Bike Ride from Downtown Nantucket to ‘Sconset – Cape Cod, MA

June 2024

Bike Ride from Downtown Nantucket to ‘Sconset – Cape Cod, MA

For our weekend in Cape Cod, Kevin definitely wanted to explore one of the Cape Cod islands of Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard. Since we only had a day trip to complete this excursion, Nantucket appeared to be the best option since it is more compact and you can see most things without a car. In fact, much of the island is bike-able, has bike paths built in, and allows for bikes to have right of way on the highways when bike paths are not available.

For our day, I reserved bikes at Nantucket Bike Shop to make our way around Nantucket and the surrounding areas. We have rented bikes on trips in the past and neither were particularly enjoyable for me (looking at you Nashville and Vancouver), so I am not sure why I booked this but here we are. Before we navigated with the cars, I requested a quick refresher in a parking lot nearby before taking off. 

Our ultimate destination was Siasconset / ‘Sconset on the east side of the island. ‘Sconset is known for pristine beaches, beautiful cottages that are often adorned with roses, and tight community. It is not a big area and there is limited shopping and dining on this side of the island which adds to the charm. 

This is a very typical bike ride for both locals and visitors with bike signs and directions. The bike ride out there was a bit longer than I anticipated. At almost 9 miles one way, it took us just under an hour of bike riding to get there and while the large majority of the route has a bike path, there are parts that do not and there is also not bike lane – signs indicate that bikes have right of way on the roads and that cars need to allow bikes to take up the lane as a car. And this sounds great in practice until you are peddling your heart out trying not to delay the ten car pile up behind you. Once you make it out of the downtown, there is nothing but preserved land until you get to ‘Sconset, which while it is a great thing it also makes for a rather boring and repetitive ride. Though there is one spot called the serengeti that has cut outs of safari animals that I found both strange and entertaining.

Thankfully it was a gorgeous day that did not leave us completely debilitated when we arrived at ‘Sconset. After parking the bikes, we wandered through the neighborhood to the ‘Sconset Bluff Walk and wow, these homes were just gorgeous. I truly cannot imagine if this is your summer getaway or permanent home. All covered in the same wooden planks, these homes each have a whimsical beach name and lush greenery on and around the home. 

The ‘Sconset Bluff Walk is a public walkway that goes behind the most luxurious homes and alongside the cliffs along the ocean. While we did not have time to complete the entire mile to the Sankaty Head Lighthouse, know that is an option when you are visiting. We just did not have enough time in the day for the two miles of walking on top of the 18 miles of biking. 

We were not hungry, but everyone was at Claudette’s Sandwich Shop so this is definitely the place to grab lunch and I think looking back on the rest of the day, we could have stuck around to split a sandwich here. I think I really just wanted those Cape Cod potato chips. We also stopped in the General Store and those shops in this area before hopping back on the bikes. 

The ride home was significantly better and faster as we were going mostly downhill and it was an enjoyable ride back to downtown Nantucket. Renting bikes was a fun way to reach ‘Sconset and we really enjoyed our visit here. I wish we had more time to complete the ‘Sconset Bluff and have lunch so make sure to incorporate time for this in your day if you want to enjoy them.

Continue reading about our day in Nantucket here!

Continue reading about our trip to the Cape Cod here!

Read all blog posts for Cape Cod here!

See our complete itinerary here!

Planning your own trip? Read the Perfect Itinerary for Cape Cod here!