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A hundred million years of clay, sand and lignite in one wall. The colors shift with the light and the season.
Aquinnah Cliffs: 100-million-year-old clay formations, Gay Head Lighthouse, Moshup Beach, and Wampanoag heritage on MV.
The Aquinnah Cliffs rise about 100 feet above the Atlantic at Martha's Vineyard's western tip, a mile-long wall of multicolored clay. They have been sacred to the Wampanoag people for at least 10,000 years, became a National Natural Landmark in 1965, and have Gay Head Light, the island's first lighthouse, on the crest. For a broader look at the town itself, see our Aquinnah town guide.
Filmed January 2025The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked October 2026.
Filmed March 2022The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked October 2026.
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The cliffs formed in two stages. The first came in the Late Cretaceous period, roughly 100 to 65 million years ago, when this area was a subtropical river delta emptying into the young Atlantic. Layer upon layer of clay, sand, and gravel accumulated in coastal-plain environments: beaches, estuaries, marshes, and lagoons. Miocene greensand layers (5–23 million years old) settled on top later, in a shallow sea.
The second stage came with the Wisconsinan glaciation about 21,000 years ago. The Laurentide ice sheet advanced to its southernmost extent along what is now Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, pushing the buried Cretaceous sediments forward and upward. Some layers now stand nearly vertical, tilted about 80 degrees. The cliffs sit on the island's terminal moraine, the ridge left at the glacier's farthest reach. The same geological system runs along the south shore to the cliffs at Lucy Vincent Beach in Chilmark.
Each color comes from a mineral. Red and maroon are iron oxide (hematite), orange and brown are limonite and goethite, and the white bands are kaolin clay. The black streaks are lignite, a low-grade coal that holds 90-million-year-old charcoal from ancient conifer forests. The green layers are glauconite, an iron potassium mineral that makes up the Miocene greensand, and the purple likely comes from iron oxide mixtures in different oxidation states. Fossils found here include camel teeth, megalodon shark teeth, and whale bones.
Waves and groundwater seepage wear the cliffs back about 1.8 to 2 feet a year. Climbing the cliffs or taking clay is illegal, and Wampanoag Conservation Rangers enforce the ban.
The clay was an economy before it was a view. Nineteenth-century New England potters wanted Vineyard clay for its stoneware-grade clay, and Gay Head families dug it and carried it by boat to the mainland kilns; in 1893 the town, incorporated in 1870, leased the cliffs to the Gay Head Clay Company for 500 dollars a year to feed brickworks. Tourists did the rest. Alfred Eisenstaedt, who photographed the cliffs every August from 1937, wrote in 1980 that most of the red clay he had known in the 1960s had either fallen into the sea or grassed over, and that a good part of the damage was people climbing and digging; he was known to shout at children with shovels. The ban on climbing and taking clay that the Tribe and the town enforce today grew out of that damage.
The panel at the overlook: the cliffs are a National Natural Landmark, and the sign explains the layers you are looking at.
In Wampanoag tradition, the cliffs belong to the story of Moshup (also spelled Maushop), the giant who is the central figure of the Tribe's oldest stories. The Tribe's own telling describes Moshup as "a benevolent being of gigantic frame and supernatural power" who created Martha's Vineyard itself. Weary from a journey across the mainland, Moshup dragged his foot heavily through the mud, and the ocean slowly widened the track until it separated the island from the mainland.
From a den near the Aquinnah Cliffs, Moshup would wade into the ocean, seize a whale, and fling it against the cliffs to kill it before cooking it over a perpetual fire. "The blood from these whales stained the clay banks of the Cliffs dark red," the Tribe recounts. To reach whales in deeper water, Moshup threw stones into the sea, and those stones became the underwater reef known as Devil's Bridge, where many ships have wrecked. He also created Nantucket by emptying his pipe ashes into the ocean. Moshup Beach, at the base of the cliffs, is named for him. The Tribe has staged the Legends of Moshup pageant on tribal land in recent summers; check the Tribe's calendar for the current year.
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The town changed its name from Gay Head to Aquinnah at the annual town meeting in May 1997, by a vote of 79 to 76. (An earlier attempt in 1991 had failed 89-36.) The Massachusetts legislature passed enabling legislation, and Acting Governor Paul Cellucci signed it into law in May 1998. Wampanoag leader Carl Widdiss led the effort and cited "the importance of retaining the town's Native American heritage."
