Nantucket Board Limits Footpath Access in July-August as 2 Million Annual Visitors Strain Island
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 3
Nantucket Board Limits Footpath Access in July-August as 2 Million Annual Visitors Strain Island
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 3
Summary
Nantucket's Select Board set specific visiting hours on a popular footpath for July and August and approved "bluff docents" to monitor activity, aiming to ease summer overcrowding.
The move follows complaints that influencer-driven social media exposure has swelled tourism on the 14-mile-long island, which now draws about 2 million visitors a year despite access only by ferry or plane.
Residents and shop owners say the surge has brought more noise, crowds and filming; one longtime merchant posted a "No Influencers" sign after saying his store was being used as a backdrop.
The Siasconset Civic Association had also floated turnstiles or gates at entrances, but those tighter controls were not approved, underscoring the island's effort to balance access with preservation.