Cisco

Cisco is one of Nantucket’s most distinctive neighborhoods, located on the island’s south shore approximately four miles from Town along Hummock Pond Road. The neighborhood occupies a landscape that feels different from most of Nantucket - more open, more agricultural, with larger lots and a more relaxed character than the harbor neighborhoods or even nearby Surfside. Buyers I work with who gravitate toward Cisco tend to be drawn to its combination of surf culture, farmland, and the social energy of Cisco Brewers, which has become one of the island’s most popular destinations. After more than 20 years selling real estate across Nantucket, I find that Cisco attracts a buyer who wants the island at its most casual and least manicured.

Homes in Cisco generally range from approximately $2 million to above $10 million, with newer construction on multi-acre parcels at the higher end. The neighborhood’s housing stock is more varied than the harbor neighborhoods - you’ll find renovated older homes alongside custom-built properties on generous lots, many exceeding one or two acres. Hummock Pond Road is the main artery, with properties on Millbrook Road, Deer Run Road, and surrounding lanes offering different levels of privacy and proximity to the beach. The larger lot sizes and more open landscape mean that buyers often get significantly more land here than they would for comparable pricing in Surfside or the harbor neighborhoods.

The lifestyle in Cisco revolves around the beach, the land, and a handful of iconic island institutions. Cisco Beach is Nantucket’s surf beach - bigger waves, strong currents, and a stretch of Atlantic coastline that draws surfers, body boarders, and experienced swimmers. The beach hosts the annual Nantucket Ozone Surf Classic. Just inland, Cisco Brewers has become one of the most visited destinations on the island, offering craft beer, wine from Nantucket Vineyard, spirits from Triple Eight Distillery, live music, and food trucks in a family- and dog-friendly courtyard. Bartlett’s Farm, the island’s oldest and largest family-owned farm, is moments away on Hummock Pond Road, along with 167 Raw seafood market and Gardner Farm’s conservation walking trails. A bike path connects the neighborhood to Town, making the four-mile trip accessible without a car.

For buyers considering Cisco, the appeal is often about lifestyle and land. This is a neighborhood where you buy for the setting - proximity to the surf, the farm-to-table culture, the open landscape — as much as for the house itself. Properties here tend to see less turnover than in Surfside, and the larger lot sizes mean fewer homes available in any given year. If you’re evaluating Cisco as part of a broader south shore search, I’d recommend browsing my past sales across the island and reviewing my approach to buying luxury real estate on Nantucket for context on how these decisions typically unfold.

Cisco is a neighborhood with a character all its own, and understanding what makes one position better than another here requires knowing the relationship between the beach, the farmland, and the conservation boundaries. If you’re considering buying or selling in Cisco, I’d welcome the conversation.