Nantucket

Click image to view entire Nantucket map

Nantucket Island is an otherworldly landscape of ponds, moors and heath, dwarf trees and thickets where birds and animals find shelter, and cranberry bogs that form a magic carpet of color in autumn.

The mood on Nantucket is very different from the hustle and bustle of the mainland. Here, 30 miles out to sea, peace pervades the atmosphere and the architecture retains its dignity. Striking blue hydrangeas accent the weathered-shingle cottages. Trellises overgrown with roses conceal passageways to pretty gardens. Century-old elms shade cobblestoned Main Street, remarkably unchanged from its early days.

Nantucket’s long-gone whaling fleet was responsible for lighting most of the world’s oil lamps. From as early as the late seventeenth century, islanders knew of the utility of the huge mammals, but it only took a brief time before the islanders discovered the unlimited uses of their various anatomical parts. By the early part of the 19th century, the island had reached the height of its prosperity and renown as the center of the world’s whaling fishery. All islanders shared in the enormous profits that industry imparted, from a harborfront teeming with whaling-related commerce to a town replete with rooming and boarding houses. These glory days were reflected in the construction of grand homes for captains and merchants as symbols of wealth (much to the dismay of the Quaker traditions that dominated Nantucketers’ beliefs).

But the boom years didn’t last. By the mid-1840s, sperm whales became scarce and kerosene, a less-expensive alternative to whale oil, gained popularity. The demise of the whaling industry together with the “Great Fire” of 1846, which destroyed one-third of the town and the entire waterfront area, left the island impoverished, and building ceased. Though Nantucket lost its bounty and its masses, the character of its romantic and vital era was preserved. As a result, Nantucket emerged as a popular tourist destination thanks to its historic appeal and its promise of the “necessary, invigorating and delightful indulgence of Sea Bathing,” according to an 1828 claim.

Left with the abundance of enterprises to feed and put to bed the transient population from its heyday, a new generation of Nantucketers found themselves endowed with the facilities and abilities to receive recreation visitors. By the middle part of the 19th century, tourism began to flourish and life for “the Grey Lady” was renewed. Dining and lodging establishments in the sophisticated settings of her historic households appeased the stylish and style-seeking alike. Traditional crafts -- lightship baskets, scrimshaw, needlework, pewter, leather and wampum jewelry -- are among the bounty to be found along the streets of Nantucket Center.

But Nantucket isn’t just about the commerce of its town center and its quintessentially quaint streets. Nantucket lays claim to more than 80 miles of exceptional beaches to explore (many of them open to the public free of charge), and its surrounding hamlets are distinctly unique in their appeal. Siaconset Village is farther at sea than any of our Atlantic coastal resorts. It has summer homes that were mere fishermen’s houses and others that are large gracious residences. Climbing roses thrive everywhere. Polpis has those ponds, marshes, moors and vistas that you came for. Surfside and Madaket are popular with surfers and surf casters. Wauwinet boasts a wooded area of tall pines -- unusual for any island.

Because Nantucket juts out so far into the Atlantic and is warmed by Gulf Stream waters, the island celebrates a climate that is reluctant to give in to New England winter right up until Christmas, when the island entertains thousands of visitors with its annual Christmas Stroll.