Below is a detailed map showing the main beaches and the lighthouses of Nantucket.  Nantucket is 3.5 miles deep and 14 miles wide -- a little larger than Manhattan.  Nearly half the island is protected from development, much of it through the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and the Nantucket Land Bank.  For its size, Nantucket offers an amazing array of cultural and recreational activities.  Below the map are suggested contacts for pursuing some of those interests.

Nantucket Community Sailing rents kayaks and sailboats and offers lessons.  Call (508) 228-6600 (office) or (508) 228-5358 (beach).  Check the Nantucket phone book or the Chamber of Commerce guide about renting a power boat.

Check the Nantucket phone book or the Chamber of Commerce guide for sportfishing charters.  Smith's Point offers excellent surf fishing and Madaket Harbor offers excellent shore fishing.  The local tackle shops can rent or sell you equipment and offer advice as to when and where to try your luck.  Call Barry Thurston's Fishing Equipment at (508) 228-9595 or Bill Fisher Tackle at (508) 228-2261.  The bridge at Hither Creek is a spot for crabbing as well.

The two public golf courses on Nantucket are Miacomet Golf Club, an 18-hole course, (508) 325-0335, and Siasconset (pronounced as "Sconset") Golf Course, a 9-hole course, (508) 257-6596.  The Nantucket Golf Club and Sankaty Head Golf Club are private courses.

The tennis courts nearest to The Scallop are the courts at Tristam's Landing in Madaket.  Those courts are open to the public at a rate of $30 an hour or $120 for a week's unlimited use.  Call (508) 228-4588.

Whale watching, seal cruises, ice cream cruises and similar excursions are available through Shearwater Excursions (call (508) 228-7037), Harbor Cruises (call (508) 228-1444) or Zannah Charters (call (508) 325-7121).

Nantucket offers a variety of day camps and activities for kids, starting at the pre-K level with Camp ACKventure and NISDA (Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts)  The Maria Mitchell Association operates an observatory and a small aquarium on the island.  The island also has a public pool and ice skating rink.  The Chamber of Commerce (call (508) 228-1700) can direct you to a camp or activity best suited for your children.

The Nantucket Conservation Foundation (call (508) 228-2884) and the Nantucket Land Bank (call (508) 228-7240) own and maintain spectacular collections of properties that are open for hiking, bird watching, etc.  These properties include beaches, ponds, moors and wetlands.  Please obey all posted and published rules and be considerate of others and of Nantucket's fragile environment.

Golf