Boston Globe — Nantucket neighbors to hire a monitor — sorry, a docent — to patrol popular tourist spot

The Sconset Bluff Walk in Nantucket, shown in June 2022.Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe

March 12, 2026

By Shannon Larson — NANTUCKET — Fights over access to waterfront and coastlines in New England are a constant.But the folks in Nantucket have taken theirs to a new level: hiring a “docent” to monitor the crowds that will inevitably swarm the Sconset Bluff Walk in summer.

The unusual step is the result of long-simmering tensions over public use of the winding dirt trail along a scenic bluff that overlooks the ocean and is near a string of multimillion-dollar properties.

Located on the east coast of the island well away from the bustle of downtown Nantucket, the trail ranges from a narrow walkway only a few feet from a cluster of old-timey cottages, to a more open section by pristine lawns within clear view of homeowners, before slowly rising to the top of the bluff that offers sweeping views of beach and sand flats.

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