e x p l o r e n a n t u c k e t
BEACHCOMBING BEHIND THE DUNES OF MIACOMET AND CISCO
with Peter B. Brace
Beachcombing is what the off-season is all about for some island hikers.

With no sunbathers, very few surfers and no lifeguards or ATV police patrols clogging up the shoreline, we who comb the sand for flotsam and jetsam are freer to discover what washes up on the beach.

But then there's the wind to contend with on those not so likable walking days when it's just blustery enough to keep you off the beach, but not enough to force you into the moors and island's forests. The cure for these in-between days is a hike inside of the dunes and coastal banks along Nantucket's south shore.

On this island at least, we are lucky to have much of our 82-some-odd miles of beaches open for walking. Because of our hodgepodge system of dirt and sand roads running between Miacomet Pond and Cisco Beach, you can pick your way along this stretch of the shoreline and still see and hear the ocean but remain out of the wind blowing off the sea.

However, as this walk, which I've cobbled together over several years of hiking and biking it, is not a loop, it's going to require some creative transportation thinking on your part, depending on how much of this area you want to see. I like to begin at the western side of Miacomet Pond at the smaller parking lot because if I'm walking back the way I came, it's nice to have the wind at my back when it's out of the southwest.

Start by getting out to West Miacomet Road, which starts where Somerset Road ends as it turns into a dirt road that goes past the Miacomet Golf Course. From this parking lot, walk out on West Miacomet Road and follow it south to the ocean. You'll know you're on the right road if you see Miacomet Pond appear off the east side of the dirt road. If you want to cut this part of the walk out, you can drive down this road and park at the beach parking lot instead.

Once there either by foot or rubber, your mission is to walk as close to the dunes in as straight a line as possible without walking over beach grass or across any vegetation, sticking strictly to the paths and roads that you can find. You'll find this fairly easy to do, but take your time and see what you can see in this extraordinary part of the island.

You're walking through what's known as the Moorlands Management District, a 600-acre tract of land owned by the town and managed by the Nantucket Islands Land Bank. The land is primarily sandplain grasslands comprised of low shrubs and grasses, and is home to the rare and endangered short-eared owl and is a prime habitat for the Northern harrier hawk.

Though the owl will be tough to spot, Northern harriers, a raptor with a white band around the start of its tail, can easily be spotted hovering low over the ground searching for rodents. You may also spot red-tailed hawks soaring high above looking for the same sort of four-legged food.

Finding the Cisco Beach parking area is fairly simple and works out to be about a one-to two-mile walk depending how you go. You'll be able to pick

your way along the inland side of the dunes by following the dirt roads that are the closest to the dunes. At times, these roads appear to head directly away to the north of the beach, but you can always find a road that doubles back or a windy sand trail that roughly follow the shoreline behind the dunes. When in doubt, cut over to the beach using one of the many openings in the dunes.

Peter discovers what washes up on the beach by combing the sand for flotsam and jetsam.

You'll know when you're getting close to Cisco when you reach a cluster of large houses that make up Cisco Estates and a long dirt road with split rail fencing on both sides of the road.

If the wind is blowing out of the north or northeast, you may want to skip this walk until you can use the dunes to your advantage. I find this walk particularly enjoyable about two hours before sunset in the winter so I can check out the stream of thousands of long-tailed ducks flying in from the ocean to spend the night in large flotillas in Nantucket Sound. It's also great to do this hike early in the morning, about 30 minutes before the sun comes up and before there is any wind at all.

If the wind is mellow, add a little more to this hike by getting down on the beach in front of the Cisco Beach parking area and walking down to the ocean at Hummock Pond. Go next Wednesday at low tide and you may see the town opening Hummock Pond to the ocean.

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