misery islands

Took the Sea Shuttle tour from The Willows and opted for the Misery Island drop-off for the additional $5. This was truly a highlight of our trip to Salem. On the way out the views are amazing and the island itself is a little piece heaven. From amazing views from various vantage points along the shoreline, to the walking trails and stumbling upon various ruins while exploring, this is worth the small fee to get here. My 9-yr old ,daughter who went strictly for the sea glass, was not disappointed. She came back with a ridiculous amount of loot collected. We even found a small secluded cove of our own to explore on the north side. Small Misery Island is very close and probably a short swimdepending on the tide. After our pick up we enjoyed an hour tour of Salem Sound/Harbor. The staff is very informative of all the surrounding islands. My daughter even got to play Captain of the shuttle for a short while! Certainly can't beat that experience!! If you are looking for something away from all the busy and usual attractions of Salem then is something not to miss. We can hardly wait to go back and when we do this will definitely beon our list!

This is a scary place, especially when you hear the history.. it was used to house people with rare diseases... scary times!

Visited this island with a friend on the Sea Shuttle. After being dropped off by company we explored the wonderful hiking trails on this island. There are no summer residents on this island and you can really feel you have the island to yourself at times. The trails are well marked. There is a blue and red trail. Red trails are more challenging and go around the coast of the island. We took the blue trail which led to several interesting ruins and nature areas. We had lunch on the foundations of a wrap around porch an old casino hotel. The view was magnificent with a great view of sail boats and neighboring islands. Another spot was popular with boaters just hanging around in the small cove with beach and pond area. Close to the drop off point is a overview where you can see Little Misery which is next to the main island. Little Misery is accessible on low tide but also looked like you could swim to it. It has it's own trails. Bathroom facilities are in an attractive structure that blends with the surrounding trees. If you really like it here you can buy a season pass from the sea shuttle ($75) and come any day. Great place to take nature photographers or do some plein air painting. I'm planning on a season pass next year. Great for families and their pet friends. There are several dropoff times so you can spend the day here. Sea Shuttle crew are great.

We took the boat tour around the islands, and stopped on the main island for 90 minutes. It was a beautiful site with good paths. It was easy to walk the whole island in the time allotted. Be warned; there is only one bathroom on the island, which is clean but used no water (hand sanitizer at exit). Also, it is part of the Trustees of Reservations, so if you're a member, you can see the island for free.

Great little island to explore with the family or alone. I have been coming to this island since I was a kid. Easier to get there now using the Sea Shuttle out of the Salem Willows. They drop and pick up people a few times a day. They give you a nice narrated tour of Salem Sound too. Friendly crew.

We saw this tour on Groupon a few weeks ago. Since my husband loves boat rides, I suggested we take it. Regular price is $25.00 ($20.00 for seniors). We didn't know about Misery Island until we got on the boat. It is now an uninhabited island. For an extra $5.00 the boat will drop you off at the island and then pick you up. Our boat let off passengers at the island a little after 1 o'clock and they could have been picked up at either 2:30 or 4:30. If you opt to visit the island, you will be on the the boat about another hour after you are picked up from the island. I believe that there is nothing to do on the island except walk and see a few ruins. There is a bathroom both on the island and on the boat. They also sell drinks and snacks on the boat.Since I can not swim, I do not usually like to go on boats. This was a decent size boat and I felt quite safe and enjoyed this very relaxing tour. I suggest that you sit close to the captain. If was much easier to understand his commentary once we moved from the rear of the boat to the front of the boat.You get the boat at the dock at very end of Salem Willows (down past all the stores). We got there early and sat on a bench watching the harbor. When we saw the boat coming, we walked down to the end of the dock. They put up a plank right over the water that you walk down on in order to board the boat. If I could survive this, anybody can!!!!

We had a great time touring Salem Sound and enjoying the spectacular scenery. The tour guide was knowledgeable, the staff were accommodating and the boat ride was very pleasant. Our group enjoyed it tremendously.

We are trustees of the reservation and so we are trying to explore all of the area parks. We took the Sea Shuttle over to the island. This is a beautiful trip and the staff is really informative and helpful. The new shuttle was very clean and well designed. It had a glass water tank for lobsters, as well as an underwater camera and large screen TV to explore underwater. They drop you off over at Big Misery Island for 90 minutes (make sure you have water, which is available for purchase). It was really awesome to have our own private island to explore, and there is over two miles of well maintained trails. The views are beautiful and the history is interesting.

Went with a couple of people and had a great time on a hot 4th of July day exploring Misery Island, which is a small island off Salem Harbor. There are trails around the island and picturesque places to stop and have a picnic (no food is sold on the island, so bring your own and make sure to pack water). We took the Sea Shuttle from Marblehead, and although it was a little steep ($30 each) the price includes the admission to the island. Also, it was great to be on the water on such a hot and humid day. The guys that run the shuttle are great and very knowledgeable about the area. The Sea Shuttle has another life as an oceanic educational enterprise (part of the admission cost funds education) and is equipped with a saltwater tank in the center of it. On our way back the crew stopped to check one of their lobster pots and discovered 3 lobsters in it for the tank. A couple of the passengers were able to try lobster banding first hand. All in all, it was a fabulous time!

We took a motor boat up from Boston Harbor to the islands one Saturday at the end of the summer. It was a great destination - the right length trip (~90 minutes) and an interesting destination. We packed a picnic and ate on the beach, which has lots of sea glass. There are some cool "ruins" on the island, as well as a composting toilet (!) maintained by the Trustees of Reservations, which owns the property. There are also some nice views of the coast available from the perimeter trails. There is a small fee ($5) in the summer, but in the off-season it is free of charge.