Quidnet Beach
Nantucket, MA
Nantucket, Massachusetts · Nantucket Sound / Madaket Harbor
Nantucket's wildest north-shore spit — birds, dunes, and silence
A remote north shore beach requiring a sandy road walk to access. The spit of land at Eel Point is a prime birding spot where Nantucket Sound meets the open harbor. Pristine and wild.
Eel Point is one of the wildest places left on Nantucket — a long, narrow spit of sand and beach grass reaching west from the north shore into Madaket Harbor. You park at a small dirt pull-off and walk in along a sandy track for about half a mile through scrub and dune. There's no beach infrastructure of any kind, no lifeguards, no restrooms, no concessions — just a remarkable stretch of bird habitat and one of the best low-tide flats on the island. Piping plovers, least terns, oystercatchers, and willets all nest here; the area is closed seasonally through July to protect them. Bring binoculars, bring water, bring a tide chart, and don't bring a crowd.
Photo spot
Low-tide sandbar curving out toward Madaket Harbor
Birds you may see: piping plover, least tern, American oystercatcher, willet, osprey, great egret
Things to know
Small lot, walk or bike along Eel Point Road
Allowed on leash; restricted in plover closure zones.
Nantucket, MA

Nantucket, MA

Dennis, MA