Owen Park’s little beach is calm and protected, right in the middle of town, an easy swim off the harbor.
Virtual tour of Owen Park in Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard. A family-friendly beach and park perfect for picnics, swimming, and watching sailboats.
Owen Park Beach at 19 Owen Park Way in Vineyard Haven is the closest beach to the boat: a free public beach on the inner harbor, approximately 600 feet from the Steamship Authority ferry terminal. It's the first beach you can reach after stepping off the ferry.
Filmed May 2021The island moves on: shops, signs and prices may differ from what you see here. The text of this guide was checked September 2026.
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A small, sandy harbor beach with calm, sheltered, shallow water, protected by the harbor and a large breakwater. Free of big waves, with good crabbing. Excellent for families and young children. Watch the Steamship Authority ferries and sailboats come and go. Beautiful sunsets. Close enough to stroll to the Black Dog Tavern (about 100 yards along the waterfront). The beach has a public town dock, an offshore swimming float, and is ADA accessible.
Above the beach sits a bandstand, home to the Vineyard Haven Band, established in 1868 (the oldest continuous nonprofit cultural organization on Martha's Vineyard). Free concerts at 7:30 PM on alternating Sunday evenings in summer; the band rotates between Owen Park and Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs, so check the season schedule. The band plays American classics: military marches, patriotic tunes, and popular fare. They also perform for Illumination Night and July 4th.
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Owen Park is also a venue for First Friday events (June–October plus December), with live music and food trucks starting at 5 PM, part of Vineyard Haven's monthly community celebration.
Free parking (fills up), public restrooms, beach shower, playground with swings, benches. No entrance fee or beach sticker required, one of the rare free public beaches on Martha's Vineyard.
Named after William Barry Owen (1860–1919), son of a whaling captain, who established subsidiaries of the Gramophone company across Europe. His widow donated the property to the Town of Tisbury after his death. The park was gifted in 1924. A flagpole, a mast from a grounded schooner, was installed in 1929 with a plaque honoring war veterans.
Owen Park is steps from downtown. See our Vineyard Haven town guide for shops and restaurants, or plan your trip with the car-free travel guide.
Exploring the town? Start with our complete Vineyard Haven guide: food, beaches, parking and the local rhythm, all in one place.
Island tip of the dayInsiderNo. 84 of 86New tip at midnight, island time
A 502-foot breach opened at Norton Point on January 1, 2026, cutting the sand link between Katama and Chappaquiddick: the Chappy Ferry is once again the only way across, likely for years. OSV drivers should check current beach access with the town of Edgartown.
Joshua Slocum, first to sail alone around the world, spent his last years farming in West Tisbury and vanished from Vineyard Haven harbor in November 1909. The voyage, the farm called Fag End, the last departure, and what a visitor can actually see: the harbor, a marker stone by a country road, the museum's Slocum papers, and the book itself.
The red bus that gets the loudest cheer in the Edgartown Fourth of July parade belongs to Camp Jabberwocky, a tuition-free summer camp for people with disabilities that has run on the Vineyard since 1953. An islander's account of where it came from and what it is. For anything official, the camp's own site is the source.
Lake Tashmoo in Vineyard Haven hides a century of stories: the 1887 waterworks that watered the town, a golf course where a bull was a hazard, town baseball and the frozen winters when islanders raced ice boats.
Take a guided Jaws tour of Martha's Vineyard with local guide Mike Currid. Walk the real Amity Island in Edgartown and book the "Amity" Walking Tour.
A first-hand look at the Edgartown Historic Walking Tour and "Amity" Jaws Tour with Mike Currid of the Edgartown Tour Company: what to expect, what you'll learn, and how to book.
The complete guide to Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard's year-round port town. Main Street shopping, Black Dog Tavern, Owen Park, and ferry terminal.
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