Looking for a Great Day Trip With Your Airplane – Check Out Nantucket

MA—Are you looking for an excellent fly-in day trip? If so, it may be time to check out Nantucket, Massachusetts. It’s located 30 miles from the coast of Cape Cod. Visitors to Nantucket can enjoy its three lighthouses, 80 miles of beaches, seafaring culture, and history.

Start Your Trip with a Landing at Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK)

Nantucket Memorial Airport (ACK) has a full-service FBO. They charge landing and ramp fees, but if you purchase at least 10 gallons of fuel, the ramp fee is waived for that day. ACK sits at an elevation of 46.7 feet. They have two runways, including Runway 6/24 and Runway 15/33. Runway 6/24 is 4,500 feet long and 100 feet wide. Runway 6/24 is 6,303 feet long and 150 feet wide. Nantucket Airport averages 165 aircraft operations daily, with 51 percent being air taxis. Forty percent is general aviation. Seven percent is commercial. One percent is local general aviation, and 1 percent is military. The CTAF and the tower can be contacted on 118.2. Nantucket ground is 132.5, and Boston Approach and Departure can be contacted on 126.1. The airport offers rental cars, and taxis are available.

Enjoying the Day in Nantucket, MA

After parking your airplane and tying it down on the tarmac, you’ll want to head out to the sites. The first stop that’s most often recommended is a stroll down Main Street. Main Street Nantucket has many historic and beautiful mansions, providing a great view of the architecture. Not to mention, many of those mansions can be visited. This is because they’ve been turned into museums, small shops, boutiques, and restaurants.

Visit the Beaches

Nantucket is known for its fabulous beaches. The island has 80 miles of sand across eight beaches, including Francis Street Beach, Brant Point Beach, Children’s Beach, Jetties Beach, Washing Pond Beach, Dionis Beach, 40th Pole Beach, and Steps Beach. They each offer their own amenities and views. For example, Steps Beach is known for its stairs and its fantastic view of the Nantucket Sound. However, it doesn’t have any facilities. If you’d like a beach with more amenities, you might check out Dionis Beach. It has lifeguards and restrooms and is considered safe for children to play and swim. Children’s Beach or Harbor’s Beach offers even more amenities. This beach offers lifeguards, a bandstand, a playground, restrooms, showers, and snacks.

Experience the Lighthouses

Nantucket has three lighthouses: Sankaty Head Lighthouse, Brant Point Lighthouse, and Great Point Lighthouse. Brand Point Lighthouse is the most iconic on the island. Visitors see it first when they arrive via the ferry. It was built in 1746 and stands 26 feet high. It is no longer used for navigation.

Sankaty Lighthouse, built in 1850 on the bluff end of the island, stands 70 feet tall. It was the first lighthouse built on the island and is still in operation. Visitors can walk around the lighthouse and view it from the ground.

Great Point Lighthouse was originally built in 1784. Unfortunately, it was constructed using wood and burned down in 1816. A second lighthouse was built in its place in 1818. This time, they used stone. However, that lighthouse fell in 1984. Today, a third tower stands in its place after being constructed in 1986. The current lighthouse is 60 feet tall and a replica of the second lighthouse. This lighthouse is still in use.

Stop for Lunch

After visiting the lighthouses and the beach, you’ll probably want to stop for lunch. The great news is that there are lots of places to eat. You can check out the Faregrounds, one of the best places to eat on the island for families. It is open for lunch and dinner all year. The restaurant serves sandwiches, pizza, and an array of seafood. It even has a kids’ menu.

You could also choose to eat at Rose and Crown. They serve steaks, seafood, lobster, hamburgers, fries, soups, and salads. They open at 11:30 AM and serve lunch and dinner. Of course, you could also choose any of the other eateries, including bakeries, markets, and fine dining establishments.

Visit the Basket Weaving Shop

Nantucket is home to the Lightship Basket Museum, where you can learn about the island’s basket-weaving history. You may be surprised to know that the first basket weavers in Nantucket were the captains and sailors of the ships. The sailors wanted something to do to pass the time while they sailed to their destinations, so they decided to weave baskets. At the Lightship Basket Museum, you can learn about the history of the baskets, buy some baskets, and participate in workshops.

Head to the Airport for a Predeparture Dinner at Crosswinds

As you wind down your day, head back to the airport and enjoy dinner at the Crossroads. The Crossroads is located inside the airport building and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Patrons can enjoy jumbo wings, hamburgers and chicken sandwiches, salads, meatloaf, and a wide variety of seafood. Once you’ve eaten your fill, you can fly off to your next day trip adventure.

Nantucket is a great place to visit for a day or the weekend. If you plan on visiting longer than a day, there are plenty of places to stay, including Hotel Pippa, Hotel Nantucket, Union Street Inn, and Nantucket Inn. You could also rent a vacation home to extend your time on the island.