Vic G.
Yelp
One of my most favorite places in the city. I absolutely love it whenever I am in Castle Island. Can be easily classified as one of the many blessings of living south of Boston (oh no, I am not getting into the North Shore vs South Shore debate - not at all, I love both - but the south slightly more than the north - ;o) !!)
What's the best thing about Castle Island? So many things actually. It all comes down to a simple combination of the time of the year and what you are into:
- Great for walking / jogging. You cannot beat the scenic views of the harbor while walking along the coast line. The city has done a tremendous job of making clear and wide enough paths for regular walkers and joggers.
- Lawns / Parks: Around the main castle itself, there are plenty of green patches where one can have picnics with a small to medium sized group and enjoy nature at it's best. There are not too many trees but quite a few to snag a good spot for some shade from the summer sun.
- Water activities: The channel provides a handsome amount of water body for water enthusiasts to try whatever they fancy, without being in any substantial danger (unless of course they dive in without a life vest). Given the seasons, you will find people doing all sorts of fun stuff with the kites that are maneuvered purely by the wind and the skills of the able riders / gliders below and such.
- The Beach: While anyone in New England should not expect powder like sand anywhere on the North East coast as a rule of thumb, the semi rocky beach is good enough for those who truly value the importance of outdoors for the amount of time it is possible for us folks to be able to. Rightly so, people make the most of what they have with a very straight forward "beggars cannot be choosers" kind of an attitude.
- Fishing: At the back side of the castle itself, you find many a folks religiously standing by the fishing pier / area - lines in the water, hopeful and yet, spending some quality time with themselves and / or their company. An odd dumb seagull gets entangled in the line once in a while. But hey, there are dumb kinds in every species - we all know that - for a fact!
- Plane spotting: While the Boston Cruise port is my favorite place for that, Castle Island is not bad at all for watching planes take off or land. Depending on the wind direction, you can witness the airplanes' decent into or take off from Logan - test your eyesight and knowledge of airline logos, closely watch the landing gear opening mechanisms of air-crafts, and if lucky, maybe more...
- Finally, nothing beats a good old people watching. Over the years, I have seen the demographics of people frequenting Castle Island change. And why not. That's the only thing that is constant, isn't it? Enjoy!