Lovells Island

My family and I just returned from a 2-​night stay on Lovells Island. It’s overall not a bad site, but there are a couple of issues. I’m sure this depends on the time of year that you go, but the biting flies are horrible. We used Deep Woods Off spray to try to prevent the bites, but it didn’t work well. We were in a lot of pain and had several bleeding spots on our legs. The other issue is that you shouldn’t expect to sleep at night on the island. The airport is very close and planes take off constantly all night and they are very loud. There are also channel markers that sound off if there is any fog on the islands and they sound like a really obnoxious alarm clock. Obviously, there is a good reason for them to be loud, but it makes it impossible to sleep once they start. We liked the campsites and the beaches, and we stayed pretty active while we were there. If only we could have slept some to be ready for the next day.

Awesome little island off of Boston — it seems to contain really cool range of habitats from a marsh to beaches to forest-​y areas. The entire island is probably only a 20 – 30 minute walk long, and a good amount of it disappears during high tide. There’s a lot to explore on the island and a good deal of flora and fauna, and there seems to be a multitude of seashells no matter where you are. The beaches are very rocky and the water tends to be very cold. We saw a large number of birds and reptiles, but there doesn’t seem to be any mammals on the island other than small rodents.
There are many campsites, from smaller clearings to very large openings that could fit a large event like a wedding. There’re quite a few picnic tables and benches as well, but no garbage cans or the like. Walking on the island can be a bit of a pain — there are shells and rocks everywhere, and some of the paths get very hilly and slippery, especially if it’s rained recently.
Lovells is definitely a camping/​hiking kind of island — there are no amenities/​stores to be seen and I only saw one public restroom the entire time I was there.
The Boston skyline is visible when the sky is clear, and the sunset over the ocean looks amazing.

Camping on an island? Yes please! Many of the campsites on Lovells face the city skyline, which gives you the rare opportunity to sit on the beach with a campfire roaring while looking up at the bright lights of the city a few miles away. It’s not the pristine wilderness that some will have you thinking about — due to the island’s history as a fort, there’s quite a bit of debris on the beach — pier pylons, rusty pipes, building foundations, bricks, cement and pavement hunks.
Unfortunately, not a shoe exists that can prepare you for walking this island — the beaches and surrounding area are a combination of loose sand, loose gravel and pebbles and larger, slippery rocks. Our group reported many sore feet and one broken toe at the end of it all.
Took a shot at some striper fishing, but we lost a lot of rigs when they got stuck in the rocks. Crabs frequently stole our bait before the fish could get there, but we did reel in one skate. I saw other fishermen so I’m guessing if you come at the right time at the right spot, you’ll get some action.
The campsites ranged from sandy spots right by the beach to some grassy ones a bit more inland. Picnic tables and compost toilets are situated in or near most of the sites. One thing to beware of if you go to sleep early — the party boats cruise by the island with music blasting until well past midnight.

Had a fantastic night on Lovells on one of the last weekends of the summer. The harbor islands are truly a hidden gem for their accessibility and beauty. I’ve also camped at Bumpkin Island, and although they’re both excellent locations, I’m partial to Lovells because the swiming was better (more of a beach and it was further out so it seemed cleaner).
We stayed at the large group site, which was great for a lot of people (basically a large grassy field) but the smaller sites further northwest facing Boston are more scenic. The best part of our site though was that the toilet was right there (much cleaner than a porta-​pottie by the way!) The island was fun to walk around and there were plenty of blackberries all around and very few tics /​bugs (except for at dusk).
Other things:
— it’s possible to bring alcohol abroad the islands — just be careful and most importantly don’t be obnoxious — there’s a reason it’s «prohibited» — the islands would become party central if it was officially allowed
— Make sure that your campfire is below the tide level, the rangers will check — also, i’d recommend setting up shop on the shore facing the city, it’s pretty cool to see it lit up and buzzing late at night when you’re in the wilderness
— bring lots of sunscreen, a book and water!

One of three islands that you can camp on in Boston Harbor, the others being Grape & Bumpkin. Lovell has 3 individual sites & one group site, make sure to call ahead for a reservation.
You can also swim on the eastern side but it is fairly rocky. Nice views.
The island is fairly small, best combined with a trip to nearby Georges Island.