Wreck

Wreck Island is a wonderful 60-acre island to explore with its open meadows, pocket beaches, wooded areas, and an unmarked trail up the center of the island. It is owned by the [Island Heritage Trust](https://www.islandheritagetrust.org/), which received it from [The Nature Conservancy](https://www.nature.org/en-us/) in 1997 with a deed restriction that it be maintained as a nature preserve. Please stay on the trail to protect fragile plants.

Although the island was originally known as Bear Island in the 1700s, it became Barter Island in the 1800s (named after four Barter families living on it). Farming and fishing were the livelihoods of the families who inhabited the island in the 1800s. The Barters were the last family to live on the island year-round. It is unclear whether the current name of the island refers to the large number of off-shore ledges which are wrack-covered (rockweed), or to a shipwreck not mentioned in historical records.

The best landing is a beach at the east end of the island, accessible at any tide and not prone to winds. On the northwest end of the island, a small neck, visible on the chart, lies between two beaches, one facing southwest and the other northeast. The southwest beach is prone to swells in the afternoon, but is accessible at all tides. The northeast beach is more protected, but watch for exposed rocks and ledges at low tide.