Easy3.5 miNantucket

Altar Rock & Middle Moors Trail

Listed & VerifiedVerified Jun 25, 2026

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What is Altar Rock & Middle Moors Trail like?

A network of sandy tracks through the open heath of the Middle Moors, converging on Altar Rock — at 101 feet, one of Nantucket's highest points. Panoramic 360-degree island views, heathland wildflowers, and an eerie, open landscape unlike anywhere else on the island. The Milestone Cranberry Bog is adjacent.

Plan your walk

Altar Rock & Middle Moors Trail

Directions to the trailhead

Polpis Road near Altar Rock Road, Nantucket, MA 02554

Check conditions before you go. Trail details from Nantucket Conservation Foundation (opens in a new tab)

When should you go?

Best time to go

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What’s the trail like?

Length: 3.5 mi
Difficulty: Easy
Surface: Natural trail
Dogs: Allowed (leashed)
Kids: Not noted
Accessible: Not noted
Views: Ocean
Good for: Hiking, Walking, Biking

What should you know before you go?

Parking

Small pulloff on Altar Rock Road off Polpis Road.

Dogs

Allowed (leashed)

Managed by

Nantucket Conservation Foundation

What you'll see

Ocean views, Bird sanctuary, Dunes

Where is the trailhead?

Polpis Road near Altar Rock Road, Nantucket, MA 02554.

Get directions

Get directions Open in Google Maps

Where else can you walk in Nantucket?

Easy
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Squam Swamp Interpretive Trail
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Tupancy Links
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Milestone Cranberry Bog Trail
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A flat loop around the perimeter of one of the largest working cranberry bogs in the state. The trail circles active bogs, woodlands, and wetlands managed by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Spectacular fall color during the October harvest. Easy walking on packed-earth and grass tracks.
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Every Nantucket trail Trails across the Cape

Directions

What is Altar Rock & Middle Moors Trail like?

Where else can you walk in Nantucket?

Easy

Linda Loring Nature Foundation Trails

Sand · Linda Loring Nature Foundation

Easy self-guided loops through a protected sandplain-grassland preserve (no dogs). (Local note: Sunrise-to-sunset access, ~1mi easy loop, dogs prohibited)