Discover Nantucket: History, Trails, and Nature

Nantucket offers travelers several specific points of interest: a historic town center designated a National Historic Landmark, a range of architectural styles, trails across the island, and places for wildlife watching. If you are looking for a hotel in Nantucket, you can first consider whether local history, outdoor activity, or wildlife watching is most important for your stay. These topics also vary in scale: from historic buildings and walking trails to an island trail more than 24 miles long, there are several different areas of focus.

Architecture and Stories in Nantucket

Nantucket’s historic town center was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Its buildings include early lean-to houses, Federal- and Greek Revival-style mansions, and later Victorian-style homes. Rather than focusing on just one architectural style, you can take in a variety of architectural forms and periods. The Nantucket Preservation Trust offers guided architectural history tours; check the latest tour details in advance.

Main Street also offers a glimpse into the island’s architectural history: its commercial section was rebuilt in the Greek Revival style after the Great Fire of 1846. At its lower end near the harbor stands the Pacific Club, a brick building dating from before the American Revolution. At the upper end is the Pacific National Bank, built around 1818. From the roof of this bank, Maria Mitchell discovered a comet on October 1, 1847. Architectural history and the history of science come together here in a specific story.

Other places add to this picture without repeating the same story. The Historic Mitchell House became a museum in 1903 to preserve the memory of Maria Mitchell. Since 1945, the Natural Science Museum has been housed in the Coffin-Hinchman House at 7 Milk Street. The Maria Mitchell Association aquarium at Nantucket Harbor features local species from Nantucket; exhibits may change.

For self-guided walking tours, the Town of Nantucket offers an app with mapped routes and location-specific information. Check the app’s current content when planning. This lets you follow routes and information on site, while a guided tour offers another way to explore the island’s architectural history.

Trails, Landscapes, and Wildlife Watching

The island has more than 35 miles of bike paths for cycling, running, and walking. The Coast to Coast Trail is a different option: this named hiking trail is just over 24 miles long and runs from east to west through a variety of habitats. One figure describes the island’s bike paths, while the other refers to a single, continuous east-west route.

For a shorter walk, the trails at the Nantucket Field Station and Folger’s Marsh cover about one mile. Wildlife viewing opportunities also vary by habitat. In the marsh, you are likely to see herons, egrets, and other wading birds; at the freshwater pond, songbirds; and along the coast, seabirds.

At The Creeks, access is via a narrow beach that leads to a wider stretch of sand and then into a salt marsh crisscrossed by numerous small and large tidal channels. Gulls, ducks, egrets, and herons can be spotted there. Those who want to compare wildlife viewing by location and habitat will find a different setting here than at the Field Station. The Middle Moors properties of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation encompass a total of more than 3,220 acres of protected open space, giving a sense of the scale of the protected landscape.

For a trip that also includes exhibits, the aquarium at Nantucket Harbor features local species; note that exhibits may change. Architecture, hiking trails, and wildlife watching thus offer different areas of focus when planning a stay in Nantucket.

Plan Your Trip

You can reach Nantucket by plane via Nantucket Memorial Airport or year-round by ferry from Hyannis with Steamship Authority and Hy-Line. Check the latest schedule before traveling.

For the broader travel overview: Nantucket.