BEST LIGHTHOUSE
The only company you'll likely have while strolling on Nantucket's Great Point beach are the birds. In Wauwinet's Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge, owned by the Trustees of Reservations, there are no parking lots, and some areas aren't safe for swimming. But the rolling dunes on the narrow strip are home to marsh hawks, ospreys, and the playful American oystercatcher. (That orange carrot sticking out of his mouth is actually his beak.) Get an off-road-vehicle permit at the gatehouse or just walk the 5 miles out to the lighthouse, a solar-powered replica of the 1818 stone tower that was destroyed in 1984.