The harbor from the ferry rail on a summer morning, every mooring taken and the town beach on the far shore.
Video tour of Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard. Visit the MV Museum, Main Street shops, Owen Park, and the top things to do in this port town.
While visiting the town of Vineyard Haven, there is plenty to do, and our top picks are below:
This video walks you through the town and the stops on that list.
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A few notes on each stop, and the full Vineyard Haven guide has the rest:
The Martha's Vineyard Museum moved to its current Marine Hospital campus in 2019 and tells the island's story from Wampanoag history through the whaling era to today. Allow at least 90 minutes. The art galleries along Main Street rotate exhibits throughout summer, featuring island-based artists working in painting, photography, and sculpture.
The Capawock Theater is one of the oldest movie houses in the country (1913). It changed hands in 2026 and screenings have been intermittent, so check the current schedule first; a rainy-day film here is an old island habit. West Chop Lighthouse is about a 40-minute walk from downtown, or a quick drive, worth it for the view across Vineyard Sound.
For biking around the harbor, rental shops near the ferry terminal offer hourly and daily rates. The flat terrain around the harbor area makes Vineyard Haven one of the most bike-friendly towns on the island.
Filmed June 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 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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