We hope you enjoy this "virtual" tour of the nature trail at the UMass Boston Nantucket field station. Feel free to explore the trail by clicking on the stop numbers to your left.

In order to preserve natural resources, access to the field station is by appointment only. For access, contact Field Station Headquarters at 508-228-5268, or visit the main field station pages for more information. If you have already made plans to visit the field station, you may want to download a full-color map or a trail guide (.pdf files).

The University of Massachusetts Nantucket Field Station sits on 90 acres of land donated to the University in 1963 by the estate of Stephen Peabody, and 17 acres donated in 1965 by the estate of Katherine Coe Folger. The marsh and surrounding uplands were a Native American camping and hunting area. A burial site and flint knapping artifacts are on the property.

The mission of the Field Station is to provide educational opportunities for the people of Nantucket and the Commonwealth and to create a research environment and outreach programs focused on the study of coastal habitats and ecosystems.

Nantucket Island is home to more than 1200 species of vascular plants, 340 species of vertebrate animals and thousands of other species including insects, fungi and non-vascular plants. Two to be wary of while at the Station are poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis).

When you visit the Nantucket Field Station trail, or any other nature trail, please carry out all of your trash with you for the health of the environment.