Day Trip – Best of Nantucket
Biking, Hiking and Picnicking

By Elizabeth Stanek

Perhaps some Allman Brothers lyrics from “Back Where it All Begins” are a good way to start the morning’s adventure: “Say you want to be a rolling stone; Get your sail out in the wind; Get out on the highway and let ’er roll on; Roll on back to someplace you ain't never been.”

The day trip begins on a cobblestone lane that runs along the Easy Street basin where dinghies laze away the hours. Weathered shingles and white railings of the Old North Wharf boathouses reflect in the passive water and I can’t help but add a further dose of pop culture to your morning coffee. Back in 1986, the wharf hit the big screen in “One Crazy Summer.” Starring John Cusack, the screwball coming-of-age comedy follows the antics of a rowdy crowd of teens who spend the summer on the island.

Speaking of kids romping on the island, take a left off Easy Street onto Broad Street and head up “The Strip,” a favorite teenage hang-out and the fried-food Mecca of town. Clad in purple tees that read “The Cycle-Logical Way To See Nantucket Island,” Young’s Bicycle Shop employees stand outside, greeting visitors fresh off the ferry. I speak with seasoned cycle manager Greg Lockhart, who for the past 15 years has been renting on- and off-road Treks and Cannondales to people eager to take a spin. In his orange North Face shirt and black visor, Greg appears as if he could hit the trails at any minute, but will patiently set you up with a bike, helmet, lock and map, which costs $25 for 24 hours, or $20 if the bike is returned by 5 p.m.

Take a right off Broad Street and peddle down South Beach Street. Use caution here, as there is no bike path, and side-view mirrors, bestial SUVs, and men in whale-print pants can make for a treacherous obstacle course. A left on Easton and then a right onto Cliff Road, will take you up a hill past gracious old Nantucket homes perched on a bluff overlooking the harbor.

Though hidden from sight down a stone drive at 50 Cliff Road, it’s no secret that Something Natural is a treasured lunch spot. Unassuming, the sandwich shop and bakery sits on a grassy knoll; hand-painted signs reading “Sandwiches,” and “Bread Door,” hang above its swinging doors. Once inside, the loaves of fresh-baked breads such as cranberry walnut and Portuguese line wire-rack shelves. Unique sandwiches such as Avocado, Cheddar & Chutney and Sprouts, Vegetables, and Hummus” are brightly chalked on a board alongside traditional favorites such as a Smoked Turkey or Prime Roast Beef. Or, if you have a case of carb-phobia these days, try “Lizbet’s Favorite Salad: turkey, lettuce, sprouts, cucumbers sunflower and sesame seeds in balsamic vinaigrette. I just like the name for obvious reasons. Don’t forget to grab one of the huge chocolate chip cookies or bag of mini-molasses raisin cookies, along with a bottle of Nantucket Nectars lemonade to wash it all down. Order to go, or dine at one of the picnic tables near the dark green dinghy moored by the flowerbed in the lush green lawn.

After fueling up, the yard’s bordering split-rail fence can’t keep you in because there’s rubber to burn. Follow Cliff Road’s bike path until you reach Madaket Road. A left and a quick right will bring you to the dirt parking lot of Sanford Farm. Now protected by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Nantucket Islands Land Bank Commission, Mrs. Anne W. Sanford once owned the 300 acres. Yet long before the handful of farms that once occupied the land, evidence dates Indian settlements in the area. While a mountain bike will enable you to navigate the terrain, Lockhart says to “be very careful because the area is shared with dog-walkers, strollers and horse riders.” I suggest just donning your running shoes and traveling by foot.

Enter through the wooden turnstile and grab a map at the first marker. (It might be wise to stop at The Nantucket Conservation Foundation, 118 Cliff Road, on your way, in case the maps are out. The Foundation can also provide you with other informative brochures and literature). The trails at Sanford Farm and bordering Ram Pasture and The Woods cater to all activity levels and have interpretive markers along the way.

Take “The Loop,” a 1.7-mile circuit, and first pass Waqutaquaib Pond, known as a “kettlehole pond” since it is filled with rain and ground water. Gaze over the pond at a green John Deere tractor mowing the distant fields, and the Stars and Stripes rippling in the breeze near a widow’s walk topped with a whale weathervane. The panoramic view is so Americana that it gives me the urge to pop open a glass-bottled Coca-Cola.

Other highlights on The Loop are Pine Grove, where the trail meanders among a patch of three-needled pitch pines. Though slightly daunting in a Harry Potter sort of way, the spell is quickly broken by a pair of little boys running with butterfly nets and critter tanks. Frequenters to Sanford Farm, the duo knows it’s better to bear left at the fork (Marker number 4) toward Hummock Pond to look for painted turtles.

The Loop continues winding through gorgeous vegetation – milkweed, Queen Anne’s lace, honeysuckle and sweet pepperbush. More adventurous souls will venture to The Barn, a 3.1-mile round-trip, that brings you to Pasture Overlook, which boasts one of the highest points on the property at 49 feet above sea level. With breathtaking views of Hummock Pond, the Atlantic Ocean, Cisco beach and Madaket, an awed “wow” pops out of my mouth, as does “photo opportunity!”

For those with the utmost physical prowess, the trail continues to the ocean through the fields of Joe-pye weed which bloom blue and pink in late summer. This six-mile round-trip loop is deserving of more than just congratulations – how about ice cream in town?

Hop back on the Madaket bike path and stop at the Abiah Folger Franklin memorial on your way back to town. Mother of Benjamin Franklin, Abiah was born in 1662, 225 feet away from where the tablet stands.

Follow the bike path until you hit Upper Main Street. The map from Young’s will guide you through town and back to Steamboat Wharf to drop off your bike. The sweet scent of homemade waffle cones drifts from The Juice Bar, an acclaimed ice cream spot a few doors down. Mint chocolate chip? Blackberry? I know you have a weakness. Grab some extra napkins because the scoops are generous, and catch the late day sun on the harbor. The best benches for this are where you started your excursion, overlooking the Easy Street basin. The last lines from the morning’s Allman Brothers tune say it all:

“Travel out across the burnin sand; Cross the ocean to some distant land; We’ll reach the end, we’ll all be singin’; And we’ll all be friends; Back where it all begins.”