Nantucket’s 82 miles of beaches are free, and the whaling history runs deep

It’s the faraway land for a reason

Nantucket sits 30 miles south of Cape Cod in the Atlantic, a 14-mile sliver of sand only three and a half miles wide. The Wampanoag people named it well.

In their language, the word means “far-away land,” and that distance still defines the place. You get 82 miles of beaches here, nearly all of them free and open to everyone.

Over half the island is protected conservation land, and in 1966, the entire thing earned National Historic Landmark status. That kind of protection kept something rare alive, and the deeper you look, the more you find.

Whalers once sailed from here to the Arctic

The Wampanoag lived on Nantucket long before English settlers showed up in 1659. By the mid-1700s, the island had become the whaling capital of the world.

Ships left and sailed as far as the Pacific and Arctic Oceans in pursuit of sperm whales. Tourism picked up where whaling left off, driving the island’s economy today.

That era ended in the mid-1800s when petroleum replaced whale oil, and a devastating fire in 1846 gutted the waterfront.

Walk cobblestone streets lined with 1700s buildings

Downtown Nantucket looks like it stopped aging two centuries ago. Art galleries, small shops, and waterfront wharves pack the center tight enough to cover on foot.

Cobblestone streets run between weathered gray-shingled buildings, many of them dating to the 1700s and 1800s.

Travel and Leisure named Main Street one of America’s greatest main streets, and once you walk it, you’ll see why.

Duck down the quieter side streets, and you’ll pass pocket gardens and old homes still standing from the whaling era.

A whale skeleton hangs inside an old candle factory

The Whaling Museum is located inside a 1847 spermaceti candle factory on Broad Street.

Walk in, and the first thing you see is a full sperm whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling of the main hall. Glass cases hold scrimshaw collections, harpoons, and artifacts pulled from actual whaling voyages.

The museum also tells the story of the whaleship Essex, the disaster that gave Herman Melville the idea for Moby-Dick. Before you leave, climb to Tucker’s Roofwalk for a wide-open view of the harbor.

Three lighthouses and 800 shipwrecks offshore

Between 700 and 800 ships have gone down in the waters around Nantucket, and three lighthouses still mark the danger.

Brant Point Light went up in 1746, making it America’s second-oldest lighthouse. At just 26 feet, it’s also the shortest in New England.

Over on the eastern bluff in Siasconset, Sankaty Head Light rises 70 feet in brick and granite, built in 1850. Great Point Lighthouse, first constructed in 1784, stands alone at the remote northern tip where sand and ocean meet.

Step inside a home built in 1686

The Jethro Coffin House holds the title of the oldest residence on Nantucket.

Two of the island’s founding families built it in 1686 as a wedding gift, and the Nantucket Historical Association runs it as a National Historic Landmark today.

Not far away, the Old Mill dates to 1746, the oldest functioning windmill in the country. A sailor named Nathan Wilbur built it using oak beams from shipwrecks.

The windmill is currently going through a major multi-year restoration, so access may be limited when you visit.

Rose-covered cottages in a village called Sconset

Seven miles east of downtown, you’ll reach the village of Siasconset, known around the island as Sconset.

Rose-covered cottages with white picket fences line the narrow lanes here. The village started as a fishing settlement in the 1700s and later drew New York theater actors looking for a summer escape.

Sconset runs its own post office, market, and zip code. Walk the Sconset Bluff Walk, a footpath that traces the ocean cliffs all the way to Sankaty Head Lighthouse.

Pick a beach to match your mood

Jetties Beach keeps things calm with gentle water, a playground, lifeguards, and a restaurant right there on the sand.

If you want waves, head south to Surfside Beach, where the surf picks up, and a shuttle runs from town. Surfers tend to gather at Cisco Beach, where the energy runs high.

Over on the east side, Siasconset Beach sits below the bluffs with far fewer people. The north shore has Dionis and Steps Beach, where the water warms up faster.

Catch the sunset at the island’s western edge

Madaket Beach sits at the far western tip of Nantucket, and people have been calling it the best sunset spot on the island for years.

The horizon opens wide with nothing but water in front of you, and the sky turns colors you’ll remember on the drive home. Behind the beach, Hither Creek gives you calm water for kayaking and paddleboarding.

The whole area runs quieter and slower than the rest of the island, the kind of place where you settle in and stay longer than you planned.

Seals haul out on a 1,400-acre barrier beach

Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge stretches across the island’s northern peninsula, covering over 1,400 acres of dunes, salt marshes, and maritime forest.

Gray and harbor seals regularly pull themselves onto the sand near Great Point, and the skies above belong to ospreys, piping plovers, and American oystercatchers.

The refuge holds the largest red cedar woodland in all of New England. You can explore 16 miles of trails on foot or join a guided over-sand vehicle tour.

Ride 35 miles of bike paths without a car

Nantucket has 35 miles of paved bike paths, and the mostly flat terrain makes two wheels the easiest way to get around.

The Milestone Bike Path runs about six miles from town to Siasconset through open countryside with nothing but moors and sky on either side.

The Surfside Bike Path covers a flat 2.2 miles and drops you right at the beach.

The Nantucket Conservation Foundation maintains over 9,000 acres with additional trails open for walking and biking, so you can keep going well past the pavement.

Stargaze where America’s first female astronomer grew up

Maria Mitchell was born on Nantucket in 1818 and became America’s first professional female astronomer. The association that carries her name now runs the Loines Observatory just outside downtown.

With so little light pollution on the island, the night sky opens up in a way you don’t get on the mainland. The Maria Mitchell Association also operates a natural science museum and aquarium.

Every February, the island hosts the Nantucket Science Festival, giving you one more reason to visit in the off-season.

Getting to Nantucket from the Massachusetts coast

You can reach Nantucket by ferry from Hyannis, Mass. The Steamship Authority runs the only car ferry, which takes about two hours and 15 minutes.

Both the Steamship Authority and Hy-Line Cruises run high-speed passenger ferries that make the crossing in about an hour, with round-trip adult fares starting around $89 to $91.

If you’d rather fly, Nantucket Memorial Airport handles flights from Boston, New York, and other cities. Once on the island, the public bus service called the Wave can move you around, or you can rent a bike or a car.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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