Edgartown · RedAwning

Martha's Vineyard96-square-mile island, 6 towns, the 1876 Flying Horses carousel, and Aquinnah's 140-foot red clay cliffs

A 96-square-mile triangular island seven miles south of Cape Cod, reachable only by ferry or small plane. Six towns — Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven (Tisbury), West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah — share a year-round population of roughly 17,000 that swells past 200,000 every summer. The 1856 Gay Head Light tops Aquinnah's 140-foot red-clay cliffs; the 1876 Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs is the oldest continuously operating carousel in the United States; and the 1828 Edgartown Harbor Light still guides boats into the old whaling port.

Hours todayOpen 24 hrs – undefinedThursday hours
TicketsFrom $11Steamship Authority — passenger
LocationEdgartown, Massachusetts121 North Water Street
Official sitemvy.comPlan your visit

96 sq miArea
6Towns
~200KSummer pop.
~17KYear-round pop.

Martha's Vineyard is a 96-square-mile triangle of glacial moraine and outwash plain, sitting seven miles south of Cape Cod across Vineyard Sound. The island has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years; the Wampanoag people of Aquinnah have lived continuously on the cliffs at the western tip since long before English captain Bartholomew Gosnold named it in 1602 (likely after his daughter and the island's wild grapes). The six towns split sharply in personality — Edgartown is the old whaling port with a Greek Revival main street; Oak Bluffs is the Methodist Camp Meeting town with 318 surviving Gingerbread Cottages; Vineyard Haven is the Steamship Authority's working harbor; and the three Up-Island towns (West Tisbury, Chilmark, Aquinnah) are rural farmland, fishing villages, and tribal land.

Highlights cluster by town. In Oak Bluffs: the 1876 Flying Horses Carousel (the oldest continuously operating carousel in the country, a National Historic Landmark) and the Methodist Tabernacle (1879) at the center of the Gingerbread Cottages. In Edgartown: the 1828 Edgartown Harbor Light at the tip of a sand spit, the captain's houses on North Water Street, and Chappaquiddick Island reachable by the On Time ferry (3-minute crossing, year-round). In Aquinnah: the Gay Head Light atop the 140-foot ochre, terra-cotta, and white clay cliffs (a sacred Wampanoag site, public viewing platform). In Menemsha: Larsen's Fish Market, Homeport Restaurant, and the working fishing harbor where Jaws was filmed in 1974. The State Beach between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown is the long, calm-water stretch where Jaws's beach scenes were shot.

Plan three to seven days, depending on whether you're staying in one town or sampling. Reserve the Steamship Authority car ferry six months ahead for July and August; walk-on passenger ferries are first-come and rarely full. Rent a Jeep at the airport (MVY) if you're going Up-Island — Aquinnah is 45 minutes from Edgartown by car. Best time to go: mid-June for early-season prices and lilac season; September after Labor Day for the warmest ocean and Vineyard Vines crowds gone home; the Ag Fair in West Tisbury runs the third weekend of August (since 1859, the second-oldest fair in Massachusetts).

