This is technically considered the off-season on Nantucket. But according to New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand (her new book, The Identicals, is due out in June), Nantucket is even more charming before the tourists take over in summer. Hilderbrand—who sets all her novels on the island—shared her favorite things to do in spring:
Attend the Daffodil Festival (April 28-30)
“Everyone gathers downtown for a parade and wears hats and yellow and green. People decorate bikes and their dogs, and there’s shop window decorating and an antique car parade that runs out to Sconset. It’s so much fun. It’s very social and all about celebrating spring.”
Dine Out
“In April, my favorite restaurants open back up: American Seasons, The Boarding House, and The Proprietors. They’re super inventive, farm-to-table and use local ingredients whenever possible. I love to go and sit at the bar at The Boarding House, and The Proprietors has an amazing cocktail menu.”
Take a Bike Ride
“There are miles and miles of bike paths on the island. When it’s warmer, I ride the Poplis-Milestone loop up past the Sankaty lighthouse (a landscape I describe in my book Here’s to Us). You actually start to see people on the bike path and that’s how you know it’s spring time. If you prefer to drive, you can head out to Madaket to watch the sun go
down—sunsets there are beautiful.”