"Aquinnah" is the original Wampanoag name. It is often translated as "land under the hill", the hill believed to be Peaked Hill in Chilmark; the Tribe's own list of place names gives "the shore or end of the island". "Gay Head" was the name English colonists gave the headland in the 1600s for the bright ("gay") colors of the cliffs. The lighthouse is still officially "Gay Head Light" on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Tribe's federal name is the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), federally recognized in 1987, one of only two federally recognized Wampanoag tribes. Today the Tribe cares for 477 acres of its ancestral lands, including the cliffs. The Tribe has about 1,570 members (2025); in its 2019 count, 319 of its then 1,364 enrolled citizens lived on the island.
The lighthouse goes back to 1799, when an octagonal wooden tower went up under a contract approved by President John Adams. It was the first lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard. The current 51-foot brick tower was finished in 1856 by contractor Caleb King, with brick made from local clay, from the cliffs or the nearby Chilmark brickworks. A First-Order Fresnel lens from France was installed with 1,008 hand-made crystal prisms. The lens came out in 1952 and is now at the Martha's Vineyard Museum in Vineyard Haven.
In May 2015 the lighthouse was moved about 130 feet inland over three days, after erosion brought the cliff edge too close. The $3–3.5 million project was managed by International Chimney Corporation. The Town of Aquinnah took ownership of the lighthouse from the federal government in February 2015.
A $1.4 million restoration, paid for mostly by offshore wind company Ørsted (~$1 million), a state tourism grant, and Community Preservation Act funds, ran from November 2024 to June 2025. A new LED beacon was installed, bringing back the historic flash pattern of three whites followed by a red (set in 1874). The tower opened for the 2026 season on Memorial Day weekend, with four-day weekends until June 29 and then daily through Labor Day weekend, 10 AM–4 PM. After Labor Day it stayed open on Friday-to-Monday weekends through Indigenous Peoples' Day, October 12, and it is now closed until the 2027 season. Admission is $6 (ages 13+), free for children 12 and under, veterans and Aquinnah residents.
Offshore wind turbines on the horizon at sunset, in the waters south of the island.
The Gay Head Clay Cliffs sign on the path at dusk. The beach below is a walk down from Moshup Trail.
A 10-minute walk down a sandy dune path from the parking lot brings you to Moshup Beach, which runs along the shore beneath the cliffs. There are no lifeguards, and the beach faces southwest into strong surf and currents, so it suits confident ocean swimmers. Portable restrooms sit at the beach entrance. Our photo spots guide covers the light at the cliffs and the rules on the face.
The section closer to the cliffs (to the right when facing the water) has a longstanding clothing-optional tradition. A posted sign reads "Beyond this point you may encounter nude sunbathing." Aquinnah's town bylaws ban public nudity (a fine of up to $50), even though nude sunbathing at that end has been tolerated for decades.
The short-term parking spaces at Aquinnah Circle, by the overlook and the shops, are free with a 90-minute limit, enforced in season. For the beach, the Moshup Beach lot charges about $35 a day (credit card only, no cash). It's small and fills early on summer weekends. Aquinnah residents can buy seasonal permits, and the town can confirm current rates at (508) 645-2300.
To see the whole multicolored face from below, you have to walk down to the beach; the clifftop overlook shows the cliffs from a distance. Near sunset the west-facing cliffs turn gold.
From the sand below, the whole face of the cliffs is in front of you, boulders at the tide line and Gay Head Light on the crest.
The 10–15 businesses at Aquinnah Circle are almost all Wampanoag family-owned and sit on town-leased land. Cliffhangers is the main food spot, serving lobster rolls, clam chowder and ice cream. The gift shops include Stony Creek Gifts (85+ years, wampum jewelry), Hatmarcha Gifts (handmade beadwork), and several others selling Native crafts. Shops open in May and many stay open through October, usually closing between 4 and 5 PM.
The Aquinnah Shop Restaurant, on the clifftop since 1948, has been closed since about 2022. In 2023, the Native Land Conservancy purchased the property for $2 million to return it to Wampanoag ownership. No confirmed reopening as of 2026.
