The William Barry Owen bandstand at Owen Park at dusk, the harbor and the moorings behind it.
Walking tour starting at the MVY Chamber of Commerce in Vineyard Haven. Where to get visitor information and connect with locals on Martha's Vineyard.
This video starts with a view and walk by of the MVY Chamber of Commerce offices, the place to ask questions, leave your luggage when you arrive on Martha’s Vineyard, and talk to people who know the island. Then it walks the dock area of Vineyard Haven, where the Steamship ferry lands, along the beach and up into Owen Park.
The Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce office in Vineyard Haven is the best first stop for any visitor arriving by ferry. Located right near the Steamship Authority terminal, they offer free maps, restaurant menus, event calendars, and advice from people who live here. During peak summer months, they also provide luggage storage so you can explore town hands-free before checking into your accommodation.
From the Chamber, the dock area stretches along Beach Road where you can watch the ferries come and go. The Steamship Authority terminal handles thousands of passengers daily in summer, and the tangle of cars, bikes and foot traffic is the island's first impression.
Turn left from the Chamber to reach Main Street's shops and restaurants, or turn right along the harbor toward Owen Park Beach, a small, quiet beach with a public pier and the harbor in front of you. If you're biking, Beach Road to Oak Bluffs is a flat ride of about 3 miles; the Vineyard Haven stretch from Five Corners to the Lagoon Pond drawbridge uses on-road bike lanes rather than a separate path, so ride with care in summer traffic.
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 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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