Back to Smith’s Point: A Sunset Drive to Nantucket’s Western Edge

There are few drives on Nantucket that feel quite like the ride out to Smith’s Point.

After being closed to over-sand vehicles during part of the summer nesting season, Smith’s Point is open again, and there may be no better excuse to head west than a late-summer sunset.

So, with a clear evening ahead of us, we packed up and made the drive through Madaket toward the western end of the island.

The Drive Out

Once you cross the bridge heading toward Smith’s Point, the experience begins to change almost immediately. The pavement disappears, the landscape opens up, and you are reminded that getting to the Point is as much a part of the evening as the destination itself.

Before continuing onto the sand, make sure to stop and deflate your tires, and make sure your vehicle has a valid Nantucket Beach driving permit. Lower tire pressure is essential for driving safely on soft sand and helps prevent vehicles from getting stuck along the way.

From there, continue west along the sandy road toward the gate.

The farther you drive, the more Nantucket begins to feel very far away.

Dunes and beach grass surround the road, the pavement and houses of Madaket fall behind you, and eventually you reach the entrance to Smith’s Point.

Once you pass through the gate, the view suddenly opens.

In front of you is a long stretch of beach with the ocean beyond it, trucks and Jeeps parked along the sand, fishing rods standing near the shoreline and people settling in for the evening.

It is one of those views that immediately tells you that you have arrived somewhere different.

Following the Beach West

From the gate, continue driving along the beach toward the Point.

This is one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Instead of following a traditional road, tire tracks become your guide. The ocean runs alongside you while vehicles are scattered along the beach – some with families setting up chairs, others with fishermen casting into the water, and plenty of people simply enjoying one of the last few hours of daylight.

There is no need to rush.

Part of Smith’s Point is finding a spot, slowing down and taking in everything happening around you.

As you continue farther west, the surroundings become increasingly open. Looking back toward Nantucket, the island seems to stretch into the distance. Looking ahead, there is little more than sand, water and sky.

And then you reach the Point.

Nantucket’s Western Edge

At the end of the drive, water surrounds the narrow stretch of sand and Tuckernuck Island comes into view across the channel.

Seeing this area from above gives an entirely different perspective.

Sandbars curl into the water, small tidal ponds sit among the dunes, and Smith’s Point stretches westward toward Tuckernuck. It is one of the island’s most distinctive landscapes and one that never seems to look exactly the same from year to year.

Back on the beach, the atmosphere is much simpler.

Pick a spot, park the truck, pull out a beach chair and stay awhile.

On this evening, fishermen were spread along the water’s edge while families and friends gathered nearby. Some were casting lines. Others were walking the shoreline. Most seemed to be waiting for the same thing we were.

Staying for Sunset

As the evening gets later, the light at Smith’s Point begins to change quickly.

The bright afternoon sun softens. The beach takes on a warmer glow. The water shifts from blue to silver and eventually starts reflecting the oranges and pinks appearing along the western horizon.

Tuckernuck sits quietly in the distance while fishing continues along the shoreline.

And then the sun begins to drop.

For a few minutes, almost everyone along the beach seems to turn west.

The sun disappears toward the horizon, silhouettes form along the shoreline, and the reflection stretches across the water toward the beach.

It is difficult to imagine a better place on Nantucket to finish a summer day.

The drive back will come soon enough. Tires will need to be filled again, beach chairs packed away and the sandy road retraced toward Madaket.

But for now, there is nowhere else to be.

Smith’s Point is open again.

And sunset is waiting at the end of the road.

For more Nantucket stories visit our blog at Fisher Real Eastate.