On the way to the cliffs you will pass the old Orange Peel Bakery Closed Closed for good in September 2026 (22 State Road), which Wampanoag baker Juli Vanderhoop ran for twenty years, with its wood-fired oven, Thursday pizza nights and honor-system shelves. It closed for good in late September 2026; she has said she hopes to come back with something new.
The Aquinnah Cultural Center at the Edwin D. Vanderhoop Homestead (35 Aquinnah Circle, built in the 1890s) has exhibits on Wampanoag history, guided walking tours and art installations. Open for the 2026 season June 16 to October 11, Tuesday through Sunday 11 AM–4 PM; admission $10 adults, $8 seniors and students, $6 ages 7–17, free under 7 and for tribal members. Closed September 12 and 13 for the Powwow. When it's closed, the Heritage Exhibit Kiosk outside has information.
A small wooden dock in Aquinnah, two skiffs tied up by the marsh with the dunes behind.
VTA Bus Route #5 (via South Road through West Tisbury and Chilmark) reaches the cliffs about once an hour in summer and every two hours from October 4 to April 15, and it's free to ride through June 30, 2027 under the fare-free initiative. From Vineyard Haven the trip takes about an hour: in summer you change buses at West Tisbury, and off-season the Route 3 bus carries straight on as Route 5. Check the VTA schedule for current times.
By car it's about 18 miles (35 to 40 minutes) from Vineyard Haven, about 20 miles (35–40 minutes) from Oak Bluffs and about 19 miles (30–40 minutes) from Edgartown. Moshup Trail runs along the coast near Aquinnah.
Biking there is hard work: 17 hilly miles from Vineyard Haven on narrow roads with no bike path, so it's a ride for fit cyclists. Many people take the bus up and bike back, which is mostly downhill. See our bike routes guide for details.
Most visitors spend 1–2 hours at the cliffs for the overlook, shops and lighthouse, or half a day with time on the beach. See our complete Jaws filming locations guide.
A 
B 
C A: the light at dusk from the road below; B: the brick tower up close in low sun; C: the light on its rise above the road and the houses below it.
Step 1 · WhenMonth PickerTwelve months compared on NOAA numbers, crowds, prices and what is open. 
Step 2 · DaysDay-by-Day Trip PlannerMorning, afternoon and evening sketched for every day, events dropped in, emailed to you. 
Step 3 · CostTrip Cost CalculatorFerry, beds with the rooms tax, meals, getting around and activities in one price range. The short-term spaces at Aquinnah Circle, by the overlook, are free with a 90-minute limit in season, enough for the view, the shops and a snack. The Moshup Beach lot charges $35 a day by card only, no cash, and fills early on summer weekends.
Yes. VTA Route 5 reaches the cliffs about once an hour in summer and every two hours from October 4 to April 15, and it is fare-free through June 30, 2027. From Vineyard Haven the trip takes about an hour, with a change at West Tisbury in summer (off-season the same bus carries on). On the off-season timetable the last bus off the cliffs leaves at 6:05 PM, so check the current timetable before you linger. Our VTA schedule has the times.
No. The cliffs are a National Natural Landmark on tribal land, and climbing or removing clay is illegal, enforced by Wampanoag Conservation Rangers. They already lose about 2 feet a year to erosion. The best close-up view is from Moshup Beach, a 10-minute walk down the dune path from the lot.
Yes, in season. The tower opened for the 2026 season on Memorial Day weekend, after a restoration finished in June 2025. It was open 10 AM to 4 PM, on four-day weekends until June 29, daily through Labor Day weekend, and then on Friday-to-Monday weekends until Indigenous Peoples' Day, October 12. It is now closed until the 2027 season. Admission is $6 for ages 13 and up, free for kids 12 and under, veterans and Aquinnah residents.
Most visitors spend 1 to 2 hours on the overlook, shops and lighthouse, or a half day with beach time. Many people come for sunset, when the west-facing cliffs glow. Shops at Aquinnah Circle open in May, many stay open through October, and most close between 4 and 5 PM, so eat early.
For confident ocean swimmers. There are no lifeguards, and the beach faces southwest into strong surf and currents. The stretch nearer the cliffs has a longstanding clothing-optional tradition, marked by a sign, so families may want to stay to the left. Our beach guide lists calmer options.
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