Fall on Nantucket is a terrific time to take advantage of a myriad of activities from the historical to the athletic, from the educational to the just plain fun!
October is still an excellent time to visit, the weather will be on the crisper side, but all the beauty abounds! Of course with fall on Nantucket not only do we get a change in temperature but we get variations in color. Many of the greens start to fade to reds, ambers, and browns, which can make for some fantastic photo opportunities.
On October 12th the island is hosting the 16th Annual Cranberry Festival at Milestone Cranberry Bog. "The Nantucket Cranberry Festival is a popular event among adults and children alike – the Foundation’s Milestone Cranberry Bog is transformed into the most unique and beautiful of Festival grounds for this special event. Visitors can expect to learn about the history of cranberry farming on Nantucket through educational displays and harvesting demonstrations, participate in family activities, sample delectable cranberry treats, and other New England classics, or simply enjoy the music and the spectacular autumn scenery. And as always, there will be pounds of organic Genuine Nantucket Cranberries available for purchase!" To find out all the details follow THIS LINK.
If you're the more active type and up for a challenge the 9th Annual Nantucket Half Marathon is the very next day! "This race is one of the most scenic Half Marathon courses on the East Coast! Set on charming Nantucket Island, the route travels through wooded dirt roads (some with short sandy sections!), tree-lined bike paths, and lightly traveled streets with beautiful ocean views. The course is gently rolling, but you are never more than a few feet above sea level! Approximately 40% of the course is on dirt roads with a few sandy sections that can be challenging, but there are no significant hills. You may run on roads and see parts of Nantucket you never knew existed!" The course map can be found HERE and more details on how to signup HERE.
Did you know Nantucket is home to a vast array of conservation land and walking/hiking trails? This can make for great Fall fun, and many of the trails are easy to access and navigate so they can be perfect for family fun. There is a great online resource called All Trails, and we took the time to sort out the Nantucket trails HERE. If you don't want to take the self-guided route, you can call Nantucket Walkabout. Nantucket Walkabout is Nantucket’s only year-round guided hiking service offering natural history walks on Nantucket’s protected lands all over the island. They lead hikes during all seasons that inform on how, geologically, the island was created by the last glacier, how Nantucket got its unique collection of plants and wildlife, how and when Native Americans and European settlers impacted the island’s natural world, conservation efforts, and what the future may hold for the island. Nantucket Walkabout is not a tour bus or van service driving from sight to sight. They get out and walk into Nantucket’s wilderness to experience life off the road in all seasons. It’s a part bird walk, part botany hike, part geology and all about exploration.
The final pieces to any weekend getaway are transportation and lodging. For ferry schedules head over to The Steamship Authority or Hy-Line's website. For accommodation, you can browse our Nantucket vacation rental listings by clicking here.
Have a great fall!
-The Jordan Real Estate Team
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