Aquinnah Cliffs & Gay Head Light
Hundred-and-forty-foot ochre, terra-cotta, and white clay cliffs at the island's western tip, a National Natural Landmark and a sacred Wampanoag site (the cliffs sit on the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head reservation). The 1856 Gay Head Light, moved 134 feet inland in 2015 to escape erosion, stands behind the public overlook. Town parking $15/car; walk to the cliffs in 5 minutes.
Oak Bluffs Gingerbread Cottages
318 surviving 19th-century Methodist camp-meeting cottages painted in lavender, mint, salmon, and yolk yellow, clustered around the open-air 1879 Tabernacle. The community started as the Wesleyan Grove camp meeting in 1835, with families pitching tents that gradually became permanent cottages. The annual Illumination Night (third Wednesday of August) lights every porch with Japanese paper lanterns.
Edgartown Harbor Light
An 1828 cast-iron lighthouse on a sand spit at the entrance to Edgartown Harbor — walk the half-mile from North Water Street's captain's-house row, then climb the 47-step tower (mid-June through mid-October, $6 adult). A memorial to Vineyard children who died young is set into the surrounding granite cobblestones.
Menemsha working fishing harbor
A pocket-sized Up-Island fishing village in Chilmark, the actual filming location of Quint's harbor in Jaws (1974). Larsen's Fish Market sells lobster rolls and stuffed quahogs out of a fish-house window; Homeport Restaurant has been serving the same baked stuffed lobster since 1931. The seawall on the harbor's west side is the island's standard sunset destination — bring a blanket.
State Beach (Joseph A. Sylvia)
A two-mile barrier beach along Beach Road between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown — calm Vineyard Sound water on one side, Sengekontacket Pond on the other. The pedestrian Jaws Bridge (officially the American Legion Memorial Bridge), where the second shark-attack scene was filmed, is the spot where every summer kid learns to bridge-jump. Free public parking at multiple pull-offs.
Flying Horses Carousel
The oldest continuously operating carousel in the United States — built in 1876 by Charles W.F. Dare in Coney Island, moved to Oak Bluffs in 1884, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Twenty hand-carved horses with real horsehair manes and glass eyes (some hold mirrors, some grain). $4 a ride; grab the brass ring on the way past the dispenser to win a free ride.
The Black Dog Tavern
Beach Road, Vineyard Haven Harbor — opened 1971 by Captain Robert Douglas in a one-room shack that fed the crew of his schooner the Shenandoah. The black-Lab silhouette t-shirts (started 1990) became the most-bootlegged souvenir in New England. The chowder is real and the harbor view from the back deck is unbeatable; expect a 45-minute wait at peak season.
Steamship Authority ferry
The Vineyard's lifeline — 45 minutes from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven, every 60–90 minutes year-round. Walk-on passenger fare $11 round-trip; auto ferry $110 RT (reservations required 6 months ahead in summer). The Hy-Line high-speed from Hyannis runs to Oak Bluffs in 55 minutes May–October ($88 RT); Seastreak runs a seasonal weekend service from Manhattan.

Open hours

The island is accessible year-round, but most restaurants, shops, and attractions are seasonal — Memorial Day to Columbus Day is the live window. The Steamship Authority runs ferries from Woods Hole (45 minutes) every 60–90 minutes year-round; Hy-Line and Seastreak run high-speed ferries from Hyannis and Manhattan in season. JetBlue and Cape Air fly into MVY (Vineyard Haven airport) seasonally.

MondayOpen 24 hrs
TuesdayOpen 24 hrs
WednesdayOpen 24 hrs
ThursdayTodayOpen 24 hrs
FridayOpen 24 hrs
SaturdayOpen 24 hrs
SundayOpen 24 hrs

Note · Last Steamship Authority car ferry off-island leaves Vineyard Haven around 9:45 PM in summer (varies by day) — the last passenger boat is closer to 10:30 PM. Make car-ferry reservations 6+ months ahead for July–August; passenger walk-on tickets sell same-day.

Ticket pricing

Per-person admission. Buy in advance to skip the gate line.

Steamship Authority — passenger$11Round-trip walk-on, Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven, year-round
Steamship Authority — car$110Round-trip auto ferry; reservations required 6 months ahead in summer
Hy-Line high-speed (Hyannis)$88Round-trip, 55 minutes to Oak Bluffs, May–October
Flying Horses Carousel ride$41876 carousel in Oak Bluffs; ride a horse, grab the brass ring for a free ride
Edgartown Harbor Light tour$6Adult; mid-June to mid-October, climb the 1828 cast-iron tower
Aquinnah Cliffs parking$15Per car, town-managed lot at the Gay Head Light overlook

Walking on with the Steamship Authority is the easy way for short trips; bring a car only if you're staying west of Edgartown or staying more than a long weekend. The Vineyard Transit Authority bus ($1.25 per ride or $7 day pass) connects all six towns every 15–60 minutes. Up-Island towns (Aquinnah, Chilmark, West Tisbury) are dry — bring wine from Edgartown if you want a drink with dinner.

Plan your visit

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