A ferry trip to the Boston Harbor Islands will be free Saturday in celebration of the opening of the season at the islands’ national and state parks.
The Boston Harbor Island Alliance, in partnership with the National Park Service, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, is offering the free ride to let visitors know that the area is more than a place, it’s “a feeling, a state of mind or a sense of American pride.”
The free rides are also a part of the National Park Service’s 2015 Find Your Park campaign, according to the DCR.
“We are hoping to have 1,500 to 2,000 people come,” said Phil Griffiths, president of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance. “We encourage people to come out. It should be a beautiful day.”
The tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Boston Harbor Cruises Ferry Center at Long Wharf North ferry terminal.
Ferries depart every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They go as far as Georges Island, and return trips depart from 1 to 6 p.m.
Rebecca Fiore can be reached at rebecca.fiore@globe.com.