasing History" about the FBHI book project in the 2024 summer issue of Ranger, the magazine of the Association of National Park Rangers. The article is on pages 14-15.
Advocate for your national Parks
Visit these websites to learn more and keep informed about the unprecedented changes affecting our public lands.
National Parks Conservation Association
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National Parks Traveler
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The Coalition to Protect America's National Parks
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Association of National Park Rangers
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our history – digitized!
We've been able to have some of our history preserved - our Tidings Newsletters from 1985-1987 have been digitized, and we've just uploaded our eTidings from 2014-2023 as well! Click here to see them!
you can vISIT THE islands online year-round with many photos of cathleen stone, calf, graves light station, rainsford and outer brewster islands
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Can't make it out - or interested in seeing what you might see on one of our trips? Visit the islands online via photos by some of our Friends - Click on the island names below to start your journey!
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A Personal account of visiting three Harbor islands in three days"Offshore Escape" by Dorian Fox is about his visit to Georges, Peddocks and Spectacle Islands. By clicking here you'll open the article on National Parks Conservation Association's website in a new window.
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