Grape Island

This was my first camping experience and I really enjoyed it but…
1) my group had 2 campgrounds in the group section and both areas were extremely slanted. It was hard to get comfortable and I woke up multiple times at night sliding down my tent.
2) only one of the three bathrooms were working. Luckily there weren’t that many people so other than my group, there wasn’t a long line.
3) the map wasn’t very helpful. There were alot of trails not on the map. It’s a small place so we didn’t get lost but we had less than 24 hours on the island so it would have been nice to have a more accurate map.

Grape Island is fantastic. It is a little tricky to get here from Boston itself but not too bad. You can take a ferry from downtown and switch at another island or take a ferry directly from Hingham.
It is so nice to be so close to the city yet feel so far away. The campsites are not far apart but they are wooded. There is also a group campground and a few benches and picnic sites across the island. There are deer in the woods and the island feels pretty big. Walking through or around it is a nice amount of exercise. I’m not sure if you are technically allowed to swim although people did wade in at different spots. You can make a fire at your tent or one on the beach below the high tide line.
We had such a great one night trip here (because the island was so booked up) but we will be back next year hopefully if we book earlier.

Just to add to the other reviews, nice island which also offers a rocky beach for day use (no lifeguards). There are several tables for picnics, and a few Adirondack chairs scattered about to chill out on.
Another option to get to Grape Island other than from Boston is to take the ferry directly from Hewitts Cove located at the old Hingham Shipyard on the South Shore, the ferry takes about 15 minutes to get to Grape Island from there without transfer, you should be able to swim it in 10 minutes though, with combat boots on!
To be fair, the boat is a small pontoon boat and not one of the larger ferries, the crews are pretty friendly & informative. If you go on the weekend and the office or gangway shack are both closed just wait at the dock, the boat will arrive as advertised. It hits Grape Island and then out to Bumpkin, Peddocks, and then finally George’s, all for $ 14, so get up early and try to visit at least two in one day.
This summer the rangers (very friendly also, must be all non –natives :) are offering guided kayak tours on Weds, Thurs, Sat, & Sunday, I believe on a first come first serve basis, one guide and four visitors. They also offer nature photography sessions if a ranger is available and on request.
Enjoy!

Ditto to every articulate statement A P. wrote, but add
1) most of the campsites need an energy cleansing. Bring your natural item of choice for smudging.
2) take the wild edibles tour
3) «What the ghostly tomfoolery is going on here?» All day long while exploring the island, I got the feeling of being followed. At 3 am I was awakened to find the ghost of a glowing, Native American crouched in my tent. What she wanted I do not know, but I didn’t sleep until daybreak. Although I had to pee so bad I could taste it, I refused to exit my tent. Energy sensitive people be aware.
However, if you’re among the disbelievers of psychic phenomena, you probably won’t hear, feel, or see a ghostly thing. So, carry obliviously on!

Grape Island is a great place for camping novices, because you can see «civilization» and get cellphone reception, so you have the security of knowing that help is always nearby if you screw up.
To get to Grape Islands, you have to take two ferries (and most likely the T), so you do need to pack what you can carry. In my experience, this has resulted in very silly convoys on the T of people carrying a backpack, a shopping cart, and a bag of camping gear in each hand while commuters stare. (You also have to do this in reverse when you smell like two days’ worth of sunblock/​salt water/​OFF/​campfire, but this adds to the sense of adventure.)
The rangers do meet the ferries at the dock, so they will check to make sure you have a campsite reservation. The campsites are really cheap– a whole weekend, plus the food and supplies we packed, usually worked out to about $ 30 per person. Reservations are done online via the Boston Harbor Islands website, which also has information on what to pack and what the rules of the island are.
The island is beautiful and pristine, with a small ruin of a farmhouse, two composting toilets, a ranger yurt, and plenty of grassy trails, picnic tables, and rocky beaches to explore. Campfires are only allowed on the beach below the high-​tide line, so picking a good beach is essential because you’ll spend most of your time on the beach either cooking or swimming.
Some of the campsites are better than others, so it’s important to closely examine the available campsites to make sure you get one of the good ones! (The one directly behind the toilet gets stinky at night when the toilet composts, for example.)
The rangers are helpful and will take you on berry identifying tours and things like that. Last year, the rangers were offering sea kayaking tours around the island, which was amazing! The island also has some semi-​tame wildlife to spot, like foxes and a very friendly skunk who will eat your food if you don’t hide it from him. There are also some friendly bugs, so insect repellent is a must.
My favorite part of camping on Grape Island is that it’s slow, pastoral, and relaxing, yet you can see «civilization» from the island. We’ve been able to sit and watch traffic lights change on a street across the channel, or hear the song of an ice-​cream truck echo across the water while making smores over a campfire. It’s a quiet, fun, relaxing, and cheap way to spend a fun weekend with your family or friends.